The only camping my family ever tried when I was growing up was an unsuccessful attempt to erect a pup tent on the grounds of a Holiday Inn (how’s that for a contingency plan!). In fact, until I was 25 years old, I thought a tent stake was a piece of meat – like a flank steak or skirt steak! Fortunately, it didn’t take long to develop a love for camping and a sincere appreciation for the extraordinary campgrounds in Delaware’s State Parks.
Great “family camping” is available at five Delaware state parks. Lums Pond, Killens Pond, Trap Pond, Cape Henlopen, and Delaware Seashore. In State Park lingo “family camping” means there is a specific family camping area designed for recreational vehicles (RVs) and tents. But it doesn’t necessarily indicate which if any of the three major amenities are available at each site – water, electric, and sewer. For that information you will need to check out the website of each individual park or request a brochure from the Division of Parks and Recreation.
"Tent camping” ONLY is allowed in Brandywine Creek and White Clay Creek State Parks in northern Delaware, and Holts Landing State Park in Sussex County, the southernmost and largest of Delaware’s three counties. Brandywine Creek State Park offers the added dimension of canoe, kayak or tubing excursions provided by the Wilderness Canoe company.
Lums Pond State Park is the northernmost of Delaware’s “family” campgrounds, located just north of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal on Highway 896 in New Castle County. Less than 15 minutes from Interstate 95, the campground is adjacent to Summit North Marina and the Aqua Sol waterfront restaurant. In addition to normal camp site venues, Lums Pond features 4 “horse camping” sites, so riders can enjoy the park without having to trailer in their mounts each day.
Killens Pond State Park is about 10 miles south of the capital of Delaware, Dover, in Kent County. So be sure to set aside some time to visit the nearby Air Mobility Command Museum at the Dover Air Force Base, and the Biggs Museum of American Art in downtown Dover.
Cape Henlopen State Park is just east of historic Lewes, Delaware where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. If you’re traveling from New York or New Jersey, you’ll want to take the Ferry across the Bay from Cape May, New Jersey, which will save you lots of time and money. And the kids will love the 85 minute ride!
The first time we ever pitched a tent was at Delaware Seashore State Park on the wet and wild Indian River Inlet. The sandy sites have few trees to moderate the summer sun, but you can’t beat the location – near festive restaurants and bars in Rehoboth, Dewey and Bethany Beaches and within walking distance of beautiful ocean beaches!
The Delaware Seashore campground is just across the inlet from the Indian River Marina (also part of the State Park) where the Parks Division manages several well-maintained waterfront cottages that sleep 6 and can be rented by the day or week, year round. The Marina is also home to one of Delaware’s premier charter fishing fleets.
Trap Pond State Park is the southernmost family campground in Delaware, but still less than an hour drive from the Delaware Shore. Plus, it’s an easy day trip to Annapolis, Ocean City or the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.
SPECIAL ALERT: Please do not bring your own firewood into the campgrounds, as you could be inadvertently introducing a major tree killer into the parks. Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, the Emerald Ash Borer has spread to eleven states and adjacent parts of Canada and killed over 50 million ash trees!
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