A Quick Hike Through The Tall Trees In Scenic And Historic Killens Pond State Park In Delaware

I ws up early again on my last day in  Delaware. I decided to hike in the Killens Pond State Park, located  only 10 miles from my hotel in Milford and explore some of the woodlands of Delaware.  I had been exploring the beaches  the last three days. It was a 20 minute ride through scenic  suburban and rural roads.  I arrived around 6:30 a.m. and found the main access to the park was closed until 8 a.m.

However, I was able to park along the Killens Pond Road   near the damn crest on Killens Pond and along  the Killens  Pond Loop Trail.  I learned that the 66 acre pond had a long history and was created when the Murderkill River was dammed in the mid 1700’s for grist and sawmills.

It was a sunny but cooler morning with temperatures in the  low 50’s.  As I began my hike I was immediately impressed by the large tulip trees towering above the trail.

I walked beneath the towering trees and their canopy of leaves as the  morning sun filtered to the ground.

I soon  found this Louisiana waterthrush perched on a log singing it’s morning song.

There were also large white oak trees  towering over American holly trees. I already knew it was going to be a great place to hike. Unfortunately I did not have a lot of time to explore the surrounding woodlands since I had to check out of my hotel and had a long drive home ahead of me.

The trail took me along  and above the pond,

occasionally allowing for view of the deep blue waters below.

I heard a lot of birds singing high in the tree tops out of reach of my camera. It is a lot easier  capturing images of birds feeding on the low shrubs, trees and insects in a wetland then in a large old forest. I was able to photograph some of the many eastern gray squirrels active in the old forest,

many having more shades  of brown than gray. There were a lot of them.

As I walked under the ancient trees I thought  of the Lenape or Delaware Native Americans. They hunted and fished along the banks of the Muderkill River. These Native Americans also lived  in the woodlands of my home  in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

I saw a  few tufted titmice and

oven bird in along the trail. I love the continuous song of the oven birds. This small warbler is common in the woodlands near my home and seems to never stop singing from dawn to dusk.

The  wooded trail continued through the old growth forest,

and I saw some of the largest beech trees I had ever seen. The Native Americans may have fished in the river when they sprouted.

Smaller sassafras trees grew beneath the ancient and towering trees,

and the ground was covered with mostly native  Virginia creeper vines. I am sure there are many native Spring wildflowers blooming here before the canopy of leaves blocked  the sun.

The trail looped around the pond, providing many scenic overlooks.

I met a few , mostly older, folks walking down to the pond from  the campground, and saw a lot more squirrels.

I then came to some beautiful secluded cabins, I hope to return someday and make this park as my headquarters for watching another horseshoe crab spawning and more exploring of the natural beauty of the Delaware bay.

After leaving the cabins I came to a wetland.

where I now found many lurch ferns growing, including familiar cinnamon ferns,

New York ferns

and, I believe, netted chain ferns, the first ones I have seen.

I came to the a boardwalk that took me through some more wetlands,

and then a bridge over the Murderkill River. I was surprised I wasn’t seeing more bird activity but part of the reason I was walking faster than my usual pace.

I  now came to some fields which I followed for about a 1/2 mile,

until I entered another old growth woodland.

Here I found more towering oak trees,

and some of the tallest pitch pines I had ever seen.

And, like the pine trees at home, I heard and saw a few pine warblers.

I continued along the lake through the old growth forest,

and came to a Nature Center  along the lake,

on the grounds of the nature Center I saw some chipping sparrows,

a barn swallow gathering nesting mater

a flock of Carolina chickadees  feeding in the trees,

and this beautiful prothonotary warbler.

I believe it is the first time I saw this colorful bird.   Here is a link to  a gallery on my blog web-site with  some more photos  of the birds I saw on my walk  in the park and around the lake. Killens Pond State Park,  Delaware birds June 2 2026.

I also saw an eastern tiger swallowtail.

Their were also paddle  boat rentals near the  Nature Center.

The trail took me back to the Killens Pond Road  where I crossed a bridge over the crest of the dam to the parking lot where I began my 3 mile hike.  I drove back to my hotel, quickly packed and began my 3 hour drive back to my home in my beloved Northeastern Pennsylvania.  I loved the Delaware Bay, fed, in part by two of  my favorite rivers, the Lehigh and the Schuylkill. However I was looking to hiking along the banks of my favorite river the following weekend, the ancient Susquehanna Here is a link to  a gallery on my blog web-site with  some more photos  from  my walk  in the park and around the lake. Killens Pond State Park,  Delaware  June 2 2026.

I drove home, and, after stopping in my law office grocery shopping and doing laundry I as hungry. I hadn’t eaten all day.  So I prepared my favorite dish.  I usually have it every Sunday but I missed it so i had it for dinner, hot peppers, a bulb of garlic sauted in olive oil served with shrimps and scallops overe pasta.  I enjoyed it as the sweat poured off my bald head. A great way to end another great adventure. I’m glad you ever abler to join me.

“When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary, and shutting out the sky with their thickly inter-twined branches, do not the stately shadows of the wood, the stillness of the place… strike you with the presence of a deity?” — Seneca

“Now, on this road trip, my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not, until now, known it had.”
― Elizabeth Berg