A practical reference for Delaware

Find the right place in Delaware

A paved trail curving through tall beech woods toward a wooden footbridge, with a post-and-rail fence alongside and low morning sun through the canopy. — Alapocas Run, Wilmington

Looking for somewhere to take the dog, a park with a restroom and a playground, or an indoor place when it rains? This checks the details that decide whether the trip works: current dog rules, hours, entrance fees, parking and what's actually there.

Each listing shows a verification date to ensure you have the latest information.

Still bay water at dusk under a heavy gray and cream cloudscape, with low marsh islands topped by pines in the middle distance and marsh grass in the foreground.

Section 01

State parks

All 17, what's actually at each one, and the 2026 fees.

From Cape Henlopen's 5,451 acres to a Civil War fort you can only reach by ferry. Camping, trails, surf fishing, and where dogs are allowed.

Facilities, park by park
2026 entry fees, and why the beach parks doubled
Camping, cabins and trails
Dog rules per park

17 of 17 parks published

A large blue and green play structure with tube slides and climbing nets, in a clearing surrounded by tall mature trees, with a paved path and benches in front.

Section 02

Community parks

The local ones. Is there a toilet, and is it open?

What you want to know before loading the car. Toilets, playground, drinking water, shade, and whether the dog can come.

Restrooms: permanent, portable or seasonal
Playgrounds and accessibility
Water, shade and pavilions
Which ones contain a dog park

18 of 19 parks published

A black and tan dog lying in fallen leaves in low winter sun, tongue out, an orange rubber ball by its paws.

Section 03

Dogs

Where your dog is legal, on what date, and what it costs.

Five beach towns with five different sets of dates, the summer beaches that never close, pet fees, and every dog park and off-leash area on eight fields.

Beach and boardwalk rules, by town
Where a dog is legal in July
Dog parks: fenced, water, shade, surface
Pet fees, weight limits, dog counts
Blue-green algae and pond safety

5 of 5 town pages published

Three figures in silhouette standing at the edge of the surf with their backs to the camera, facing a line of breaking waves under a wide cloudy sky, sun glare on the water to the right.

Section 04

Surf fishing

5 of the 12 crossings need a reservation in peak hours.

Drive-on access, permits, licenses, and the after-4pm rule that lets annual permit holders skip reservations entirely.

Which crossings need a reservation
Permit tiers and the 3-week delivery
The license exemption that covers only you
The off-peak permit ending in 2027
Walk-on access, free, no permit

12 of 12 crossings published

A brick colonial courthouse with a white cupola and balcony, three flags flying from it, cars parked along the street in front.

Section 05

Indoors

Museums, science centers and libraries — for when it rains.

Hagley, Winterthur, the Biggs, the state's natural history museum, and 33 library branches. Hours lead every card, because most of these shut two or three days a week.

Opening hours, checked against the operator
What admission actually costs
Which are shut for building work right now
Fifteen library branches in one table

12 of 12 places published

A shallow, clear creek running over pale gravel between wooded banks under a blue sky, with a gravel bar in the foreground and stepping stones upstream.

Section 06

Places to go

Days out that aren't parks. You pay in, they shut at a time.

Ticketed days out with the hours and the price up front. Mostly outdoors, so check the forecast before you drive.

Hours and admission
Free winter days where they apply

2 of 2 listed published

A peacock in full display, filling the frame with its fanned tail of eyed feathers, its blue neck and green crest turned slightly to one side.

Section 07

Just over the line

Worth the drive, and not in Delaware.

The state is forty miles wide. Half of New Castle County lives closer to somewhere in Maryland or Pennsylvania than to Sussex, and every record here says plainly that it is out of state.

Clearly marked as out of state
Same sourcing as everything else

2 of 2 listed published

Section 08

Beer, wine, cider & mead

Every active brewery, winery, cidery and meadery in Delaware — 44 of them.

Opening hours where the business publishes them, and a dog policy only where it says so in its own words. Half of these aren't on the tourism guides at all.

Hours from the business, not a listing site
Dog policy where the operator publishes one
Breweries, brewpubs, wineries, cideries and meaderies

44 of 44 listed published

Section 09

Disc golf

Nine courses. The round is free; the gate isn't.

Seven in state parks and two in county parks. Playing costs nothing anywhere — seven of the nine sit behind a park entrance fee, and that is the number worth knowing.

Every course in a public park
What entry costs at each
Which two are free to walk into

9 of 9 courses published

Section 10

Events

Annual fairs and festivals, with dates worked out rather than guessed.

The fixtures, with the year I have actually confirmed. Where next year's dates are not published, this says so instead of computing one that might be wrong.

Confirmed dates, per year
What is on right now
Which publish no recurring rule

5 of 5 events published

If you know somebody who keeps asking whether the dog can come, this is the link. Every answer on it carries the date I checked it.