9 Amazing Delaware Day Trips That Are Worth The Drive

The du Pont family left a serious mark on Delaware, and some of the best day trips in the state trace right back to them. The Hagley Museum in Wilmington sits on the site of E.I. du Pont's original 1802 gunpowder works, complete with a restored French garden and cannon firings throughout the day. Fifteen minutes up the road, Winterthur holds over 80,000 American-made objects inside a former du Pont family manor surrounded by 60 acres of curated gardens. But the state has a lot more going on beyond the du Pont legacy. Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island served as a Civil War prisoner of war camp and now doubles as one of the Atlantic Coast's biggest nesting sites for herons and egrets. Farther south, the Discoversea Shipwreck Museum on Fenwick Island houses artifacts from the 1622 Atocha wreck and the Spanish Treasure Fleets. Here are nine day trips across Delaware that are all within a short drive of each other..

Delaware Children's Museum

As the only children's museum in the state, the Delaware Children's Museum is a must-stop for young families. It helps children release their energy through exhibits, such as the Farm-to-Table Exhibit. Here, children can learn about Delaware's agriculture by picking up toy eggs and peach blossoms and pretending to run a produce stand.

All of the museum's exhibits encourage hands-on play, such as the Studio D Exhibit for weaving, painting, and sculpting, and the Earth Balloon, a 19-foot inflatable that can hold 30 children at a time. The balloon is used for hands-on lessons about geography, geology, and map skills. Make sure to check the museum's calendar before you visit so it aligns with one of the museum's periodic events.

Delaware Art Museum

Art lovers can browse around 12,000 pieces of art from throughout the centuries. One of its best collections is of British Pre-Raphaelite art. This art style began in 1848 as a reaction against the Royal Academy, in favor of a return to Renaissance styles of bright colors and subject matter. One especially famous painting here is of Romeo and Juliet, painted by Ford Madox Brown from 1869 to 1870.

The museum also contains collections of American art from both the 1800s and the modern era, including a 1983 oil on canvas painting of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Grace Hartigan. If you step just outside the museum, you can walk through the Copeland Sculpture Garden, which features 20 sculptures amid native flora.

Hagley Museum and Library

Before you leave Wilmington, you'll want to drop by its most historic resident: the Hagley Museum and Library. In 1802, the French immigrant E.I. du Pont established a gunpowder facility, along with a garden and a mansion. From there, it continued to grow, eventually incorporating mills and buildings to house workers.

By visiting the museum, you can tour the Eleutherian Mills Residence and the Hagley Powder Yard, which produced the gunpowder. The museum also contains an exhibit of more than 120 patent models of inventions from the 1800s as part of the Nation of Inventors. The grounds themselves are worth seeing for their restored French-style garden. Keep in mind that throughout the day, the museum will showcase the power of the gunpowder cannons through cannon firings. The museum sits next to the Brandywine River, which is great for hiking or running, especially during Hagley's 5K Along the Brandywine in April.

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Just 15 minutes away from Wilmington is one of the most magical places in Delaware: the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. The grounds were owned by the du Pont family, who built a Greek Revival-style manor home there in the 1840s. Over the decades, it was converted into a French manor and adorned with a vast collection of 18th- and 19th-century furniture. Today, the manor museum houses more than 80,000 objects made or used in America since 1640, including furniture, vehicles, glass, paintings, textiles, and decorative arts.

The garden surrounding the museum spans 60 acres and is filled with colorful flowers, all carefully selected by its last owner, Henry Francis du Pont. The path is designed in a curved fashion, so there are beautiful sites around every corner.

Fort Delaware State Park

Just 30 minutes away from the airport is one of Delaware's first state parks, which previously served military purposes. An initial fort was begun here in 1815, but was later destroyed by a fire. The current fort was constructed between 1840 and 1860, just before the American Civil War. From there, it was used as a prisoner of war camp for captured Confederates. When you arrive at the park, you may be greeted by living reenactors dressed in Union uniforms to give you a tour of the fort's grounds and tell of its long story. You may even be able to see the Columbiad cannon fire from the top of its ramparts.

The fort is located on Pea Patch Island, which is known as one of the biggest Atlantic Coast nesting sites for herons, egrets, and other nesting birds. You can take binoculars or a camera out to capture these birds from the Prison Camp Trail or the Heron observation platform.

Air Mobility Command Museum

There are many aviation museums throughout the United States, but none are specifically dedicated to airlifts other than the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base. This museum specifically focuses on the delivery of goods and supplies, including fuel, by air. These airlifts proved crucial in supplying soldiers during World War II and in providing humanitarian aid, such as the famous Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949, which delivered critical food and supplies to West Berliners affected by the Soviet Union's Berlin Blockade.

The museum offers exhibits highlighting the Vietnam and Korean Wars, along with historic aircraft like the C-47A Skytrain. This aircraft was used during the D-Day landings in World War II and is one of about 30 aircraft in the museum.

Cape Henlopen State Park

In southeastern Delaware, you can spend a whole day basking in the sun at Cape Henlopen within the Cape Henlopen State Park. This land is one of the oldest public places in America, as William Penn declared it for "the usage of the citizens of Lewes and Sussex County" in 1682.

The park served military purposes before becoming the modern state park, which includes 5,000 acres of maritime forests, beaches, and hiking trails. The park is more than just a nature retreat; it also serves a crucial role in America's coastal defenses, as you can learn at Fort Miles Artillery Park, which features a museum, barracks, and fire control tower. Visitors who want to get up close to the maritime life in Cape Henlopen can go to a touch tank at the Seaside Nature Center. This center has bikes available for you to borrow to explore the trails.

Fenwick Island State Park

Fenwick Island sits at the southern end of Delaware between the Little Assawoman Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area has a maritime rescue history and nearby World War II coastal defenses, including a fire control tower along the shoreline. By travelling here, you can pick your spot at its three miles of beaches or go looking for ghost crabs. Lifeguards are on duty here Memorial Day through Labor Day, along with a concessions stand.

If you have a vehicle with a surf fishing license, you can go out into the waters to fish. If you don't, you can pick one up at the Delaware Seashore State Park Office nearby.

Discoversea Shipwreck Museum

The state park isn't the only place worth visiting on Fenwick Island. You can also dive into the history of shipwrecks in Delaware from the 1600s to the 1700s at the Discoversea Shipwreck Museum. This museum opened in 1995 to showcase artifacts recovered from the shipwrecks around the Mid-Atlantic.

Throughout the museum, you can find artifacts and information about sinkings such as the 1622 Atocha Shipwreck and the 1715 and 1733 Spanish Treasure Fleets. The museum has treasure bars that would have been found on these treasure fleets, which extracted gold from the New World, and were intended to be taken back to Spain. The museum has 10,000 artifacts on site at a time, with constant rotations so the information is always fresh.

Museums, Islands, And Homes To See In Delaware

By taking a day trip out to any of these destinations, you'll find experiences like none other, whether that's a black powder factory by a French manor, one of the first public beaches in America, or expertly preserved Pre-Raphaelite art at the Delaware Art Museum. Children will be delighted playing with the exhibits at the Delaware Children's Museum or learning how to swim in the shoreside beaches, while couples will find many spots for a good date night. Delaware is a small state, but it packs a lot in for visitors to see.