A trail plan for the Brandywine Valley at First State National Historical Park has been approved/NPS file

The Brandywine Valley Trail Plan at First State National Historical Park in Delaware can move forward. The plan defines a designated shared-use 27.8-mile trail network that will provide high-quality recreational opportunities, promote visitor safety and enjoyment, and preserve connectivity with leased property within the Brandywine Valley section of the park and neighboring properties.

The National Park Service on Monday issued a Finding of No Significant Impact on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the plan. In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the EA considers alternatives, including a no-action alternative, as well as environmental impacts.

The EA was presented to the public during three public meetings and was available for public comment from July 2, 2024 to August 1, 2024. After consultation with the Delaware Tribe of Indians, Delaware Nation, the Delaware State Historic Preservation Office, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office and local government and considering public comments, the NPS selected the proposed action alternative.

The selected action will: 

• Designate a 27.8 mile shared-use trail network, which includes the administrative roads. All trails will be open to hiking, equestrian use and bicycling (including Class 1 and Class 3 e-bikes). The trail network incorporates 15 miles of existing trails and will add 8.5 miles of new trails (to be constructed). The NPS will close and restore to natural condition a total of 8.1 miles of trails. In addition, 4.3 miles of administrative roads will be open to public recreational use. 
• Reduce impacts on soil erosion and water resources by closing or rerouting trails with excessive slopes and reducing water crossings.   
• Take roughly 5-years to implement. Progress can be found on the park’s website.

The trail system would wind through the 1,359-acre Brandywine Valley that touches both Delaware and Pennsylvania. It is needed because the Park Service "inherited an existing trail network from the previous landowner and visitors have added multiple trails over the years without management approval or official consideration of impacts on public safety or natural and cultural resources. As a result, portions of the trail network suffer from increased erosion and tread wear, have poor connectivity, and do not offer a high-quality user experience," the agency said in the environmental assessment that studied the proposal.

First State National Historical Park sits along the Delaware/Pennsylvania border in the Brandywine Valley—a place that represents the traditional homeland of the Lenni Lenape People and early American colonial history. 

In 2015, The Conservation Fund and other partners helped establish First State National Historical Park—the first national park for America’s first state. Two years later the Conservation Fund purchased the Beaver Valley, located adjacent to the 1,100-acre Brandywine Valley unit of the park, where developers were planning to build 150 homes. A successful fundraising effort led by Mt. Cuba Center as well as the Beaver Valley Conservancy, Brandywine Conservancy, and Save the Valley, allowed The Conservation Fund to secure the site in 2017. During its ownership, the Fund worked with the National Park Foundation and private funders to renovate the buildings on the property and held the land until the NPS could formally accept the donation.