The U.S. state of Delaware has 17 state parks. Each of the parks is operated and maintained by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation, a branch of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), although one state park, First State Heritage Park, is managed by the Division of Parks and Recreation in partnership with other city and state agencies.
Each of Delaware's three counties has at least one state park, with New Castle having the most. Wilmington State Parks, despite being administratively managed as a single unit, is further broken down into several smaller parks. The state park system includes over 26,000 acres of land[1] and over 160 miles of trails.[2] It is possible to faintly view the Milky Way from 10 of the 17 state parks.[3]
In 2015, Delaware State Parks won the Gold Medal honoring the best state parks system in the country from the National Recreation and Park Association. It was the tenth state to win the award since it was started in 1997.[4]
- ^ "Delaware State Parks Programming - Spring Guide" (PDF). Delaware State Parks. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 29, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
henlopenwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ R, Mike (August 13, 2021). "State Parks Light Pollution Map And Statistics". CosmosPNW. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ Shockley, Beth. "Delaware State Parks honored as top state parks system in nation by winning NRPA gold medal". Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Retrieved November 25, 2015.