Looking for a fun, kid-friendly road trip from DC or Philadelphia day trip? You should consider adding Wilmington to your East Coast family vacation itinerary because there are lots of fun things to do in Wilmington DE with kids!
Wilmington is located less than an hour from Philadelphia and only about two hours from Washington DC. It has historic mansions with beautiful sweeping gardens, riverside miniature golf, and museums to interest the whole family.
Venture a bit further outside the city to walk the streets of New Castle where Delaware state history began. Families can also take a ride from Delaware City out to Fort Delaware where it is always 1864. Here are a favorite things to do when visiting Wilmington, Delaware.
Things to do in Wilmington DE with Kids
1. Walk Through the Gardens at Winterthur
Since the founding of the black powder works at Hagely in 1802, the history and prosperity of Wilmington and the state of Delaware has been tied to the Du Pont family. By the turn of the century, the large Du Pont family owned many homes across the East Coast.
These included a few large estates in the Brandywine Valley, most notably Nemours Estate and the property that is now the Winterthur Museum and Gardens. You can imagine these houses are a treasure trove of early American paintings and historic furniture that will thrill any American history buff.
Surprisingly, these historic houses also cater to families with young children. They have scavenger hunts featuring animals, rooms set aside for tots to play, and one of the most enchanting children’s gardens in America. Preschoolers will favor hours of playtime in the Enchanted Woods and Touch-It Room.
A visit to Winterthur enchants visitors of all ages! Families could easily spend an entire day exploring the grounds and the museum. Hopping on a Garden Tram Tour is the perfect way to acclimate yourself to the naturalistic style gardens. H.F. du Pont, a Harvard educated horticulturalist, designed the gardens himself.
The garden has a legendary bloom that lasts nearly the entire spring season. Azaleas are the highlight during the month of May. Children delight at the Enchanted Woods. It holds many surprises for children from a misting fairy mushroom ring to a stream with a water pump and watering cans inviting play. There are tours to fit every interest at the massive house.
2. Nemours Estate
Nemours Estate, the home of A.I. du Pont, is much smaller than the sprawling property and farmland at Winterthur up the road.
The French-inspired decor of the mansion is also a sharp contrast to the early American furnishings collected by H.F. du Pont at Winterthur. Stepping through the doors at Nemours mansion, any little girl will immediately imagine herself a princess.
Staff warmly greeted my daughter as she walked through the doors of the mansion. Most docents that we encountered throughout our self-guided tour took the time to chat with my daughter and tell her stories of the du Pont girls that called Nemours home.
To make the visit even more special, a docent gave my daughter a scavenger hunt featuring the animals found in the art throughout the house. Surprisingly, my 9-year-old daughter says that our visit to Nemours was the highlight of our mother-daughter weekend in Wilmington!
3. Hagley Museum
Visiting the Hagley Museum fills in the back story of the Du Pont family’s prominence in the Brandywine Valley. Situated on the Brandywine River, the museum now tells the story of how black powder was produced at the property.
Families can visit the machine shop for a fascinating tour on how the river’s power was harnessed in the industrial process.
4. Marshall Steam Museum
Open only one Sunday a month in the spring, summer, and fall months, the Marshall Steam Museum is certainly a hidden gem for families visiting Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley.
Its collection features antique automobiles dating from the early 20th century. That’s the same time period when the Du Pont family inhabited their beautiful mansions nearby. The automobiles in the Marshall Steam Museum’s collection are powered by gasoline, electric or steam.
Museum volunteers take visitors on rides all afternoon long when the museum is open.
There are also two small trains that families can ride around the property. The rides are short, but great fun for kids. My daughter and I rode three of the automobiles in the museum’s collection the afternoon that we visited. We both agree that a carriage-shaped small electric car (more than a hundred years old) with a unique, unrecognizable steering system was our favorite. We also took a ride in a real Model T!
5. Stroll the Riverwalk
While Wilmington certainly enjoyed many years as an industrial powerhouse in the 19th and 20th centuries, in recent years a great environmental effort has been made to reclaim the wetlands along the Christina River and make the city’s Riverwalk neighborhood a fun place for people of all ages to enjoy.
There are lots of great restaurants in the area as well as plenty of green spaces for the kids to run around and enjoy.
