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Explore all the riches of Delaware during all seasons. Adults, children, and families are welcome.
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
Stretching eight miles along Delaware Bay and covering 16,251 acres, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for wildlife. The refuge offers visitors a 12-mile wildlife drive, five walking trails (2 handicapped accessible), three observation towers, wildlife photography, hunting opportunities, a variety of nature and educational programs, and interpretative displays.
Delaware Botanic Garden at Pepper Creek
The Delaware Botanic Gardens is a volunteer-run non-profit organization with guidance from a small team of staff, creating a sustainable habitat that is a place of tranquility, beauty, and education for everyone, highlighting the benefits of an exceptional coastal plain environment for teaching and learning about nature
Delaware Center for Horticulture
The Delaware Center for Horticulture offers exciting events, educational programing, and the on-site garden is free and open to the public. Overlooking Brandywine Park, the garden is an oasis in Wilmington featuring native and pollinator-supporting plants with year-round interest.
Delaware Museum of Nature & Science
At the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, discover how nature connects us all through exploring dynamic and diverse ecosystems. The Global Journey Gallery includes the oceans, Arctic tundra, tropic rainforest and African savanna. The Regional Journey Gallery highlights local habitats, including temperate forests, dunes, salt marshes, the bald cypress swamp, and Delaware Bay. Then, go outside and explore the pollinator garden, meadow, and trails!
Delaware Nature Society
Our mission is to connect people to the natural world to improve the environment through education, conservation & advocacy. We envision a healthy, sustainable environment for all!
See More Information on our locations below:
- Abbotts Mill Nature Center
- Ashland Nature Center
- Coverdale Farm Preserve
- DuPont Environmental Education Center
Abbott’s Mill Nature Center
Abbott’s Mill Nature Center sits on a 376-acre piece of Milford Millponds Nature Preserve and features beautiful trails. Hike through lush deciduous and Atlantic White Cedar woodlands. You can also explore our handicap-accessible boardwalk that follows a clear coastal plain stream to open meadows, picnic area, and a Garden for Wildlife idea garden. Our historic working gristmill (tours temporarily on hold while our mill undergoes repairs) and its water source, a 20-acre pond, lend a sense of the rich human history of the area. We are open to the general public and
trails are pet-friendly.
Ashland Nature Center
Ashland Nature Center serves as Delaware Nature Society’s headquarters with 130 acres of woodlands, meadows, marsh, the scenic Red Clay Creek, and 4-miles of nature trails to explore. A part of the Red Clay Valley Scenic Byway, the site is open to the public year-round, features educational programs, a picnic area, Visitor Center and Overnight Lodge.
DuPont Environmental Education Center
DEEC is open to the public year-round and features a Visitor Center with panoramic river and marsh v tending into the marsh, and trailhead access to the newly completed 5.5-mile-long Markell bike/hike trail from Wilmington to New Castle.
Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment.
For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
More information can be found at the following links: wildlife area maps, Aquatic Resources Education Center, The Delaware National Estuarine Reserve, managed by the DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy.
Delaware State Wildlife Areas
17areas can be accessed using a conservation pass -yearly fee Little Creek Wildlife viewing area.The two-level observation tower’s boardwalk trail, lower level deck, and parking are fully-accessible for visitors with disabilities.
DuPont Nature Center
The DuPont Nature Center is located in the beautiful Mispillion Harbor, where the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek meet and flow out into the Delaware Bay. It’s a science-based educational and interpretive facility with interactive exhibits designed
First State National Park
First State NHP consists of six sites spread throughout the state of Delaware that the entire family can enjoy.
Delaware Center for the Inland Bays James Farm Ecological Preserve
The James Farm Ecological Preserve, located in Ocean View, Delaware, is a 150-acre oasis of wild land. Featuring seven distinct habitats and multiple trails, the Preserve is also where the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays hosts much of their educational and public programming.
Mt Cuba Center
A beautiful botanic garden committed to the conservation of native plants and their habitats. Gardens and trails are open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm from April through October.
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy has two publicly accessible nature preserves with hiking trails in Delaware, the Edward H. McCabe Preserve and Ponders Tract at Pemberton Forest Preserve, both located just outside of Milton. These preserves are free to visit and open year-round; all visitors must abide by the preserve guidelines.
Winterthur Museum & Gardens
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library is the former country estate of Henry Francis du Pont offering a naturalistic garden set within 1,000 acres of conserved land, an antiques-filled mansion, and a research library.
Vince Morris Nature Trail at Chapel Branch
This trail system is a hidden gem. The trails offer a variety of scenery, some of which offer elevated views of the Chapel Branch tributary. Trails are dotted with benches and attractive trail marker signs. Additionally, 43 trail markers are present that note various highlights along the trail that are currently being linked to digital resources in a project to help further represent the diversity of this trail. Maps and links for further information, to schedule a tour, as well as be involved in projects and events connected to this trail are found in the kiosk of this nature area.
National Outdoor Family Resources
Discover the Forest
Spending time in nature provides numerous benefits for families, presenting both bonding opportunities and the chance to instill a lifelong love for the outdoors. The Discover the Forest campaign, a public service campaign created by the Ad Council in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, encourages parents of tweens to experience the outdoors with their family to strengthen their connection with nature and each other. By exploring local parks and forests, parents and caregivers make the forest part of their family’s story, and introduce their children to an environment where imagination thrives and memories are made.
Children in Nature Network
The mission of Children & Nature Network is to increase equitable access to nature so that children–and the natural world–can thrive. Online Resource Hub features research on how connecting children to nature encourages care for the earth.
Get the Kids Outside
Our goal at Get the Kids Outside is to help kids spend more time outdoors and connect with nature. We support parents in this adventure with tips and resources to encourage fun outdoors for the whole family!
Useful Apps:
iNaturalist
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Get Outside
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