Dover, DE parks, trails & bike paths
About 16% of Dover is conserved land, roughly 2,472 acres. There are about 5.6 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Fork Branch Nature Preserve (1 mi) and Silver Lake Park (0.5 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Dover, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
Dover outdoors
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Parks & preserves with trails
Silver Lake Park
Schutte Park
Dover Park
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
2,472 conserved acres
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 410 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 85 of 110 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes9.9 mi
- Off-road bike paths1.8 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes1.6 mi
Courts & fields
- Baseball30
- Tennis29
- Soccer12
- Basketball12
- Football5
- Beach volleyball3
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
The biggest protected places in Dover
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Oak Road Open SpaceLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 371 | Access unknown |
| Fork Branch Nature PreserveState Park | State parks | 304 | Open |
| Route 1 Corridor Open SpaceState Other or Unknown | Other state land | 282 | Open |
| Silver LakeState Other or Unknown | Other state land | 177 | Open |
| Dover Little LeagueLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 103 | Access unknown |
| West North Street Open SpaceState Other or Unknown | Other state land | 89 | Open |
| Terry Campus Recreation AreaState Resource Management Area | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Route 13 Open SpaceState Other or Unknown | Other state land | 77 | Open |
| Stonebrook EastPrivate Conservation | Town or city | 51 | Access unknown |
| William Henry Middle SchoolResearch or Educational Area | Not recorded | 43 | Access unknown |
Historic places to visit
Dover and its neighbors
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 16.1% | 5.6 mi | 32 |
| Rodney Village | 54.4% | 0.0 mi | 2 |
| Dover Base Housing | 0.9% | 4.4 mi | 1 |
Conditions & tips from neighbors
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 24.7-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.