Home > Destinations > North America > USA > Delaware > Wilmington, DE > Side Trips
Bookstore Community Tips and Tools Book a Trip Deals and News Trip Ideas, Activities, Lifestyles Hotels Destinations Frommers.com Home
Frommer's - The best trips start here. Frommer's - The best trips start here.
Sign up for our FREE Newsletters! Win a FREE Trip
Most Recommended Articles
Most Commented Articles
  Print This Article Print Get Frommer's RSS Feed RSS

Side Trips

Fort Delaware State Park, located on Pea Patch Island, in Delaware City (tel. 302/834-7941; www.destateparks.com), is about 16 miles south of Wilmington, in the Delaware River. Take Route 13 or I-95 south from Wilmington to Route 9 (turn left), which will take you to Delaware City. The park surrounds a five-sided granite fortress that served as a detention center during the Civil War. Inside, there's a museum, 19th-century cells and armaments, and an audiovisual presentation on the history of the island. Other facilities include an observation tower for bird-watchers (the island is a popular nesting spot for egrets, herons, and other marsh fowl) and an assortment of nature trails and picnic sites. To visit, take the ferry from Delaware City; it departs every hour from Battery Park at the end of Clinton Road. Once you arrive on the island, a tractor-pulled tram will take you from the dock to the fort, where, if you're visiting during a living-history weekend, you'll be greeted by a costumed interpreter playing the part of a Confederate prisoner.

The ferry fare, which includes admission to the park, is $6 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under. The site is open on weekends April through October, plus Wednesday through Friday from mid-June to Labor Day; call for exact hours, the ferry schedule, and the schedule of events. Reenactments and living-history demonstrations are held throughout the summer. The guided tours by Confederate and Union reenactors -- and the musket, artillery, and cannon demonstrations -- are great (though a bit loud) for both children and adults.


Back to Top


Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.


  Print This Article Print Get Frommer's RSS Feed RSS
Frommer's Maryland & Delaware, 8th Edition Frommer's Maryland & Delaware, 8th Edition

Author: Mary K. Tilghman
Pub Date: May 27, 2008
Price: $17.99

Buy Now!
Related Titles:
Frommer's Atlanta, 10th Edition
Frommer's Nashville & Memphis, 8th Edition
Frommer's New Orleans 2008
Sponsored Links: What's This?
Museums on Us (r) , free admission from Bank of America
Add Frommers.com RSS Feed  Add Frommers.com RSS Feed (What's This?)
Add Frommers.com Deals & News to Your Web Site
Add to My Yahoo!     Add to My MSN     More RSS Readers
Add Frommers.com Podcast Add Frommers.com Podcast (What's This?)
Home > Destinations > North America > USA > Delaware > Wilmington, DE > Side Trips