Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.07% of Wilmington’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. 8.8 miles of mapped trail cross Wilmington, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Brandywine Park (2.2 mi), Cool Springs East Park (0.7 mi), Canby Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #13 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Wilmington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Wilmington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wilmington is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #13 of 37 in Delaware. The share of residents near a park 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 Wilmington’s 7% is ahead of 14% of Delaware towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
Water is 37% of Wilmington’s area (6 of 17 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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 Brandywine Park, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Canby Park
Kosciuszko Park
Brown Burton Winchester Park
Speakman Park
All 46 parks & preserves
498 conserved acres
7% of Wilmington’s land. Water is left out: Wilmington has 10.9 square miles of land and 6.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wilmington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 10 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 31 of 76 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandywine Park State Park | State parks | 289 | Open |
| Canby Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Brown/Burton/Winchester Park Local Park | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| P.S. DuPont Elementary School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 22 | Unknown |
| Matson Run Parkway Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Cab Calloway Middle School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Bancroft Parkway Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Cool Spring Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Kingswood Community Center Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Unknown |
| Butler Derby LLC Local Park | Not recorded | 11 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
24 places to go in Wilmington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
1 community garden without a name on the map.
3 lakes & rivers
3.7 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.
103 places on the National Register, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 10 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
91 more on the History page.
The best walking months in Wilmington: 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 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Wilmington →
Wilmington and its neighbors
Wilmington has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Wilmington
Where can I hike in Wilmington?
The longest trail networks: Brandywine Park, 2.2 miles; Cool Springs East Park, 0.7 miles; Canby Park, 0.6 miles; Kosciuszko Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wilmington is conserved land?
7% 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 Wilmington’s trails?
Brandywine Park and Cool Springs East Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wilmington?
3.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of painted or protected lanes, 1.6 of off-road paths and 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Wilmington?
22,850 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wilmington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 590 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Wilmington have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #13 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 Wilmington 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 →