John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum

Wedged between a busy highway, bustling airport, an industrial area and blocks and blocks of rawhomes is an oasis of beauty, nature and peace. This, my friends, is the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum. Easy to get to, yet nearly invisible to everyone, it waits for you to come and find peace.
When I was a little girl, this place was a tiny portion of the wetlands that covered this area. Before there were all those houses and shopping centers lining Island Road and Lindbergh Boulevard, there were miles and miles of land covered with grasses, flowers, marshes. I used to love seeing all the Black Eyed Susans, Queen Anne’s Lace, milkweed and tufted marsh grasses. Then, of course, development came, filling in those marshes (my father calls the houses there «Wet Basement Acres»), paving over, replacing. Except for one swath, saved from destruction, and our city is the better for it because we know now the vital role those marshes played in drainage and water quality. You mess with Mother Nature, you get her horns.
The refuge is a simple place. There is a visitor’s center with a small but informative exhibit, teaching us about the importance of wetlands and the species that live there. This place is the only one with modern restrooms, so if you think you might have to relieve yourself, do it there. Otherwise you are in Porta Potty land or, in very desperate times, behind a bush. There is also a large picnic shelter for group use, and then the main attraction — miles and miles of wide, level, well maintained (even in winter) trails, threading their way through the refuge and all its’ wonders.
There is a handicapped-​accessible loop, complete with ramps and a wide wooden bridge breaching one of the larger inlets. Joining this loop (which is closest to the Visitor Center) there are longer trails spreading out in all directions, such that it’s very easy to walk 1 mile and return to the parking lot or go 7 miles and return to the same place. Trails are well marked with symbols indicating which direction you heading, there are also informational plaques identifying various trees.
There are observation points built out along and into some of the marshes, one double-​decker, and one out surrounded by the inlet. When you are quiet, and even when you are not, you will find many species of bird from Green Owls and the famous Eagles to blackbirds and herons and of course, all the different migratory waterfowl. Don’t worry if you don’t know where the Eagles’ nest is, there are big signs showing you when you are at a good observation point. Bring good binoculars or a birding scope because at your closest point, they are still barely visible without magnification.
As you go deeper and deeper into the refuge, the sounds of the city recede, to where they are a low rumble in the background. Yet there are people. Joggers, who always say hello. People walking dogs on leashes. Birders and serious photographers with their equipment, who will almost always happily show you what they have spotted if you ask. If you go mid-​day, there are families, kids climbing the fallen trees and seeing if they can spot a turtle or a frog.
The Refuge is open from dawn to dusk, the visitor center has slightly shorter hours, opening at 8:30 and closing at 4. My favorite times are in the early mornings, after sunrise, before the migrating population gets on their ‘road’, leaving for points north or south. It’s beautiful all year around, changing with the seasons. As with many of the National Park system, there is no entrance fee.

This is my sanctuary. I come here 4−5x per week and it’s almost therapeutic. I take my Labrador and we hike 4 – 5 miles almost every day. I haven’t been to this place without seeing deer, rabbits, various birds (including bold Eagles!). I come here on my mountain bike as well and just escape all of my daily stressors.
I want to buy a canoe and start doing some sort of volunteer clean up in the river. It’s extremely polluted with plastic waist and I feel like I can have fun canoeing, while giving back to nature.

We had some time to kill before heading to the airport, and we’d already stopped at John’s Roast Pork for lunch. We wanted to give the little guys some run around time, stretching their legs and such before the confinement of the airport and the plane.
Looking at Google Maps, you see lots of green space near the airport. Having visited the free, beautiful, natural area that is the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, I now know that it used to be even more green space.
We started at the visitor center, which has a display of the different types of local wildlife, history of the area, and explanations of the threats to the area and wildlife. They’ve also got classrooms and bathrooms. After that we wandered down the path toward the huge lily pad area and boardwalk. We were thoroughly entertained by the bird life, especially the spoonbills. We walked along the gravel path where we encountered several others biking, walking, and even fishing. We climbed up to the observation tower before heading back. It was a great couple of hours!
I highly recommend.

Hands down, Heinz is the
Best place to see wildlife in
Philadelphia:
Migrating warblers
Hunting herons, bald eagles,
Woodpeckers and more…

My home away from home. It’s very peaceful here in the morning and there are lots to see. I would recommend the Lindbergh entrance rather than the Tinicum side, it’s nicer and safer.

Love coming here to bird-​watch and walk around on a nice spring or summer day with el kiddo. Free — and fun and can e educational. Good for biking, too.

This place has a lot of trails. Good place to run, walk or even bike. Just keep an eye out; it is in a not so great area. Other than that I had no complaints. I’m training for a marathon, so I imagine I’ll be frequenting this place more often!

Great place to run. Good view of the river. You’ll see plenty of birds and probably rabbits and turtles.
Parking is free and plenty of it, I would recommend this place.

I love it here and the atmosphere is amazing. I live almost right across the street and i have for most of my life, and its great for early morning bike rides or runs. You never know what you might see here so dont forget to bring your phone/​camera!

