Delaware's first state park, and the northernmost bald cypress swamp on the East Coast.
Trap Pond State Park is a 90-acre millpond near Laurel, Delaware — the state's first state park, established in 1951 on a pond dammed by loggers over two centuries ago, and home to the northernmost naturally occurring stand of bald cypress on the East Coast.
Trap Pond State Park sits in western Sussex County near Laurel, holding the distinction of being Delaware's first state park, established in 1951. The 90-acre pond itself dates to the late 1700s/1800s, when loggers dammed a stream to power the Trap Mills sawmill, cutting locally harvested bald cypress into rot-resistant lumber and shingles. A 1931 flood washed out the original dam and briefly drained the pond; the Civilian Conservation Corps rebuilt it and added recreational infrastructure between 1936 and 1937, and the state took ownership from the federal government in 1951. Today the park is best known for sheltering the northernmost naturally occurring stand of bald cypress on the East Coast, reachable by water trail, boardwalk, or naturalist-led pontoon tour. This is honestly a small state-park pond rather than a major recreational lake — no marina exists, boating here means the park's own paddle-craft concession, and Laurel, five to ten minutes away, carries the area's dining, grocery, and pharmacy. Seaford, the larger commercial hub fifteen to twenty minutes out, has the area's hospital.
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