The

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

has 17

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

s. Each of the parks is operated and maintained by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation, a branch of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), although one state park, First State Heritage Park, is managed by the Division of Parks and Recreation in partnership with other city and state agencies. Each of Delaware's three counties has at least one state park, with New Castle having the most.

Wilmington State Parks Wilmington State Parks is a public recreation area located in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. Open year-round, the park covers of land mostly situated along the Brandywine Creek. The state park is made up of a group of smaller parks that ...

, despite being administratively managed as a single unit, is further broken down into several smaller parks. The state park system includes over 26,600 acres of land and over 170 miles of trails. In 2015, Delaware State Parks won the Gold Medal honoring the best state parks system in the country from the

National Recreation and Park Association The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on utilizing parks and recreation to build strong, vibrant and resilient communities. They invest in and champion the work of professionals in the field ...

. It was the tenth state to win the award since it was started in 1997.

Overview

Delaware's oldest public lands date back to 1682 when, upon his arrival as proprietor of the colony,

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

instructed his deputies to set aside land that is now

Cape Henlopen State Park Cape Henlopen State Park is a Delaware state park on on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands established in what has become the United Sta ...

and its natural resources to be held in trust for the common good of all the citizens. The earliest attempts at legislating protection of a formalized public parks system were the result of efforts by conservationist William Poole Bancroft, who recognized the beauty of northern Delaware and in the late 19th century became determined to see it preserved for the benefit of future generations. Bancroft also donated many acres of his own land to form public parks as well as created a trust to manage and acquire land for the development of parks after his death. Several of the state parks in northern Delaware were at one time either partially or wholly owned by estates belonging to members of the

Du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), a French minor aristocrat. Currently residing in the U.S. states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Du Ponts have been ...

that were acquired by the state after the deaths of family members. Several other state parks throughout Delaware were converted from former military installations that were determined to be surplus property. Three of northern Delaware's state parks ( Alapocas Run, Brandywine Creek, and Wilmington) exist to protect pieces of the historic

Brandywine River Brandywine Creek (also called the Brandywine River) is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine (the main stem) is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hy ...

, which was once heavily utilized by local industry. Four of southern Delaware's state parks (

Cape Henlopen Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are two ...

, Delaware Seashore, Fenwick Island, and Holts Landing) preserve stretches of ocean and bay beaches, which are very popular in summer months.

State parks

Former state parks

Notes

References

External links

Delaware State Parks
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control {{Lists of state parks by U.S. state State parks of Delaware Delaware state parks