Great Places

Marian R. Okie Memorial Wildlife Preserve

• Wildlife Watching
• Watersports

38°37'12.66"N  75° 8'13.83"W

Long Neck Road
Millsboro, DE 19966

Phone: (302) 654-4707
Email: delaware@tnc.org
Visit Website

The Marian R. Okie Memorial Wildlife Preserve, known to locals as "Poplar Thicket," contains 118 acres of forest, marshes, and wetlands spread across a quarter-mile of undisturbed Indian River Bayshore. The property has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

Visitors to the preserve can expect to see a host of birds, from great blue herons and ospreys to mourning doves and goldfinches. You might also find fiddler crabs, Monarch butterflies, and diamondback terrapins. The latter is listed as a "species of concern" in Delaware because they were once hunted nearly to the point of extinction. Please be careful to avoid these five-to-seven-inch turtles with your car, especially during the spring, late summer, and early fall.

To find this remote sanctuary, simply take Route 1 to its intersection with Route 24. Then take Route 24 west until it intersects with Route 23, or Long Neck Road. Once there you want to turn left. The farm lane is on the right-hand side, almost directly across from Bayside Marina, a fishing supply business. If you arrive at the parking lot of the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Massey’s Landing/Indian River boat ramp, you have driven too far.

Click on the marker to view address and get directions