Brandywine Springs Park
A neighborhood park with a wild past — playground and trails on the grounds of a long-gone amusement park and an 1800s resort.
Faulkland Rd & Newport Gap Pike, Wilmington, DE 19808
Hours
Dawn to dusk
Show the week Hide the week
| Sat | Dawn to dusk |
|---|---|
| Sun | Dawn to dusk |
| Mon | Dawn to dusk |
| Tue | Dawn to dusk |
| Wed | Dawn to dusk |
| Thu | Dawn to dusk |
| Fri | Dawn to dusk |
- Parks Permits Office (not the park itself): Closed today
Last checked 2026-09-14
- Cost
- Free
- Best for
- All ages
- Indoor / outdoor
- Outdoor
- Typical visit
- 1–1.5 hours
Playground, four pavilions, grills and restrooms on a wooded site, with the old amusement-park ruins interpreted along the trail.
The Quick Version
- • A free New Castle County park near Wilmington with a playground, ball fields, picnic pavilions, and wooded trails along Red Clay Creek.
- • The twist: it sits on the site of a once-popular amusement park (it ran until 1923) and an even older mineral-springs resort — you can still find traces in the woods.
- • Free and open daily; an easy everyday outing with a surprisingly good story.
- • Budget 1–1.5 hours; pair the playground with a short history walk.
Best Ages
All ages
Plan For
1–1.5 hours
Admission
Free
What to Expect
Brandywine Springs looks like an ordinary, pleasant New Castle County park today — a playground, ball fields, picnic pavilions, and wooded trails along Red Clay Creek — but it has one of the more surprising backstories of any park in the state.
In the 1800s it was a fashionable mineral-springs resort whose hotel (opened 1826) drew famous guests like Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, and the grounds had even served as a Revolutionary War encampment for George Washington's army. In the early 1900s it became a popular amusement park, with rides and attractions packed along the Hyde Run, until it closed after the 1923 season. Today you can still find traces of that history in the woods, and local volunteers have researched and marked the site.
For families it works on two levels: a straightforward playground-and-trails outing, plus a low-key treasure hunt for the remnants of a vanished amusement park. Set expectations — it's a neighborhood park, not an attraction, so come for an easy hour with a good story attached.
Who It's Best For
The playground suits toddlers and preschoolers; older kids get the trails and the fun of hunting for amusement-park remnants; the open fields are good for a ball game. It's a relaxed neighborhood park, not an attraction.
Highlights
Playground & open fields
All agesThe everyday draw — a playground and room to run, with picnic pavilions for a packed lunch.
Hunting the amusement-park traces
Ages 5+Make a game of finding where the old rides and buildings once stood in the woods — local history groups have mapped and marked the site.
Wooded trails along Red Clay Creek
All agesShaded, easy walking beside the creek — a pleasant loop with kids.
The history itself
Ages 6+A Revolutionary War camp, a 19th-century springs resort, and a lost amusement park — all on one ordinary-looking park.
What to Skip with Little Ones
- • Expecting actual rides — the amusement park is long gone; it's the traces that remain.
- • The wooded trails with an umbrella stroller after rain — they're natural-surface.
Logistics
Admission
Free admission
A free New Castle County park.
Getting There
Parking
Free parking lot off Faulkland Road (Newport Gap Pike, Route 41).
It fills for weekend sports and events; otherwise parking is usually easy.
Entrance
Enter off Faulkland Road / Newport Gap Pike (Route 41).
Parent Logistics
The playground and main park areas are stroller-friendly; the wooded trails are natural-surface and bumpier.
Restrooms in season.
Not confirmed — plan ahead.
The wooded trails are shaded; the playground and fields are partly open.
Food & Snacks
No food on-site. No concession. Picnic pavilions are available.
Snack strategy: Pack a picnic for the pavilions; Prices Corner and Elsmere have food a few minutes away.
Pro Tips
- ✓ Make a game of spotting the old amusement-park remnants — volunteers have researched and marked where things stood.
- ✓ Pack a picnic for the pavilions; it's a low-key, free outing.
- ✓ Combine the playground with a short creek-trail walk.
When to Go
Best Time to Visit
Nice-weather days; mornings are quietest. The wooded trails are pleasant spring through fall.
Seasonal Notes
Open year-round as a county park. It's outdoors, so the trails are best in dry weather.
Rainy Day?
An outdoor park — better saved for a decent day.
While You're in the Area
The Wilmington & Western Railroad's heritage train runs through the Red Clay valley nearby; Prices Corner is minutes away for errands and food.
Upcoming Events
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