Parks · New Castle County

Brandywine Creek

Creek and woodland · Wilmington · 951 acres

A wide meadow of tall summer grass and white wildflowers with a mown path running through it, backed by a dense tree line and a wooded ridge. — Swipe for the rest.

A wide, shallow rocky creek bed in bare winter woods, with a small child in a green coat standing on the stones at the edge. — Swipe for the rest.

A big former du Pont dairy farm fifteen minutes from downtown Wilmington, open year round. A large trail system, including a paved walking path that runs through the woods along the creek. Stone walls, tulip poplars, an autumn hawk watch, a boat launch and disc golf. Several entrances and more than one set of restrooms.

What's there

Facilities

9/22 confirmed

Beach: No
Guarded swimming: No
Surf fishing: No
Camping: No
Cabins: No
Trails: Yes
Boat launch: Yes
Boat rentals: Not confirmed
Pier: Not confirmed
Disc golf: Yes
Playground: Not confirmed
Fishing: Not confirmed
Kayak or canoe: Not confirmed
Crabbing: Not confirmed
Water park: Not confirmed
Ropes course: Not confirmed
Climbing wall: Not confirmed
Horse trails: Not confirmed
Tennis: Not confirmed
Golf: Not confirmed
Riding stables: Not confirmed
Restrooms: Yes

Where things are

Which entrance: Several ways in, and they aren't equivalent. The main entrance is the one with the ranger station.
The paved path: A paved walking path runs through the woods following the creek. It's the one most people come for.
Trails: A large system beyond the paved path.
Restrooms: More than one set. The ranger station at the main entrance has them; they are not the only ones.
Gift shop: At the ranger station, main entrance.
Pavilions: Rentable, booked through the main entrance.
Boat launch: There's one.
Park office and nature center: 41 Adams Dam Road. Some programming lists 4244 Wilsons Run Road as the meeting address instead, so check which one an event means before driving to the other.

Getting in

Entry, 2026: $5 in-state · $10 out-of-stateCharged 1 March – 30 November. Free outside it.
Annual pass: $50 for a Delaware-registered vehicle, $100 out of state.Discounted passes are available for active-duty military and veterans; the discounted amounts are not confirmed. Deauville Beach has its own annual pass at $115.
Where to buy: Delaware State Parks — passes and permitsOnline at destateparks.com, which issues a virtual pass usable for 30 days from purchase, or at a park office.
Hours: 8 a.m. – sunset, daily, year roundThe park office keeps its own hours and they change with the season: 8am–4pm seven days a week from April to October, weekdays only from November to March. Worth knowing because the restrooms are there.
Getting there: Open in Google Maps to Brandywine Creek State Park (opens Google Maps)
Park office: 302-577-3534

Dogs

Leashed on the trails.

The full rule, with dates

Other parks in New Castle County

Lums Pond — pond, Bear
White Clay Creek — creek and woodland, Newark
Bellevue — estate and woodland, Wilmington
Alapocas Run — creek and woodland, Wilmington
Fox Point — riverfront, Wilmington
Fort Delaware — historic island, Delaware City
Fort DuPont — historic, Delaware City
Auburn Valley — estate and woodland, Yorklyn
Wilmington State Parks — urban, Wilmington

Where it is

Brandywine Creek State Park, Wilmington, DEDirections →

Field notes

What I saw on the day. Not checked with anyone, and it can go out of date faster than the facts above.

Field note · 4 August 2026 · Site maintainer
Disc golf here, and it's the better of the two county courses I've played. The park has several entrances — the main one has the ranger station, and that's where the restrooms, the gift shop and the pavilion rentals are.
Field note · 4 August 2026 · Site maintainer
Correcting this page. It used to say 'rolling meadow rather than woodland', and the photo caption claimed the meadows were most of what the park is. Both wrong. It's a large park with a big trail system, and the path people come for is paved, wooded, and follows the creek. There's a boat launch, more than one set of restrooms, and it's open year round.

Read from the source — not yet confirmed by phone

Read from Delaware State Parks on 9 Aug 2026 · not yet confirmed by phone

Delaware State Parks — Park roster and facilities.
Delaware State Parks: passes, permits and fees — 2026 fee schedule, effective 1 March 2026.
Delaware State Parks: disc golf — The operator's own disc golf page. Names all seven state parks with a course: Bellevue, Brandywine Creek, Cape Henlopen, Killens Pond, Lums Pond, Trap Pond and White Clay Creek. Publishes no hole counts, tee-pad detail or course maps.
Delaware State Parks: park office phone numbers — DNREC's own contact page, read 8 August 2026. Lists an office number for every state park.
Delaware State Parks: disc golf scorecards — The state publishes a scorecard and course map PDF per course. Read 8 August 2026; each park's own card is linked from its record.
Delaware State Parks, confirmed 8 August 2026 — Standard day-use hours of 8 a.m. to sunset, and which attractions are charged separately from park admission.
Delaware State Parks — Brandywine Creek nature center resource — Park and office hours, read 9 August 2026.

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