Carousel Park and Equestrian Center
Park
78 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Johnson-Morris House · Photo: Dlatzko · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Pike Creek Valley
31% of Pike Creek Valley’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. 31% of Pike Creek Valley’s land is conserved, about 569 acres. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Pike Creek Valley, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #4 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
569 acres · of 2.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
149 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi lanes
Highest peak
289 ft
Drummond Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Pike Creek Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pike Creek Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pike Creek Valley is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #4 of 37 in Delaware. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pike Creek Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical DE town 13% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · DE 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (149 acres) · DE 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks 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 93%
LessMore
Delaware towns of 2,500+ (37)Ahead of 92%
Delaware towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 13%; the U.S., 4%), so Pike Creek Valley’s 31% is ahead of 94% of Delaware towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% 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 Carousel Park and Equestrian Center, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Deacons Walk Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Heritage Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
569 conserved acres
31% of Pike Creek Valley’s land. Who manages Pike Creek Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County87 ac
Other state land59 ac
Regional agency8 ac
Private owners5 ac
Not recorded417 ac
Private Conservation · 273 acLocal Park · 140 acResearch or Educational Area · 66 acState Other or Unknown · 59 acLocal Other or Unknown · 29 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 30 of 38 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Little Bakers Private Conservation | Not recorded | 188 | Unknown |
| Carousel Park Local Park | Not recorded | 83 | Unknown |
| Deldot Pike Creek Open Space State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 51 | Open |
| Skyline Middle School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 38 | Unknown |
| Weather Hill Farm Park Private Conservation | County | 35 | Unknown |
| Deacons Walk Park Local Park | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Etta J. Wilson Elementary School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Woodcreek Private Conservation | County | 13 | Unknown |
| Linden Hill Elementary School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Linden Hill Village Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Pike Creek Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Pike Creek Valley
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Dog parks in Pike Creek Valley
1 dog park without a name on the map.
Peaks in Pike Creek Valley
Drummond Hill289 ft elevation
DirectionsBiking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
10Tennis
6Baseball
4Basketball
2Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Pike Creek Valley: 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 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 44 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 55 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Pike Creek Valley →
Next door
Pike Creek Valley and its neighbors
Pike Creek Valley has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike Creek Valley | 31% | 0.9 | 12 | 99%+ | 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 Pike Creek Valley
Where can I hike in Pike Creek Valley?
The longest trail networks: Carousel Park and Equestrian Center, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pike Creek Valley is conserved land?
31% 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 Pike Creek Valley’s trails?
Carousel Park and Equestrian Center and Deacons Walk Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Pike Creek Valley?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Pike Creek Valley?
21,323 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pike Creek Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 208 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pike Creek Valley have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 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 Pike Creek Valley 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 →