Group Tours

The St. Jones Reserve is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and during otherwise scheduled public events. Located on Kitts Hummock Road off US 113 or Route 9, south Dover, ½ mile past the John Dickinson Plantation.

Central Delaware’s natural wonders are on display at the St. Jones Estuarine Research Reserve, a state-of-the-art environmental research center on the St. Jones River south of Dover. A new educational center on-site offers hands-on nature programs, children’s programs, nature trails, canoe trips and educational boat trips for the public year-round to allow visitors to learn about the tidal St. Jones River. A boardwalk trail winds through the marshes and forests along the river behind the center.

The St. Jones Center for Estuarine Studies is used to demonstrate how science and education can solve coastal programs and improve awareness and understanding of estuaries. An estuary, or estuarine habitat, is defined as the mouth of a river where the fresh water flowing off the land meets the tidal salt water from the bay. This mix of fresh and saltwater provides a habitat very rich in marine life, playing an important role in the ocean’s food chain.

Call the reserve at 302-739-3436 for event schedules and registration information. Fun programs for the public include boat trips on the river in a 24-foot Carolina skiff, canoe trips, marsh walks, and research programs. The St. Jones Center for Estuarine Studies also offers on-site and outreach programs for students in grades K-12. Students learn about topics such as watersheds, beach ecology, water pollution and water quality, land use decisions, and horseshoe crabs. Programs and special events are offered year-round.

The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNERR) is a cooperative program between the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whose goal is to establish, protect, and manage natural estuarine habitats for research and education. The DNERR consists of two components, the St. Jones River in Dover and Blackbird Creek north of Smyrna. These sites include both brackish and freshwater estuaries, and represent the diverse estuarine ecosystems found throughout the Mid-Atlantic. 

Group Tours
Amenities: Wheelchair accessible, restrooms, educational programs, trails, boat trips.
Fees: Admission is free, but donations are welcome.
Tour Tips: Allow 1-2 hours for a program at the reserve. Pre-registration is required. One motorcoach maximum per tour. Motorcoach parking available. The reserve conducts programs related to the springtime horseshoe crab-shorebird phenomenon on Delaware Bay beaches.