DELAWARE

Cape Henlopen State Park shows off campground upgrades

Gray Hughes
The Daily Times
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in celebration of the renovations and improvements of the Cape Henlopen campgrounds, Seaside Nature Center and Fort Miles on Monday, May 22, 2017.

Cape Henlopen State Park's new campground is officially open, but even before the ceremony on Monday, the park was already booked for Memorial Day weekend.

Pat Cooper, the regional administrator for Delaware State Parks, said he is looking forward to seeing people flock to the campground that features plenty of new amenities, but remains cautiously optimistic for how the weekend will go since it is the camp staff's first weekend at the campground.

"We’re full," he said. "It’s going to be a challenge. It’s our first weekend with the new campground with people coming here so that’s the challenge that we’re going to have."

The newly renovated park has a new camp store with laundry, a playground, new picnic tables and fire rings for the sites, overflow parking at the camp store, water and electricity hookups at campsites, new spots for RVs ranging from 20 to 50 feet and pull-through spots for larger RVs.

These renovations and additions make Cape Henlopen State Park stand out among all other Delaware state parks, said Delaware Gov. John Carney. 

"This is the crown jewel of the Delaware State Park System," he said. "I remember when I worked for then-Sen. Joe Biden as he advocated with the federal government to piece together what has become this beautiful Cape Henlopen State Park.

"And these renovations are really incredible."

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The park also added more primitive sites — sites without amenities like water and electricity — providing more options for campers, said Grant Melville, Cape Henlopen State Park manager.

"This plays into camping culture as it is evolving and changing," he said. "People now more than ever expect amenities like water and electric at every site, so we have now provided that for over 100 sites, as well as the primitive campers who want even less amenities at their site, so you have both types of cultures, and now we have over 20 sites that you can walk into and get more of a natural feel."

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Delaware Gov. John Carney speaks before the ribbon-cutting for the renovations and improvements of the Cape Henlopen campgrounds Monday, May 22, 2017.

DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin said these renovations — totaling $4.1 million — are important to help sustain parks, which he said play a vital role in the overall health of Delaware residents and visitors.

Parks get people in touch with nature, exercise, fresh air, entertainment and recreation, he said.

"There are just so many things our parks offer not only to our families here in Delaware but tons of visitors who come here every year," Garvin added. "And Cape Henlopen is the one that gets the most visitors, but it just one of many great parks we have here in the state."

The project could not have been completed without assistance from the U.S. National Parks Service and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Carney said.

Joel Lynch, the chief of State and Local Assistance Programs for the National Park Service, said the partnership between the National Park Service and Delaware State Parks should be celebrated.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is funded mostly by offshore tax receipts that come into various parts of the country, Lynch said, and the thought when the fund was first established in the 1960s was to pay for projects such as the Cape Henlopen campground renovation.

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Representatives from state and federal agencies hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony in celebration of the renovations and improvements  of the Cape Henlopen campgrounds, Monday, May 22, 2017.

In total, since Cape Henlopen State Park first received a grant from the Land and Water Conservation fund in 1974, Delaware state parks have received $38 million from the fund, Lynch said.

What the funds from the federal government mean for Cooper, the regional administrator for Delaware State Parks, is more campers during the offseason.

He said he is hoping more visitors will come during the weekends in November and December. The increase in hookups to electric and water — along with heated bathrooms — should make it more enticing for people to come to the park to camp year-round.

"I just think it’s a fantastic plus," he said.

rghughes@delmarvanow.com

On Twitter @hughesg19