Photographs
The fountain in Brandywine Park. The inscription round the base reads in Latin.
The boardwalk out through the marsh. Freight line and pylons on the skyline — this is city marsh, not wilderness, and it's better for it.
The arched footbridge over the marsh. Wide enough for bikes and strollers both ways.
The DuPont Environmental Education Center from the marsh below, with its stair tower.
The sign on the building. The center is run by the Delaware Nature Society, not by the park.
The refuge sign at the entrance, heron cut into the end of it.The linked city parks along the Brandywine: Brandywine Park, Rockford Park with its tower, H. Fletcher Brown Park and the Riverfront. Urban walking rather than wilderness, and the closest state parkland to downtown.
What's there
Facilities
13/22 confirmed- Beach
- No
- Guarded swimming
- No
- Surf fishing
- No
- Camping
- No
- Cabins
- No
- Trails
- Yes
- Boat launch
- No
- Boat rentals
- No
- Pier
- Yes
- Disc golf
- No
- Playground
- Yes
- 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
- No
- Restrooms
- Yes
Where things are
- The Riverwalk
- A boardwalk and an arched footbridge run out through the marsh from the Riverfront.
- DuPont Environmental Education Center
- A four-story center on the marsh, run by the Delaware Nature Society rather than by the park.
- Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge
- The marsh the boardwalk crosses. Signed at the entrance.
- Brandywine Park
- Has the marble fountain, lawns and the Brandywine Zoo.
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
- Generally 8 a.m. to sunset, but individual sites vary
- Park office
- 302-577-7020
Dogs
Leashed. Brandywine Park holds a designated off-leash area — which is NOT fenced.
Other parks in New Castle County
- Lums Pond — pond, Bear
- White Clay Creek — creek and woodland, Newark
- Brandywine Creek — creek and woodland, Wilmington
- 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
Where it is
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 · 8 August 2026 · Site maintainer
Restrooms yes and a pier yes; no boat launch, no boat rentals, no disc golf and no stables. That's the whole facilities block answered for this record in one visit, and six of the seven were sitting at "Not confirmed" — the fourth park in a week where the gap was DNREC listing what a park has and never what it hasn't.
Field note · 7 August 2026 · Site maintainer
The printed Brandywine Park map carries both an Off Leash Dog Area and a Playground in its facilities legend, which confirms from the operator what the record already said about the off-leash area and adds the playground.
Field note · 4 August 2026 · Site maintainer
The Riverwalk boardwalk and the arched footbridge run out across the Peterson refuge marsh from the Riverfront, past the DuPont Environmental Education Center. Brandywine Park at the other end has the fountain and the zoo.
Were you just there?
Tell us what you saw
Anything you noticed. If it's wrong or it's changed, this is the fastest fix.
Got a photograph? The full form takes up to four.