Seaside Nature Center

We visited on Friday morning Labor Day weekend. We arrived around 8AM and brought our bikes to ride. We parked here and got on the loop trail and went most of the way down to Gordon's Pond trail, turned around, and came back. When we got back around 10AM, there were a ton more people here.

Not many in the visitor center itself. They do rent bikes out for free, and all you need to do is fill out a formal. There is a 2 hr maximum rental time. It's in a giant shed/garage in the parking lot, but forms are inside the visitor center.

The visitor center has a few wall exhibits and half a dozen aquariums, with each one representing different ecosystems around the ocean/bay. Lots of variety and large animals to look at. They also have a fairly large touch tank. Make sure to wash your hands before and after handling the marine life. Also, make sure to get all the soap off your hands before dipping them in. They have hermit crabs and horseshoe crabs and fish and snails you could touch.

If you walk further to the right, there is another room with seats that shows a video about the park on a loop. There are also 3 more tanks in here with snake and turtles.

There is also a gift shop with a good variety of goodies, including but not limited to appearal, pins, hiking medallions, patches, and key chains.

Right outside the front is also the seaside nature trail. We were planning to do the trail but it was very sandy. We didn't have the right shoes because we were biking the park.

You probably wouldn't need to visit it again unless you're a local and are here all the time. There are so many other things to do in this park.

The Nature Center is a great first stop when visiting Cape Henlopen State Park. The Center has an exhibit of several aquatic tanks featuring live fish, reptiles and amphibians that are native to the area. There were 2 guides answering questions and talking about live horsehoe crabs in a touch tank. There's a playground and small picnic area outside. There's also a short sandy trail to explore, but it was buggy and overgrown when we visited.

A great little place to stop into on your way to or from the beach 🏝! Kids would love it! Information and entertainment! 😍

Very fun and educational nature center located near the entrance to Cape Henlopen State Park. The Seaside Nature Center has educational videos and exhibits about the coastal environment along the Delaware Bay. There is a rich pool with horseshoe crabs, snails and other seaside creatures. There are several aquariums that detail the ecology of various water habitats found along the bay and ocean. The staff were awesome and there is a small gift shop located in the nature center as well. Bike rentals can also be located adjacent to the building.

The nature center was very informative and had some cool exhibits. Upon entering the first thing you see is the touch tank with the Horseshoe crabs. The other tanks along the back wall had a variety of fish ranging from those found in inland waters to those found in the costal waters. The gift shop had a cute selection of items, and the bathrooms were clean.

We went specifically for the "Seining the bay" activity. Our 5 year old daughter loved it. This type of activity is right up her alley, so maybe other children wouldn't enjoy it as mush as she did...
I would recommend going and learning about the local inhabitants of the Delaware Bay.
The two young ladies who led the activity were very knowledgeable and friendly with all of the children.

You stand in line and wait until the center opens at 9, buy tickets, and then walk about 1/2 mile to the beach.
They did 4 passes through the water, put the creatures in the kiddie pool, and then talked about the individual species.
It lasts a little over an hour.
Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

It was worth the price, in my opinion.

Ive been multiple times, and each one was awesome. Due to COVID-19, the touching section of the center was closed for obvious reasons. The tanks behind the store were full of fish though. Also, a very well priced gift shop. Some of what you purchase goes back to organizations benefiting the animal you are supporting

It wasn't busy, so I talked to one of the staff members for about 15 mins about the local cultural and natural history of the park. She was very knowledgeable and was able to answer all my questions. The prickly pear cactus is navitive in this area and you can climb one of the old watch towers in the park for a great view! I highly recommend stopping by for information and a map!

Enjoyed viait. Restrooms inside. Fish tanks with flounder and many other fish.

This lovely little nature center is the perfect size for toddlers and young children. It has a little education room with tanks for native reptiles, a touch tank with several creatures including horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, and a few different fish, as well as several large tanks with local fish. There is also a little gift shop with clothing, stuffed animal toys of local birds and creatures, and books and pamphlets on native plants.

My toddler loved the touch tank and spent nearly an hour gently petting the different sea creatures. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if a staff member had been at the tank to tell the kids about the different creatures.

If you're in the area and have a nature loving child, I would absolutely recommend stopping by!

Nice little nature center with several aquariums, reptiles in terrariums and a big touch the fish tank.

They have a nice bike rental place that does have kids bikes along with helmets. You can ride your bike all the way to Rehoboth. Also, the Nature Center has aquariums and touch tanks for aquatic life.

Our 2 year old had a blast looking at all the fishys lol

Nice nature center with a touch tank containing horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, and flatfish. There are also aquariums showing sea life in different saltwater environments.

This is a convenient place to stop and use the bathroom, refill water bottles, and get information about Cape Henlopen State Park from the park rangers on hand.

This place is great! It is very informative, and the rangers there take a special interest in educating guests. Today Miss Laura T. Was especially helpful because she identified a feather I was curious about. I wish my employees went out of their way like her to be helpful!.

Very nice place and FREE bike rental. The bike path is scenic and people are friendly. The kids love it. Have to show up early to use the free bikes.

The staff put on an amazing presentation on turtles and snakes for the kids. They also loved the touch tank.

It was really neat they had all different kinds of fish
to look at,and they had a nice gift shop also

Great little place. Good for everyone. Really enjoyed all the exhibits. Would have been nice to be able to take my dog on the walking trail.

A fantastic learning experience for both adults and children. Exhibits change yearly.
Now there is a small play area for under 4 year olds.