Being within Philadelphia, it’s hard to sometimes believe that towers of steel skyscrapers don’t actually dominate the entire planet’s landscape. This urban wildlife refuge serves to remind us city folk of that — it’s a beautiful nearby oasis of wildlife animals. My boyfriend and I came here on a late Friday afternoon and had the opportunity to have close up encounters with rabbits, turtles, deer, egrets, and lots of species of birds I can’t identify.
If you’re looking to momentarily escape the city life for a few minutes or hours, this is a good hide-​away to go to.

I love the Wildlife Refuge. I’ve been running here for years and it’s a very peaceful place. You never know what kind of animal you’ll come across. Turtles, turkeys, Groundhogs, Deer, Geese and all kinds of birds. The refuge is well kept and has a variety of guided tours. I’ve never taken one because I go just to run and explore. In all the years I’ve been running there, I seem to find something new every once in a while. Love this place!

Amazingly well kept running trails! Routes are clearly mapped out with accurate mileage at the start. Only one stretch is against the highway; the rest is among the trees and marsh! Lovely. Quiet. Bunny-​filled.

I’m an avid hiker and have done most everything in the surrounding area, but haven’t seen the diversity of wildlife on any hike as I have here. The irony is that it’s next to the airport. We saw a snake, a juvenile bald eagle, loads of turtles and fish and a multitude of other birds today. 3.5 miles of flat gravel is an easy under two hour, all skill levels walk. Highly recommend!

Found this place when looking for somewhere to kill time near the airport.
Cool place with lots of parking. There are a number of trails and some cool views. Good place for a casual stroll — and no fee for admission or parking.

What a lovely place to come to decompress and get a little exercise! There’s a sweet little honeybee garden right near the parking lot, with labeled plants. I had an upclose visit with a cicada there :).
When you walk in, the shaded paths are lovely, and tall trees and brush line either side. Some trees are labeled and there are signs that tell you what wildlife you could possibly see.
Further down the path, there’s a creek (? I think!) where you can launch a canoe, and a few people were fishing. Walk in further, and the water opens up into a marshy-​looking area that is teeming with birds! A serene-​looking bridge goes across, and there are benches to sit on and just gaze out, as well as signs that identify the different birds that could be out there.
The day that I was there, I saw several binocular-​armed birdwatchers, tons of egrets and herons and ducks and different flying birds. A walk down the path around the water led me to a 2-​story viewing platform that gets you closer to where the waterfowl are. There were others walking or biking on the path, but on this weekday afternoon it was very quiet.
The visitor’s center had educational exhibits of the water life that you may see — like turtles and catfish and the microbes in the water.
I loved coming here and just wandering around, watching the birds, and soaking in some sun! It’s super close to PHL, so a brief detour here would be very easy to do, even if you have a flight to make in a small window of time.

Close to South Philly but not a challenge as it was flat trail. It was nice meeting up with about 20 people and walking. Not much to see but the bridge close to the end of the trail was nice.

I’ve been wanting to go hiking in a tranquil place that’s not overly crowded for a while now. I usually go to Kelly drive. This nature trail was way better. There were so many beautiful birds and trees and sights period. My boyfriend and dog joined me on our 5 mile hike around the refuge. We had a ball. We even got up and close with a snapping turtle. I enjoyed my day.

Stopped here for a hike, you can access a trail right off of 95 by getting off the PA 420 exit going north. Be careful as the Google Maps directions tried to get me to go to the middle of some shady industrial park. Instead, just went to the trail entrance right off of 95. Nice wetland trail, I enjoy wetlands and swamps so it was good for me, and also mostly shaded which was great in the heat.
Stopped after at Richman’s Ice Cream just up the road for water ice, in case you want to cancel out the benefits of your hike.
Overall, a good place to stop and walk around, stretch your legs when driving on 95, since there is a trail entrance very close to the exit.

Pros: If you’re into biking, jogging or dog walking with an energetic pooch, this is a great place to go. The visitor’s center appears to be new and clean with porcelain restrooms (yay!). The boardwalk is really cool and a fun way to see the pond. I think kids would enjoy the visitor’s center and the boardwalk. The path is relatively level and raised between two bodies of water. Not much in the way of litter. Park users were very nice.
Cons: There wasn’t much to see when we were there. A few turtles and egrets. Basically a swamp. Once you get past the boardwalk, the trail gets pretty monotonous. Signage is not very good in terms of which trail goes where and trail distance.
I’m glad to see that there are still city folks enjoying nature in their backyard and I hope Heinz continues their improvements.

Back in the late 1970’s we used to ride motorcycles here as kids before that was outlawed. Recently, over 30 years later and needing to get in better shape, I started riding a mountain bike. What a refreshing re-​discovery this wildlife refuge was.
There is a network of several trails. The terrain is flat mostly gravel and dirt paths. Due to much thick tree shade you will spend less than half your time in direct sunlight.
You can access from 84^th street in Philly or as I do from Rt. 420 in Tinicum /​Prospect Park. It’s about 5 miles from one entrance to the other so If you are walking and want to keep it short you will probably want to enter at the 84^th street entrance where the loop and observation tower are nearby.
There are sections near the Tinicum end where you can still hear the traffic from I-​95 but that is minimal. Otherwise you have the feeling of being much deeper in the woods.
The wildlife is abundant… lots of birds and even the occasional deer.
The fact that this is within pedaling distance of my home makes this a biased 5 star for me but otherwise for Delaware county /​Philadelphia it’s a solid 4.