bicycling stories, education, encouragement

The Newark parks tour (first of a series): District 1

by Sophia Marianiello

Introduction

Last fall, in the process of collecting data for the 2025 update to the Newark Bicycle Plan, I ended up visiting all 36 of Newark’s city parks. (I was checking how many bike racks each of them had. The answer, for most of them: none. And you thought finding parking on Main Street was hard!)

Since then, I’ve wondered how many Newarkers can say that they’ve been to all of our parks, or even heard of them all. And this spring, as BikeNewark was preparing for Bike to Work Day 2025, I thought, “What if I visited all our parks again, by bike, and blogged about it, for the sake of everyone who enjoys parks in Newark, biking in Newark, or biking to parks in Newark?”

I ran this by exactly one other BikeNewark member and got a reply of “Go for it!”, which was enough encouragement for me. So, here are the (entirely self-imposed) rules of the (so-called) Newark park tour:

  • I‘ll visit all the parks within the Newark city limits, and only parks within the Newark city limits.
  • To make this task a little easier, I‘ll split up the parks by city council district, visiting all the parks in District 1 on one trip, all the parks in District 2 on another trip, and so on. (The council district map is included just below this list.)
  • I’ll show the route I take to get from park to park and share a few pictures of each park and its amenities.
  • I’ll travel from park to park by biking or walking only. No cars allowed. Public transit is okay to get to the first park in a route or get home from the last park in a route.
  • I‘ll check out the contents of every “Little Free Library” associated with a park.
A map of Newark's six city council districts.
Map source: https://cityofnewarkde.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/sidebar/index.html?appid=bb034a90a75e43fb81f483711e19e84e

Let’s start at the very beginning—a very good place to start: District 1, in West Newark, a roughly triangular district bounded by Route 273, the CSX Railroad, and the Maryland border.

A map of Newark's city council District 1.

District 1 has seven city parks: Hillside Park, Margaret Allen Memorial Park, Norma B. Handloff Park, Leroy C. Hill Park, Rahway Park, Elan Park, and Coleman Park.

A Google Maps bicycle route 5.5 miles long connecting eight parks in District 1.

Hillside Park

Hillside Park.
One entrance to Hillside Park, at the intersection of Hillside Road and Dallam Road

One of Newark’s newest parks, Hillside Park was first conceived as a stormwater-management facility, replacing the University of Delaware’s Caesar Rodney dorms after their closure in 2015 and demolition in 2019. Beyond a stormwater-retention pond, the park’s playground, pavilions, trees and natural spaces, bike racks, paved trail loop, and fishing pier make it a hub of west Newark. On any nice day it’s bustling with kids, parents, students, townies, bikers, walkers, fishers, and geese. (A group of them on the trail almost made me late for work one morning this spring. The geese, I mean.)

The stormwater retention pond at Hillside Park.
The pond, as seen from the trail around the park (much nicer than the term “stormwater-retention pond” might suggest)

The paved trail through Hillside Park is also a keystone of Newark’s West Bikeway, connecting neighborhoods like Oaklands and Nottingham Green to downtown Newark via the railroad underpass that leads to Amstel Avenue.

The paved trail and railway underpass at Hillside Park.
Cycling tip: Don’t ride your bike as fast as you can through Hillside Park, downhill, toward this underpass. One day you may be surprised by someone coming through the other way that you didn’t see until the last second, brake hard to avoid running into them, and fling yourself off your bike and onto the asphalt, hypothetically.

To mark its Bikeway status, Hillside Park has one of BikeNewark’s four information kiosks, containing a map of the Newark Bikeways, a map of recreation amenities in and around Newark, and a QR link to bicycle resources.

photo of kiosk in Hillside Park
Here is the information kiosk along the West Bikeway in Hillside Park, one of four such kiosks along Newark Bikeways segments citywide.

Margaret Allen Memorial Park

The trip from Hillside Park to Margaret Allen Memorial Park is an easy one. Take Dallam Road (another component of the West Bikeway) and turn left at Briar Lane (or Bent Lane, if you prefer—either will get you there).

Margaret Allen Memorial Park. There are no paths or roads leading into the park.
The entrance, of sorts, to Margaret Allen Memorial Park

Many of Newark’s parks aren’t your typical playground-and-picnic table recreation space, but natural areas where trees and wildlife can flourish without any more disruption than the occasional dirt trail. Margaret Allen Memorial Park is one such park, and as far as I can tell, it’s also Newark’s smallest park, less than half an acre in area. It’s a patch of forest, taking up the tip of one of the narrow triangular wedges formed by the intersection of Bent Lane and Briar Lane.

Trees and some open space at Margaret Allen Memorial Park.
Inside the park, there’s maybe a hint of the beginnings of a dirt trail.

The park’s namesake, Margaret Allen, was a Newark resident who donated the land to the City of Newark to be preserved as parkland rather than being developed. The park was named after her in 2023, 24 years after her donation of the land and 16 years after her death.

