Bethany Beach Nature Center & Conservation Area
Managed by Town of Bethany Beach
23 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Conn, Kit at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Bethany Beach
8% of Bethany Beach’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3.2 miles of mapped trail cross Bethany Beach, 2.8 per square mile of land. 8% of Bethany Beach’s land is conserved, about 58 acres.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
58 acres · of 1.1 sq mi of land
Trails
3.2 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
18 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.6 mi
6.1 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bethany Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bethany Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethany Beach is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bethany Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical DE town 13% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · DE 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (18 acres) · DE 10 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · DE 85% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Delaware towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 13%; the U.S., 4%), so Bethany Beach’s 8% is ahead of 24% of Delaware towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Bethany Beach Nature Center & Conservation Area, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Assawoman Canal
Managed by Delaware State Parks
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bethany Beach Central Park
Managed by Town of Bethany Beach
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
58 conserved acres
8% of Bethany Beach’s land. Who manages Bethany Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city6 ac
Not recorded51 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 24 acLocal Park · 17 acState Conservation Area · 10 acState Park · 4 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany Beach Wetland Restoration Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Bethany Beach Local Park | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| Bethany Beach Canal Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Unknown |
| Assawoman Canal State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Bethany Beach Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Natter Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Loop Canal Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| The Salt Pond Community Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Bethany Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Bethany Beach
Bethany Proper
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Bethany Beach
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Bethany Beach
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Bethany Beach
2 community gardens without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.1 mi
The Boardwalk0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
9Pickleball
3Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Dinker-Irvin CottageBuilding · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bethany Beach: April to June
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 47 | 53 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 85 | 78 | 69 | 58 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Bethany Beach →
Questions about parks and trails in Bethany Beach
Where can I hike in Bethany Beach?
The longest trail networks: Bethany Beach Nature Center & Conservation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bethany Beach is conserved land?
8% of its land, against a typical 13% for a Delaware town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Bethany Beach’s trails?
Bethany Beach Nature Center & Conservation Area and Assawoman Canal don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bethany Beach?
6.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bethany Beach?
3,537 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethany Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethany Beach have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Bethany Beach neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →