Delaware City
Small Incorporated River Town On The Delaware River In New Castle County, Laid Out In The 1820s At The Original Eastern End Of The Chesapeake And Delaware Canal, With A Historic District Along Clinton Street And Fort DuPont State Park On Its Southern Edge · Delaware City, Delaware
Delaware City is a small river town on the Delaware about fifteen miles south of Wilmington, laid out around 1826 by promoters who expected it to become a great port at the eastern end of the new Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The port never came: the canal was later rebuilt as a sea-level channel with its entrance moved south, and the town was left as a quiet grid of 19th-century brick and frame buildings along Clinton Street. The original branch of the canal and the remains of its old lock still sit beside Battery Park on the waterfront, where people fish, watch tankers and cargo ships pass on the river, and board the seasonal ferry to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island. Next door, Fort DuPont State Park keeps the grounds of an old Army post used from the Civil War era to the Second World War, with a river trail and old buildings being slowly redeveloped. The Michael N. Castle Trail starts here and runs west along the canal. Be ready for the view north: a large oil refinery fills the skyline. It is modest and quiet, best as a half day with the ferry or a bike ride.
Clinton Street and Washington Street, Delaware City, Delaware, 19706, United States
The town has no gates or hours: Clinton Street, Battery Park and the waterfront promenade are open and free at any reasonable time, and street parking has generally been free - confirm any posted limits. The Fort Delaware ferry is the thing that governs most visits. It runs only in season, roughly late April to late September, and generally Wednesday through Sunday, with a small number of scheduled departures each day from the dock at 45 Clinton Street; tickets cover the ferry and fort entry together, and boats can sell out on summer weekends or be cancelled in bad weather - confirm the schedule and book ahead. Outside the season and on Mondays and Tuesdays there is no ferry at all. Fort DuPont State Park is open daily from about 8 AM to sunset, and a per-vehicle state park fee may apply in season - confirm. Restaurants and cafes in town keep short, irregular hours, many close one or two days a week, and several shut early or close for part of the winter. Confirm anything you depend on before driving down.