Cabins are coming to New Castle County’s only campground.
Lums Pond is steadily executing a series of planned improvements, and new cabins are the grande finale.
DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation Director Ray Bivens says this plan is set to be executed in a time of high demand.
“Other state parks around us have actually seen a decline in visitation over the past year as gas prices rose, we did not see that decline,” he said.
Just in the past 4 years, visitation has jumped from 5 million to 8 million annually across Delaware State Parks. The state’s existing cabin camping options are often booked months in advance.
“One of the complaints that we hear regularly about our campgrounds statewide is about availability. People have a hard time getting reservations, and we’re looking at that from an occupancy level,” said Bivens.
Customers are invited to take a survey after each stay in a State Park campground, and Bivens says they’ve gotten a growing number of requests for cabins in Lums Pond.
The park is situated in Bear.
“It’s certainly a very fast growing area of Delaware. But if you took an hour loop in any direction, there are really no state park cabins in that vicinity. So we know they will prove to be popular,” said Bivens.
The cabins they’re designing are 2 and 3 bedroom units with amenities, including a bathroom, kitchen, and fire pit at each site.
“We don’t know exactly how many we’re going to build, we have a phased approach because it’s as we can afford them when we go out to bid. But we’re planning the complex for up to 14 of them,” explained Bivens.
These units will be similar to the current, well-loved options at Killens Pond, Trap Pond, and Cape Henlopen.
Bivens adds that while the cost and construction timeline is ultimately up to the contractors they work with, their goal is to have some of the cabins built by Memorial Day next summer.
No major hindrances are expected to arise at the park due to construction, though there will be some minor changes.
The popular Swamp Forest trail is expected to be re-routed, and the park's lone yurt will be replaced as a cabin site.
More information about Lums Pond can be found on the park's website.
