Killens Pond State Park is a Delaware state park located south of the town of Felton

Felton, Delaware

Felton is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,298 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Felton is located at ....

 in Kent County

Kent County, Delaware

Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is coextensive with the Dover, Delaware, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population was 162,310, a 28.1% increase over the previous decade. The county seat is Dover, the state capital...

, Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

 in the United States. The park surrounds a 66 acres (267,092.8 m²) pond known as Killens Pond located along the Murderkill River

Murderkill River

The Murderkill River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in central Delaware in the United States. It is approximately long and drains an area of on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.The Murderkill flows for its entire length in southern Kent County...

. Amenities available include boating, fishing, hiking, playgrounds, and picnic areas. The park also features a nature center, year-round campgrounds and a water park

Water park

A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments...

 that is open during the summer months.

History

Killens Pond State Park on the Murderkill River was previously the site of a millpond and the location of several Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 hunting camps and homes. The millpond was built in the late 18th century. The river received its name after the local Indians attacked and killed the members of a Dutch settlement in 1648. The state park was opened to the public in 1965.

Recreation

Killens Pond State Park is opened for year-round recreation and features a waterpark, Killens Pond Water Park. Killens Pond and the Murderkill River are open to fishing and boating. Common game fish include bass

Bass (fish)

Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...

, crappie

Crappie

Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...

, bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

, catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

, perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

 and pickerel

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

. Canoes, rowboats, kayaks and pedal boat

Pedalo

A paddle boat or "pedalo" is a form of waterborne transport, primarily for recreational use, powered through the use of pedals....

s are permitted on the pond and the river is the site of the Murderkill River Canoe Trail.

There are several miles of trails at Killens Pond State Park. They are open to hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and cross-country running. There is an 18 hole disc golf

Disc golf

Disc golf is a disc game in which individual players throw a flying disc into a basket or at a target. According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, "The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc." Of the more than 3000...

 course running through the park. Ice Storm Trail passes through a forest that is recovering from the effects of a 1994 ice storm that stripped many of the trees. The park also features several ballfields and playing courts, as well as a bike path the follows the main park entrance from U.S. Route 13

U.S. Route 13 in Delaware

U.S. Route 13 is the main north–south highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. It traverses the entire length of the state from the Maryland border in Delmar, Sussex County to the Pennsylvania border in Claymont, New Castle County. U.S. Route 13 connects many important cities and towns in...

.