The Delaware State Parks 2026 Passport Program offers you a chance to explore state parks in the First State and earn a free 2027 Annual Park Pass if you complete enough challenges. The 2026 program will be highlighting locations around Delaware with cultural and historical significance in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. and the 75th anniversary of Delaware State Parks.

Delaware State Parks will begin selling 2026 annual passes and surf fishing permits on Dec. 9, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

DNREC says their Action Trackchair program has been expanded to five Delaware State Parks. Trackchairs are all-terrain wheelchairs equipped with motorized treads that allow people with disabilities to enjoy paths and trails that may otherwise be inaccessible to them.

DNREC says the required reservations for summer weekends and holidays at drive-on beaches can be made starting tomorrow.

DNREC is reminding visitors that state parks will charge entrance fees from March 1 through Nov. 30.

Officials from DNREC told WBOC on Tuesday that, while the possibility of renovating the existing Cape Henlopen State Park bathhouse is still an option, a new one will likely need to be built to accommodate all the needed changes. Meanwhile, members of the Preserve Our Park Coalition still expressed concern over the possibility of building the new bathhouse over an undisturbed patch of dune. 

Entrance fees to Delaware State Parks for the 2023 is set to take effect in March.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced Thursday that the sale of 2022 Delaware State Parks surf fishing permits will begin Tuesday, Feb. 1 and the sale of annual passes will begin Tuesday, Feb. 15. Sales will begin at 10 a.m. both days.