Page 16 - 2106-17 Wilmington Visitor Guide

Three trails off the beaten path
We turned to
the experienced trailblazers at the new REI store inside the Christiana Fashion Center for tips on the best hikes that too few people know about:
1 ALAPOCAS RUN STATE PARK. 2 Park at Blue Ball Barn to learn
more about the park and the
area before starting your hike.
Bancroft Mills allows for interesting photography opportunities. The trails are all less than 3 miles long. Avid hikers and nature lovers love to make a day of it and explore each of the park’s three trails.
THE CHRISTINA 3 RIVERFRONT. It may
be known as a hotspot
in downtown Wilmington,
but it also has numerous trails that take you out of the city. As you follow the river out, you’ll see nature in many forms spring up all around you.
BRANDYWINE CREEK STATE PARK. It has 14 miles of trails that allow visitors
to embrace nature through hiking, biking, birding, photography and painting.
GET STAMPED AT FIRST STATE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Park enthusiasts and Junior Rangers can check another state off their lists with
the recent addition of the First State National Historical Park in Delaware to the National Park Service. The park encompasses historical sites like the New Castle Court House Museum (where the Delaware Assembly first voted for independence),
Old Swedes Church (built by Swedish and Finnish settlers in 1699, and the oldest church in American still used for worship), and the grounds along Beaver Valley Road (1,100 acres of rolling hills and wooded areas are located along the Brandywine River).
LOOKING FOR STAMPS? Collect all three inside the park:
FIRST STATE CANCELLATION STAMPS, available at New Castle Court House Museum, Brandywine Creek State Park’s Nature Center and Old Swedes Church.
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: NETWORK TO FREEDOM STAMPS, available at New Castle Court House, the site of the trial of Thomas Garrett and John Hunn,
who were convicted of
working as station masters on the Underground Railroad in violation of the Fugitive Slave Act.
2016 FIRST STATE NHP CENTENNIAL CANCELLATION STAMP, available at the New Castle Court House Museum.
14 | Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley | @VisitWilmington | GreaterWilmingtonCVB
MOONLOOP PHOTOGRAPHY