Christiana Historic District · Photo: Smallbones · Public domain13% of Brookside’s land is conserved: 323 acres
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 88 acres are parks and preserves, 5.8 per 1,000 residents. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Brookside, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #25 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Brookside?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Brookside have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brookside is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #25 of 37 in Delaware. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Delaware towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 13%; the U.S., 4%), so Brookside’s 13% is ahead of 44% of Delaware towns, while its trails per square mile lead 31% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Hann Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
323 conserved acres
13% of Brookside’s land. Who manages Brookside’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 21 of 29 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender Woods Private Conservation | County | 36 | Unknown |
| Gender Road Open Space State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 34 | Open |
| Gauger-Cobbs Middle School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 34 | Unknown |
| Breezewood II Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| Frank Hann Community Park Local Park | County | 28 | Open |
| Brookside Park Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| Cool Run Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| New Castle County Unidentified Open Space Private Conservation | County | 12 | Unknown |
| Michaels Lane Open Space State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 12 | Open |
| Charles R. Hoeflinger Memorial Field Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 10 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
4 places to go in Brookside
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
4.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Brookside: April, May and August
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) | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 44 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Brookside →
Brookside and its neighbors
Brookside has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside | 13% | 0.2 | 6 | 93% | B |
| Newark | 13% | 1.5 | 20 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brookside
Where can I hike in Brookside?
The longest trail networks: Hann Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brookside is conserved land?
13% 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 Brookside’s trails?
Hann Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Brookside?
4.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.5 of painted or protected lanes and 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Brookside?
26,054 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brookside or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 140 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brookside have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 of 37 in Delaware. 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 Brookside neighbors.
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 →