Senator Thomas R. Carper Visitor Center — Attraction in Dover

We visited at 8AM on Sunday morning before the visitor center was open. The bathrooms were already opened and sits adjacent to the visitor center. There are maps and books of the park and other local parks. There is also a box to put your payment in right outside visitor center.

There were 2 other cars in the rather large parking lot with us. The parking lot at the visitor center also had electric charging stations, but they were closed and had bags over them. I'm not sure if this was because they were out of order or if they were brand new and not fully set up yet. There are also large picnic table areas here adjacent to the parking lot. I'm thinking they are for large events or maybe field trips for schools?

There is a 12 mile loop through the park. The majority of it is 1-way. There are stops along the way for trails and hikes. We did 4 of them. I took pictures of trail heads.

We started with Raymond's pool trail. There was parking for 6ish cars. It's a short hike with an observation tower at the end. I have pictures included.

The second was the boardwalk trail. It was very nice. Some of the pathing is confusing and overgrown, but we figured it out. Very interesting views. I think it's a tidal marsh, and we were there at low tide. Lots of crabs and crab holes.

We were late and skipped parsons point trail but I did get a picture of the trail head.

We did do bear swamp trail. This parking lot was nice because there is a bathroom here. We did notice all the trail heads had bike racks too but not sure if biking was allowed in the park in general. They were all very overgrown. This trail had an observation tower at the end as well as a floating dock.

We then went back to the visitor center as they were open by this time. There were a number of activities for the kids to do including some games. They have a few poster board exhibits in the entry atrium area as well as their main info desk and gift shop. They have quite a selection of merch at the gift shop. I took a few pictures. They also offer their Blue Goose Cancelation stamp at the main desk. We didn't see any blue goose books for sale here, but they had a few a primehook national wildlife refugee not too far south. There is also a large meeting room attached that has real large exhibits and its setup like a theater to watch their video, which is about 10 mins long. It's played on demand. We also noticed at least 5 spotted lantern flies around the main visitor center on the windows. We killed every single one. Haha.

Another neat fact is that the main desk offers binoculars to borrow while at the refuge and identification guides. We saw visitors in front of us asking for them.

Overall, the refugee was great, and we would certainly stop by again if we were driving through Delaware. About an hour north of rohobeth and Cape...

An absolutely wonderful place to experience and explore nature's creatures and habitat!!! Walking and Boardwalk trails offer up-close encounter while the Observation Towers allow visitors a bird's eye view of the surrounding pools. Dependent upon the season, you can see a variety of Egrets, Herons, Eagles, Owls, Hawks, Harriers and Turkey as well as numerous waterfowl, shore birds and smaller bird varieties. An occasional avian rarity may also be spotted from Roseated Spoonbills and Warblers to Sandhill Cranes. Deer, Fox, Beaver, Raccoon, Crabs, Turtles and Snakes abound along with other native wildlife!!! Bombay Hook is truly a gem. Gorgeous Sunrises and Sunsets!!! *Bug Spray is encouraged, but not needed if remaining in your car while conducting the Driving Tour. Sad to report that Mosquitoes and Green-Headed Flies are abundant...

Wow. My first time at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Impressive. Anybody with an appreciation for nature and a camera could spend a week here (but no camping allowed) and we never get the same shot twice. It's a drive through park for the most part but good places to stop and take pics. Bring a 35mm camera with different lenses and a tripod if you have them, but I got good pics with my Android phone as well. Of course it's all about the time of day and luck for photography but the park is so big you can't really get a bad shot anywhere. Definitely going back with better gear for a photo day. Have fun. I did. Oh, btw, there are also hiking trails, a museum, and other things we didn't get to the first visit but will go back to do and see. The view of the nuclear power plant is interesting from the natural beauty of the...