Lums Pond State Park
A broad millpond anchors forest trails, paddling, a nature center, and camping in a northern Delaware landscape shaped by canal history.
Artwork inspired by Stanley Massey Arthurs
Lums Pond gives you two different parks depending on whether you choose the shore or the water. Around Delaware’s largest freshwater pond, a mosaic of hardwood forest and wetland supports a long multiuse trail network, while the boathouse opens a lower, slower view of the banks by paddlecraft. The pond was created when St. Georges Creek was dammed for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal era, so the water is both habitat and engineered history.
For a first visit, choose one segment of the Swamp Forest or Little Jersey trail rather than assuming the full loop is a quick lap. Watch where forest meets wet ground for dragonflies and amphibians, or rent a boat when that service is operating. Swimming is not the activity here.
- Nature center
- Freshwater fish aquarium
- Trail network
- More than 17 miles
- Overnight
- Tent and RV camping
Quick guide
- Choose water or trail
- A short paddle and a forest loop reveal different sides of the pond.
- Pick the right area
- The entrance road leads to several separated recreation zones.
Know before you go
- Paddle low
- From the water, compare open pond with sheltered wetland edges.
- Follow forest change
- Mature and young hardwood stands alternate along the trails.
- Look for small life
- Wet edges support dragonflies, amphibians, and other pond wildlife.
- Read the canal link
- The pond’s creation belongs to regional transport and water-power history.
Good to know
Lums Pond is for paddling and fishing, not swimming. Park entry does not include a boat rental, campsite, or treetop-course ticket.
Notice these
- Wide tree-ringed pond
- Swamp Forest Trail
- Paddle access