Norma B. Handloff Park

The trip from Margaret Allen Memorial Park to Norma B. Handloff Park is short, but does require a few tricky left turns. Keep going southwest on Bent Lane, then turn left onto Casho Mill Road, then left onto Barksdale Road. Continue along Barksdale and turn left into either of two parking lots.

Norma B. Handloff Park.
From the view of the sign at Norma B. Handloff Park, you can see the tennis courts, the pavilion, the skate spot, and a slide in the distance. And this isn’t even half of it!

Norma B. Handloff Park was one of the parks I visited most growing up in Newark, and let me tell you, this place has everything—tennis courts; baseball fields; basketball courts with a handball wall; at least eight playsets, swing sets, slides, and other play features, the names of which I don’t even know; the tire swing that was a yearly highlight of the Summer Playground summer camp program; and pavilion with multiple picnic tables! It boasts one of only two skate spots in the city of Newark!

A slide, two swing sets, a tire swing, and other small play features at Norma B. Handloff Park.
The beloved tire swing is in the center background.
Two play structures, each with multiple slides, at Norma B. Handloff Park. No people are visible.
These pictures make the place look empty, but there were plenty of kids all over the park the day I visited.

And still, there are huge swathes of open space and many, many trees. (Sadly, the weeping willow tree that gave shelter to Summer Playground campers for years seems to have gone the way of the program itself.) The City’s website also assures me that there’s a new rain garden at the park, though I wasn’t able to see it for myself.

A baseball field at Norma B. Handloff Park.
This is one of two baseball fields at the park, seen from the corner of Barksdale Road and Casho Mill Road. The other baseball field is just barely visible in the background.

The park’s namesake, Norma B. Handloff, was Newark’s first female mayor, who served from 1967 to 1973 and worked to improve the city’s parks. Fittingly, the park is the site of many city events and classes, including the Parks on Draft concert series and the annual Turkey Trot race.

Leroy C. Hill Park

The trip from Norma B. Handloff Park to Leroy C. Hill Park is even shorter. Head back down Barksdale Road, turn left onto Casho Mill Road, and the parking lot is on your right. You might spend longer waiting at the light than you will riding.

Leroy C. Hill Park. The City of Newark sign says Leroy Hill Park. A Little League banner says LeRoy C. Hill, Jr. Park.
The sign, parking lot, and backstop at Leroy C. Hill Park

The baseball field at Leroy C. Hill Park is one of the home fields of the Newark American Little League, and also hosts some of Newark Charter High School’s baseball games. What else is at the park, you may ask? Well, there’s a parking lot.

The parking lot at Leroy C. Hill Park.
It’s kind of incredible to me that a Little League baseball field in a small town surrounded by residential neighborhoods has this much car parking and not a single bike rack.

If you’re at Leroy C. Hill Park and you’re not playing or watching baseball, you could: search for a place to lock up your bike; contemplate the fact that the nearest baseball field, directly across the intersection at Norma B. Handloff Park, is less than a tenth of a mile away; or check out the Little Free Library, the first so far on the Newark Park Tour! Unfortunately, when I checked out this Little Free Library, it was full of ants.

Little Free Library Running Total: 1 (District 1) / 1 (All Districts)

The Little Free Library at Leroy C. Hill Park. Pollyanna and some R.L. Stine books are on the top shelf. A cluster of ants is on the bottom shelf.
You see the stuff that looks like rice on the bottom shelf? Those are ants. They have wings. Seems more R.L. Stine than Pollyanna to me.

The park’s namesake, Leroy C. Hill Jr., was a Newark resident who was thoroughly involved in baseball at the local and national levels. To quote his obituary in the Newark Post:

Hill managed baseball teams for Newark High School and town teams prior to WWII and played in the Susquehanna League afterwards. He also managed Wilmington Truck Body in the Delaware Semi Pro League and the Newark Buccos in the Vic Willis League. He was a professional baseball scout for the Phillies and the Pirates and was a founding member of the Mid Atlantic Major League Baseball Scouts Association. Hill was most proud of his being able to help Vic Willis make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The baseball field at Leroy C. Hill Park.
The baseball field at Leroy C. Hill Park, as seen from Barksdale Road, en route to Rahway Park

Rahway Park

The trip from Leroy C. Hill Park to Rahway Park requires you to turn left onto Casho Mill Road, for the third and final time this trip, then left onto Barksdale Road, then right onto Rahway Drive. Keep riding until you reach the right-angle bend in Rahway; the park will be on your left.

Rahway Park.
This is Rahway Park, yes, the whole thing. Part of a neighbor’s yard, too, is off to the left.

Rahway Park probably qualifies as a pocket park; it’s a small neighborhood park, less than an acre, on a single residential lot between two houses. One swing set and one play feature. (The latter was removed a few weeks after I took this picture, according to the City, and should be replaced soon.) One picnic table, one very climbable-looking tree (sadly, I did not have the time to test this myself), one park bench, and one exhortation to take your trash with you… and one Little Free Library!

