Millstone and Twin Valley Trails

Location: White Clay Creek State Park, Newark, Delaware
Season Visited: Spring
Trail Length: 1.3 and 3.9 miles respectively, or 5.2 miles combined.
Time to Hike: Millstone Trail takes only about half an hour to hike while Twin Valley Trail takes about two and a half hours.
Difficulty Level: Millstone Trail: 1.  Twin Valley Trail: 3.

White Clay Creek State Park is a lovely state park in Delaware that features mature forests, rolling farmlands, and some interesting historical landmarks.  On the border between Delaware and Pennsylvania, the park houses part of the Mason-Dixon Trail along with plenty of recreational activities besides hiking.

I, of course, go for the hiking.  While certainly no national park, White Clay Creek has very pleasant trails less than an hour from my home.  Twin Valley Trail in particular is a hike on par with many good hikes in more popular places.

Unfortunately, White Clay Creek's trail labelling system is only a few points short of awful.  The park uses posts marked with colored arrows instead of blazes, which would be fine if the website mentioned which trails correspond to which arrows... but it doesn't.  This is the real reason why I am reviewing two trails in this post: while trying to find Twin Valley Trail I accidentally hiked all of Millstone Trail first.  So you know, Twin Valley Trail follows the yellow arrows.  Of course, sometimes these don't show up where they should.

So, let's begin with the pleasant and easy Millstone Trail.  Millstone Trail is named for Millstone Pond, pictured here.

To get there, park at the New London Road parking area.  Look left of the the bathrooms and you'll see a trail going into the woods next to a field.  This is where you want to begin.

The beginning of the trail.

Follow this until you come to a left turn in front of a field.  It really doesn't matter whether you take the field trail or the dirt trail because you'll end up in the same place, which is a right turn at the corner of field and woods.  Follow the tree line all the way down to a sign for Millstone Pond.

You'll want to go left at this fork-type thing.

This trail takes you back into the woods, over some board walks, and past a really fun rock formation by the pond.

Sean and Cleo on the rocks.

Walk through the woods for a while and you'll come to some lovely fields perfect for birding along with another pond.  Look out for snapper turtles!

Cattail Pond.

The trail then leads you back to the parking lot where you started.

And that is Millstone Trail.  Short, sweet, and to the point!  Now onto the longer and more challenging Twin Valley Trail, which is the longest in the park with the obvious exception of the Mason-Dixon Trail.

This trail starts the same way, but instead of going all the way to the Millstone Pond sign you stop short at a small trail before that one that is unlabelled except for a post.  This leads you down through a weird overgrown exercise course with many forks and such.  Just try to make it to the bridge over the little creek and you'll be okay.

Part of the exercise course by the bridge.

You'll pass through some of the same things you did if you hiked Millstone Trail, but eventually you'll come to the wooded trail that you'll be staying on for the rest of the hike.  Just remember to follow the yellow arrows!

The interesting buildings and historical landmarks come near the beginning.  An old cellar and the border stone marking the line between Delaware and Pennsylvania are the features.  Stand in two places at once!

The border marker is in a small clearing by a road.  Head back into the woods and hike for a while through the hilly forest.  You'll come to bridges over creeks and at one point will have to walk a small piece down the road, but if you follow the arrows you'll be lead safely on a pretty, and pretty interesting, hike.  At one point you'll even come across an old abandoned car!  I can only speculate about how it got there in the middle of the woods.

Beautiful tall trees. 

After all of these things, you will finally emerge from the woods into some gorgeous farmland.  Follow the cut-grass trail and end up at the parking lot where you started.

All in all, hiking in White Clay Creek State Park is definitely worth it.  I plan to go back and hike the Bryan's Field Trail to see the starting point of the Mason-Dixon line.  If you live in South Jersey, Delaware, or south-eastern Pennsylvania and want to get outside for the day, this is a good way to do it!  Enjoy your hike, and keep wandering.