Alapocas Run State Park

Around Delaware’s beautiful Blue Rock cliff, formerly quarried and now home to the state’s only natural rock-climbing wall, natural resources like mature woodlands and the Brandywine River meet a rich industrial and cultural history at Alapocas Run State Park. The Blue Ball Barn, now a popular event space named for the Blue Ball Tavern that once served travelers in the area, was built in the 1900s as a dairy barn that supported A.I. DuPont’s Nemours estate. It now houses the Delaware Folk Art Collection and tells the park’s history in story form. Pawpaw trees, North America’s largest native fruit-bearing tree, grows in the forest understory. Delaware’s only venomous snake, the non-aggressive Northern Copperhead, occurs here. A Storybook Trail winds around the Can-do Playground, designed to be accessible to every child. Alapocas Run is also home to the Northern Delaware Greenway Trail, a National Recreation Trail.

Volunteer Opportunities for Corporate Groups and Other Organizations

Is your organization looking to give back? Would your class, club, or Scout troop like to log service hours outdoors? Let us help plan your volunteer event! Teams of as few as five volunteers can make a huge impact in our parks, and we welcome groups of 20 to 100 — or more.

Alapocas Run State Park offers a variety of flexible volunteer opportunities that can align with your group’s interests, including:

• Invasive plant control
• Garden bed maintenance
• Playground mulching
• Painting projects
• Litter cleanups

Volunteer Opportunities for Individuals

Are you looking to connect with your community? Would you enjoy self-led service or the chance to serve our park alongside like-minded people? Individual volunteers make a sizeable impact in our parks every day.

Alapocas Run State Park offers a variety of flexible volunteer opportunities that can align with your interests, including:

• Invasive plant control
• Garden bed maintenance
• Litter cleanups
• Trail maintenance
• Event support
• Photography

Alapocas Run State Park could not serve its community without the support of Friends of Wilmington Parks. Members of this nonprofit volunteer group put on concerts and other events, steward landscape projects in Brandywine Park, and raise funds as well as advocate for our parks. If you are interested in learning more about FOWP, including what they do and how to join, please visit their website.

Contact Us

Please email Nancy Kersey (Nancy.Kersey@delaware.gov) to discuss you or your group’s interest in volunteering with Alapocas Run State Park and opportunities that interest you!