Little Free Library Running Total: 2 (District 1) / 2 (All Districts)

The Little Free Library at Rahway Park. There are multiple John Grisham books on the bottom shelf.
This one had far fewer ants and somewhat more John Grisham.

Elan Park

The trip from Rahway Park to Elan Park takes you back down Rahway Drive the way you came, right onto Barksdale Road, and right into Blue Hen Ridge. Slog your way up the hill, and you’ll be rewarded by the park on your right.

Elan Park.
Here’s the sign and most of the features at Elan Park. Most of the grassy space isn’t captured in this picture.

Elan Park is a neighborhood park, not unlike Rahway Park, but a little bigger and a little fuller (A backpack park, if you will, rather than a pocket park), with one swing set and one play feature, the latter being more elaborate. There are one picnic table under a pavilion, several trees, a Wildlife Habitat certification, two park benches (at least), and a basketball court. There is only one Little Free Library, though, but I suppose more than one at a park this size would be too extravagant.

Little Free Library Running Total: 3 (District 1) / 3 (All Districts)

The Little Free Library at Elan Park. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is on the top shelf.
I took Rules of Civility off the top shelf about ten seconds after taking this picture. I’d already read and enjoyed Amor Towles’ other novels.

The source of Elan Park’s name is hard to track down. The nearby neighborhood of Country Place, which has a sign at the intersection of Blue Hen Ridge and Barksdale Road, actually only includes the townhouses on Chickory Way. The Newark zoning map claims that houses on Blue Hen Ridge and its offshoots of North Fawn Drive, South Fawn Drive, and Squirrel Lane belong to the Hunting Hills subdivision, but also assigns some of them to the community of Elan of Huntington Hills.

Two road signs off Barksdale Road, pointing out three neighborhoods: Elan and Country Place to the left, and Williamsburg Village to the right.
This set of signs from the other side of Barksdale Road clarifies nothing.

Coleman Park

The trip from Elan Park to Coleman Park starts by riding back down Blue Hen Ridge and right onto Barksdale Road yet again. Then turn right onto the aptly named Country Hills Drive and ride all the way to the end. Make sure you brought a bike with gears, or a battery.

Coleman Park. The trail entrance is roped off.
This is the sign at Coleman Park and entrance on Country Hills Drive. Note that the entrance is not usually roped off.

Coleman Park is another “natural area and dirt trails” park, though much larger than Margaret Allen Memorial Park. The trail runs from Country Hills Drive through the woods to Valley Road, just a few feet from the Maryland border, and not far from the Briarcreek North neighborhood. At the time of my visit, and the time of writing this, Coleman Park was closed indefinitely for safety reasons. From the Newark Post:

The inspection found that the tree canopy near the entrance to the park consists of many black locust trees that are structurally compromised by fungal decay and pose a significant risk of falling.

The walking paths are eroded and surrounded by dense thickets of greenbrier, multiflora rose and poison ivy.

“These thorny species have overgrown the area and become entangled with large woody debris from fallen trees and limbs,” City Manager Tom Coleman wrote in a memo to city council. “Significant land clearing and tree removal must be completed before we can reopen the park.”

The city does not have funding for such work in the 2025 budget, according to Coleman, who did not provide any indication as to when the park might reopen.

The trail and trees at Coleman Park.
This was about as close as I could get to the park.

The Newark Post article also contains two further pieces of information about the park: 1) it was purchased and annexed by the city in 1993 and named for the family that used to own it (no relation to the City Manager), and 2) possible future improvements to the park include paving the trail and adding a turf/meadow area. I’ll leave it to residents of the adjacent neighborhoods to decide whether or not these changes would improve the park.

If the trail through Coleman Park were open, the trip to the final park on the list would use it. Instead, you’ll need to ride back down Country Hills Drive, turn left on Barksdale Road and ride half a mile, turn left again on Casho Mill Road and ride three-quarters of a mile, turn left again on West Church Road, and ride up the hill until you spot the park on your right.

BONUS: Community Park at Church Road

The Community Park at Church Road, with the park sign in the foreground.
This is the entrance to the Community Park at Church Road. The playground, pavilion, and church are there in the back.
  • Location: 708 West Church Road
  • Bike parking spaces: 0

The Community Park at Church Road isn’t a City of Newark park, hence the “bonus” status. It’s the property of Newark Wesleyan Church, seen here, but open to the public from dawn to dusk every day. The park, which was opened to the public in the fall of 2024, includes multiple play features, a swing set, a pavilion with two picnic tables, and several park benches and chairs.

The playground at the Community Park at Church Road.
Here’s the playground, a little closer up. I’m intrigued by that spinner and the unusually-shaped swing.

District 1 residents may also know Newark Wesleyan Church as their polling place for city elections, such as the elections for mayor and District 1 councilmember held earlier this year. You all voted in that, right?

A closer view of the playground at the Community Park at Church Road, with a Welcome sign in the foreground.
Here’s a shot of the playground from inside the fence. The sign did say I was welcome, after all.

That completes the tour of District 1’s parks! Next time I’ll be exploring the parks in District 2.

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Published by sophia

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