Tel Dan Nature Reserve

Background on the Dan River Nature Reserve

Tel Dan, also known as the Dan River Nature Reserve, is the site of the largest and most important spring feeding the Jordan. Until the 1967 war, this river was the only source of water for the Jordan that was controlled by Israel. The reserve covers only about 120 acres yet the abundance of water and location supports a unique ecosystem containing rare plants and animals. Archaeological findings here indicated that Dan was a city that first developed around 2700 BCE and included an ancient Canaanite gate from the eighteenth century BCE that is completely intact with an arched entry. An Israelite gate, from the First Temple period, was also discovered and consists of three pairs of pilasters from the First Temple period..

What to do in the Dan River Nature Reserve

A walk through Tel Dan can be as a quick as an hour to a full days' activity. Four different trails are available; the Dan Springs trail (1 hour), the long Dan Springs tral (1.5 hours) the ancient Dan Trail (2 h ours) and the combined trail of Dan springs and Ancient Dan (2.5 hours). The walks  are easy and family friendly, though not completely wheelchair accessible. The park offers a lot of shade as well as a fresh water fed wading pool that is perfect for kids and adults alike.

Nearby attractions of interest by the Dan River Nature reserve:

Golan Heights

Beit Ussishkin

Nimrods Castle

Banias (Caesarea Philipi)

Horshat Tal

Mt. Hermon

Kibbutz Hagoshrim

Rafting

How to get to Tel Dan:

On road 99 (Kiryat Shmona-Mas'adeh) about 11 km east of the Metsudot junction north of Kiryat Shmona, near Kibbutz Dan.