Barnes Woods Preserve is the perfect example of why I blog about our adventures. This place doesn’t show up as a green blob on Google (my standard for finding outdoor adventures), there is NO info when you search for it and it isn’t even on Ecodelaware’s website. The only street address that we came up with was 1743 Woodland Rd. when in fact the actual entrance is at 27268 Woodland Road, Seaford. My goal is to give you all the info you need to find great outdoor treasures like Barnes Woods. Luckily, the PlayOutsiDE app was just released by DNREC yesterday and I decided to try it out to locate an adventure. The Preserve stood out to me because of its proximity to water and the beautiful loop trail. Check out the difference between a Google map (left) and the PlayOutsiDE map (right):
The second thing you need to know about this gem (besides the correct address…) is that there is no parking lot. We had to park along the road at the trail head. Kind of bizarre, so use caution when unloading the littles.
The trail is fairly stroller friendly, with the occasionally tree root or log that you may have to traverse, and I guesstimate that it’s about a mile long. One of the coolest things about it, is that it follows the creek the majority of the way. There’s quite a bit of mud along the edges, as if it is a tidal area, so in the warmer months it will probably be quite buggy. Dress appropriately and bring the bug spray!
In the Spring, keep an eye out for blooming mountain laurel, as we passed some beautiful groupings of the evergreen native shrubs.
We found some beautiful treasures including gorgeous patches of moss, tons of berry filled holly trees, fuzzy fungi, and as a bonus, a deer even crossed our path. Definitely worth a visit and don’t forget to check out the PlayOutsiDE app!
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