Adventure Town: Smyrna, Delaware

Plan a long weekend getaway with our Smyrna adventure guide, featuring great outdoor escapes, where to stay, and where to eat.

Pop. 7,413
GPS: 39°17'N, 75°36'W

Peaceful Smyrna is a hub on the Atlantic Flyway, the eastern seaboard's major migrating bird route. Nearby Blackbird, Redden, and Taber State Forests provide shelter for wildlife and offer residents and visitors here the opportunity to see the state as it may have looked when it first joined the Union in 1787.

PLAY

On the Delaware Bay east of town, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge has trails and observation towers to scope out the 15,987-acre (6,470-hectare) swath of tidal salt marshes, timbered swamps, and freshwater pools. Hikers, bikers, and X-C skiers hit the 40-mile (64-kilometer) trail network in Smyrna's Blackbird State Forest (dda.delaware.gov).

EAT

The Smyrna Diner is our pick. Something of an icon, the diner serves up exactly what you've grown to expect and love in a diner: eggs, burgers, shakes, and that down-home local feel (http://www.smyrnadiner.net/).

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SLEEP

For a piece of scenic Delaware history, head down the road to the Little Creek Inn. Just minutes from the Little Creek Wildlife Area and the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, this quaint three-story home built in 1860 is the perfect place to kick back and unwind to the evening calls of the shorebirds (doubles from $100, littlecreekinn.com).

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