Dragon Run Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island · Photo: Michael Swanda, U.S. Army Corps of Enginers · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Delaware City
40% of Delaware City’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. 40% of Delaware City’s land is conserved, about 482 acres. 473 acres are parks and preserves, 242 per 1,000 residents.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
40%
482 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
1.7 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
473 ac
242 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Delaware City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Delaware City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Delaware City is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Delaware City’s overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical DE town 13% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · DE 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land242 acres of park per 1,000 residents (473 acres) · DE 10 · U.S. 13AParks 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)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Delaware State towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 13%; the U.S., 4%), so Delaware City’s 40% is ahead of 100% of Delaware State towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fort Delaware State Park
Nature preserve
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
482 conserved acres
40% of Delaware City’s land. Who manages Delaware City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks288 ac
State fish & wildlife172 ac
Other state land94 ac
Town or city1 ac
Not recorded384 ac
State Park · 637 acState Conservation Area · 94 acConservation Easement · 89 acState Wilderness · 83 acLocal Other or Unknown · 24 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 15 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Dupont State Park State Park | State parks | 636 | Open |
| C&D Canal Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Other state land | 94 | Open |
| C&D Canal Wildlife Area State Wilderness | State fish & wildlife | 83 | Open |
| Delaware City Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| William Bubby Sadler Field Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Delaware City Library and Community Center Local Park | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Battery Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
| Evert R. Brown Memorial Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
| Delaware City Canal Promenade Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| 3 Forts Ferry State Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Delaware City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Delaware City
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Delaware City
Fort DuPont Public Boat Ramp
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Delaware City Branch Canal Trail0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Fort Delaware on Pea Patch IslandBuilding · listed 1971
About itEastern Lock of the Chesapeake and Delaware CanalStructure · listed 1975
About itChelseaBuilding · listed 1982
About itFairviewBuilding · listed 1982
About itDelaware City Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itFort Dupont Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1999
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Delaware City: 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 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 44 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Delaware City →
Questions about parks and trails in Delaware City
How much of Delaware City is conserved land?
40% of its land, against a typical 13% for a Delaware State town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Delaware City’s trails?
Dragon Run Park and Fort Delaware State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Delaware City?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Delaware City?
24,451 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Delaware City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 476 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Delaware City have?
Among the top 1% 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 Delaware City 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 →