Where are all of Delaware's parks?

Summary

After living in Southern Delaware for a significant portion of my life, as well as spending a lot of time travelling North America, it became clear to me that southern Delaware is lacking in public parks. I truly enjoy visiting a free public space with parking and walking trails where my dog and I can enjoy the weather and escape temporarily into nature. Northern Delaware has plenty of these opportunities, but southern Delaware feels limited to overcrowded beaches and paid State Parks. Where are all of Delaware’s parks?

Analysis

My data is far from scientific, but the map makes it clear: most of Delaware’s parks are in New Castle County. Delaware only has three counties: New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. New Castle contains most of Delaware’s population so it makes sense that they would have the most tax revenue to build parks with amenities. Kent and Sussex have a few large State Parks, but these are paid entry and are usually crowded. Small parks with walking trails are nearly non-existent in these counties.

What about other public lands? Well, these lands are generally natural areas protected for wildlife or open space. Parking is incredibly limited and walking trails even less so. They are not ideal for a simple walk with your dog.

Data Sources

Firstmap provides many geographic data sets pertaining to the State of Delaware. Their Delaware Public Protected Lands data displays all public lands available in Delaware: https://opendata.firstmap.delaware.gov/datasets/delaware::delaware-public-protected-lands/about