Brandywine Park and Alapocas Run State Park (Delaware North Greenway Trail)

Just northeast of downtown, there are wonderful paved paths in Brandywine Park, which connect to numerous other parks and trails, allowing for multiple route/distance options. In Brandywine Park, there are trails on both sides of Brandywine Creek, with the Brandwine Zoo on the eastern side. There’s a recently refurbished running track on the east side at Abessino Stadium. Note the area is fairly hilly! Brandywine Park was designed by the noted landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.

The park trail starts at N. King St./S. Park drive (easy access from downtown). Heading north, it’s 0.6 miles to I-95, and 1 mile to a pedestrian bridge crossing between sides. After 1.8 miles, the Brandywine trails end and run into the paved trails in Alapocas Run State Park. Here, there are multiple options/add-ons:

1) Bear right, continuing for 1 mile northeast to W Park Dr./Blue Ball Barn (our mapped route)
2) Bear left, crossing the river onto Bancroft Mills Rd., to do a loop of Rockford Park. It’s 1.5 miles to the Rockford Tower. From there, loop back (and do a bit in the pretty residential neighborhood), connecting to the lovely Kentmere Parkway, to connect back in to Brandywine Park. It’s 3 miles, but saves ~ 1 mile of Brandywine trails.

Add-Ons: Brandywine Park is the southwestern terminus of the Delaware North Greenway Trail, which extends for 10.4 miles northeast through Alapocas Run State Park, Rockwood Park, and Bellevue State Park, ending at Fox Point State Park.