Minutes from the airport runways hides Philadelphia’s wildest family secret: the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, America’s first urban wildlife refuge, where 1,200 acres of freshwater tidal marsh shelter bald eagles, herons and more than 300 bird species along ten miles of family-friendly trails.
The Cusano Environmental Education Center orients young explorers with exhibits and loaner binoculars, weekend programs teach kids to fish, paddle and spot wildlife, and the boardwalk over the marsh puts frogs and egrets at eye level. It’s free, it’s peaceful and it proves a great city keeps a little wilderness in its pocket.
