Trail Review: Lums Pond State Park’s Swamp Forest Trail

Sundays have become our State Park Hiking trips. They are pulling double duty as preparing us for the big hikes coming up for the National Parks, plus they are an awesome way to go on some adventures close to home. This week we went to Lums Pond State Park in Bear, Delaware and did the Swamp Forest Trail. Here is our review.

Lums Pond is beautiful in the fall. The foliage is all changing and the colors are amazing to see up close. Add that to the view of the water and it is well worth the trip. The Swamp-Forest trail is a great way to see both the water and the foliage. As the name implies, the trail circles the entirety of Lums Pond going through swampy wetlands and the forest as you make your way around.

From start to finish the trail is a giant loop that circles the outline of Lums Pond. Here is the trail on my FitBit’s GPS. This gives you a pretty good idea of the difficulty of the trail. For the most part it is pretty flat, total elevation gained was about 200 feet from start to finish. The parts in yellow there are your uphill parts for sure. They got my heart going. For the most part though it is pretty casual. According to the Park map, it is 6.9 miles and takes 3-4 hours to complete. We measured about 6.5 and it took us just over 2 hours to complete, but we were also on a time limit.

As I said earlier, the trail weaves through both wetlands and the forest. Both parts of the trail are very well maintained and easy to follow. Wetlands and ravines are covered by either boardwalks or bridges. Forested areas are either hardpacked dirt or gravel with erosion barriers. Overall, it is a very easy trail to follow with no need to worry about connectors.

Additionally the Swamp-Forest Trail is one of two major trails at Lums Pond State Park. While there are several smaller ones, the two big loops are Swamp-Forest and Little Jersey. For hikers, Swamp Forest is amazing, but it does have areas that are filled with roots and things that might make it more difficult for those on bikes. But following the trail is easy. The entire thing is very well marked with signs and trail blazers. Just follow the yellow trail. No map really needed for this one.

Finally one of the last great things about this trail is its many many look out points, completed with seating or fishing piers. Great places for a rest, snack, or photos. Here is an example of one of the many benches placed along the trail.

Final Rating:

Difficulty: Low-Moderate
Views: Excellent
Best Part: Great Views and Easy To Follow.
Worst Part: Once on the loop, it is a dedicated hike back to the car.
Recommended: Highly.