Swift Memorial Park
Park
31 acres0.5 mi of trail
Mason-Dixon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cloud-Reese House · Photo: Smallbones · CC0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hockessin
20% of Hockessin’s land is conserved: 1,259 acres
The biggest trail networks: Swift Memorial Park (0.5 mi). 311 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents. 5.0 miles of mapped trail cross Hockessin, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #12 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
1,259 acres · of 10.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
311 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
331 ft
Horseshoe Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Hockessin?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hockessin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hockessin is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #12 of 37 in Delaware. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hockessin’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical DE town 13% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · DE 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (311 acres) · DE 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home73% of residents within a half mile of a park · DE 85% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Delaware towns of 2,500+ (37)Ahead of 69%
Delaware towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 13%; the U.S., 4%), so Hockessin’s 20% is ahead of 69% of Delaware towns, while its trails per square mile lead 61% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Swift Memorial Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Auburn Valley State Park
Park
120 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Auburn Valley State Park Oversee Property
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,259 conserved acres
20% of Hockessin’s land. Who manages Hockessin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County276 ac
Other state land147 ac
State parks143 ac
Private owners93 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government87 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits18 ac
Joint5 ac
Private Conservation · 782 acState Park · 194 acConservation Easement · 160 acState Conservation Area · 102 acLocal Park · 48 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 123 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 69 of 80 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Clay Reservation Private Conservation | Not recorded | 297 | Unknown |
| Mount Cuba Center Private Conservation | Not recorded | 224 | Unknown |
| Auburn Heights State Park | Not recorded | 165 | Unknown |
| Ashland Nature Center State Conservation Area | Other state land | 102 | Open |
| Westridge Private Conservation | County | 45 | Unknown |
| Tweeds Park State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 33 | Open |
| Westwoods Private Conservation | County | 30 | Unknown |
| Hockessin Chase Private Conservation | County | 30 | Unknown |
| Swift Bicentennial Park Local Park | County | 29 | Open |
| Nvf Site State Park | State parks | 22 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Hockessin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hockessin
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Hockessin
Bird Blind
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Hockessin
Horseshoe Hill331 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Hockessin
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Hockessin
Camp Country Center
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.4 mi
Mason-Dixon Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
18Soccer
18Tennis
12Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Hockessin Friends MeetinghouseDistrict · listed 1973
About itCoffee Run Mission SiteDistrict · listed 1973
About itWooddale BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About itPublic School No. 29Building · listed 1978
About itWooddale Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1979
About itWilmington and Western RailroadDistrict · listed 1980
About itA. Armstrong FarmBuilding · listed 1986
About itSpringer FarmBuilding · listed 1986
About itT. Pierson FarmBuilding · listed 1986
About itCox-Phillips-Mitchell Agricultural ComplexSite · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Hockessin: April to June 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hockessin →
Next door
Hockessin and its neighbors
Hockessin has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hockessin | 20% | 0.5 | 23 | 73% | A− |
| North Star | 23% | 1.4 | 83 | 22% | A− |
| Pike Creek | 35% | 0.4 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hockessin
Where can I hike in Hockessin?
The longest trail networks: Swift Memorial Park, 0.5 miles; Auburn Valley State Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hockessin is conserved land?
20% 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 Hockessin’s trails?
Swift Memorial Park and Auburn Valley State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hockessin?
24,737 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hockessin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 357 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hockessin have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #12 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 Hockessin 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 →