When I was a kid back in the 80s and 90s, wild animals in Camden County consisted mainly of squirrels and maybe some raccoons. Very occassionally you might spot a deer. Over the years, lots of animals have staged huge comebacks - foxes, turkeys, deer, possums, bald eagles, skunks... it's been pretty amazing to see animals that would have been shocking to see in 1988 become every day occurances.
Crows Woods is our closest patch of woods to where we now live, so the kids and I are here a LOT. It's a great series of loops through a surprisingly hilly terrain that put you eventually at the Cooper River. If you stick to the outside of the blazed trails, it's about a mile. We've done this loop probably close to 100 times at this point. But one time, one time was super special.
We were at the back end of the trails and ducked down to the Cooper River to see if we could spot anything. We never did before, except for the wild tire that sits in the bottom of creek. But this time, this time one of the kids looked up and asked what was swimming in the river. It was a BEAVER. The second I'd ever seen in my life. For 10 minutes, the beaver swam in circles, smacking the water with his tail once in a while, and generally pretending we weren't there. It was magical, and the kids still talk about it years later.
So come find this cache (and maybe a few of the others here) and check out the Cooper River a little further into the preserve. You just might get lucky.
Available dawn until dusk. If you are skittish of dogs, just be aware that people walk their dogs here offleash all the time.
Congrats to Forbez and Pezgirl22 on the FTF!