6. Play Riverwalk Mini Golf
Considering that for much of the past 200 years, this area had been dominated by shipbuilding companies and industry, the Riverwalk is a surprisingly fun place for families to spend an afternoon or evening.
In the shadow of the Delaware Children’s Museum, Riverwalk Mini Golf is a highlight for kids. In addition to fun mini-golf, Riverwalk Mini Golf also offers bicycle rentals so that families can ride along the river.
7. du Pont Environmental Education Center
Soon to be connected by bike path to historic New Castle, the Dupont Environmental Education Center sits on the Wilmington Riverfront inside the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge.
This wildlife refuge is a huge part of the post industrial clean-up of the Christina River. Environmentalists are working to clear out the invasive species that have taken over the marsh. The hope is that the marsh will return it to how was 300 years ago. The education center offers many programs from meet-and-greets with marsh animals like frogs, to kayaking programs out on the river.
8. Fort Delaware State Park
Did you know that Delaware has it’s own living history museum? By taking the short boat ride from Delaware City over to Fort Delaware State Park on Pea Patch Island, families step back in time to 1864.
At the fort there are several characters who are dressed up as everything from a blacksmith to an officer’s wife. They are all ready to answer questions about their life at Fort Delaware during the Civil War.
Kids can help the laundress scrub the laundry or they can take a lesson from the school teacher who taught a class of students at this remote fort. Families will learn about the Confederate prisoners that were held in barracks just outside the fort. Children can also climb around amongst the cannons.
9. Historic New Castle
Delawareans are proud of their First State history. The state is certainly small; it stretches only about 100 miles from the forested byways of the Brandywine Valley, through farmland, to the shores of the Atlantic. However, the history reaches back to the Dutch and Swedish settlers of the 1630s. Without these settlers Delaware might possibly have been part of Pennsylvania or Maryland today.
Check out Trekaroo’s Top 10 Things to do with Kids in Delaware.
The Dutch, Swedish, British, and American flags flying on the historic streets and over the courthouse in New Castle clearly indicate Delaware’s complicated history. This is where William Penn first landed and set foot on American soil as he took proprietor of Pennsylvania.
Delaware remained fully under this government for over 20 years until signing the Declaration of Independence as its own separate colony.
Families can learn about this contentious history by visiting the free New Castle Court House Museum, part of the First State National Historic Site. While in New Castle, be sure to eat at Jessop’s Tavern, founded in 1674, where the wait staff is dressed as they would have been in colonial America.
10. River Taxi Wilmington
Take a ride on Wilmington’s River Taxi for a kid-friendly tour of the Christina River, running right through downtown Wilmington. Learn about Wilmington’s industrial past, the animals that now live along this stretch of river, and Harriet Tubman’s work alongside Thomas Garrett on the Underground Railroad. Kids will love how the Market Street Bridge opens just for the boat to pass through!
11. Delaware Museum of Natural History
Have a future biologist in the family? Or maybe a preschooler fascinated by dinosaurs? The Delaware Museum of Natural History is a great place for children to learn about animals, conservation, and the natural world around them.
Much of the collection is behind glass, but the museum has a fun scavenger hunt for young naturalists. The staff are enthusiastic and happy to give hints. There’s also a play room for tots complete with a kid-sized bat cave.
12. Delaware Art Museum
With a charming outdoor sculpture garden, free admission Sundays, and a colorful children’s room down in the basement, the Delaware Art Museum is a fun place to spend an afternoon with the kids. Stroll through the American art collection, and then a break to play with the colorful Tetris-like mosaic tiles in the children room.
Where to Stay in Wilmington, Delaware
During our mother-daughter weekend getaway in Wilmington, my daughter and I stayed at Homewood Suites in a lovely two-bedroom suite. One bedroom in our suite had a king bed and the other had two doubles. The two bedroom suite has a two bedrooms separated by a spacious living area with a kitchen.
Each bedroom has a large connecting bathroom. In the morning, we enjoyed a continental breakfast including fresh pancakes with fruit rolled up inside. This hotel is located within walking distance of about five chain restaurants, such as Olive Garden and TGI Fridays.
Disclosure: The author was hosted by the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. All opinions are her own.
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