Dover

Dover is the capital and second-most-populous city in Delaware, after Wilmington, with a 2024 population estimate of 40,191. The First State nickname isn't marketing — Delaware really was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and Dover has been the seat of that government for the whole history since. The Green, the city's historic central square, still hosts the Delaware Supreme Court and the Kent County Courthouse, which means Dover's colonial-era downtown is still doing colonial-era work.

Dover Air Force Base sits inside the city's southeast limits and houses two airlift wings — a genuinely large military presence for a city this size. On the base grounds, the Air Mobility Command Museum grew out of a 1986 historical center and became the Air Mobility Command Museum in 1997; it now displays vintage aircraft from World War II through the modern era, including a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress and a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, plus a flight simulator and the retired 1956–2009 control tower cab.

The other Dover institution is Dover Motor Speedway — the Monster Mile, a one-mile concrete NASCAR oval that broke ground in October 1967 and opened March 8, 1969. It runs on concrete rather than asphalt, a surface change made in 1995 that's part of why drivers still talk about it differently than other tracks; permanent seating runs to 54,000, and NASCAR Cup Series races here draw crowds that dwarf Dover's own population.

The Green is the anchor for Dover's colonial history — the historic square that still hosts the Delaware Supreme Court and the Kent County Courthouse, surrounded by the kind of preserved 18th-century architecture that makes clear this has been the seat of Delaware government since statehood. If a race weekend lines up with your trip, the Monster Mile becomes the obvious second anchor: a concrete mile oval that's hosted NASCAR since 1969, with a nickname drivers use without irony.

We were unable to confirm which restaurants are currently open in downtown Dover around The Green.

On race weekends, food centers on the speedway grounds: the speedway lists concession stands around the track and says fans may bring their own food and drink into the grandstands.

20 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Dover in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• Cape MayNew Jerseyabout 40 mi
• AnnapolisMarylandabout 55 mi
• Atlantic CityNew Jerseyabout 60 mi
• BaltimoreMarylandabout 60 mi
• Independence HallPennsylvaniaabout 60 mi
• Ocean CityMarylandabout 60 mi
• PhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaabout 60 mi
• National Air and Space MuseumDistrict of Columbiaabout 80 mi
• Washington, D.C. — U.S. CapitolDistrict of Columbiaabout 80 mi
• TrentonNew Jerseyabout 85 mi
• Washington, D.C.District of Columbiaabout 85 mi
• FrederickMarylandabout 100 mi
• HarrisburgPennsylvaniaabout 110 mi
• Harpers FerryWest Virginiaabout 120 mi
• New York CityNew Yorkabout 130 mi
• NewarkNew Jerseyabout 130 mi
• Statue of Liberty National MonumentNew Yorkabout 130 mi
• Museum of Modern Art — MoMANew Yorkabout 140 mi
• RichmondVirginiaabout 150 mi
• Shenandoah CountryVirginiaabout 160 mi

Half a day covers The Green and downtown; a full day if you're adding the Air Mobility Command Museum. Race weekends are their own full-day-or-more commitment.

Seasonal timing: the speedway lists its 2027 NASCAR weekend with the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Saturday, May 15, and the Cup Series race on Sunday, May 16; the Air Mobility Command Museum's Open Cockpit Day runs every third Saturday of the month from April through October, and the museum says its aircraft are closed when the outside temperature exceeds 90°F.

Both the Air Mobility Command Museum and the Old State House are free; the State House is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with guided tours at 10, 11, 1, 2 and 3.

We were unable to confirm how far in advance hotels fill for Monster Mile race weekends. The speedway lists event camping, with check-in as early as Wednesday of race week in most lots, and race weekend travel packages that include hotel accommodations through On Location.

*Fees subject to change, please check dovermotorspeedway.com for updated information.

Air Mobility Command Museum

Address

1301 Heritage Rd, Dover AFB, DE 19902

Hours

See official site for current days/hours and base-access policy

Price

Free admission

Link

amcmuseum.org

We checked opening hours, seasonal opening, operating status, fees and reservations on 2026-10-13. These change without notice — confirm with amcmuseum.org, history.delaware.gov, nps.gov and dovermotorspeedway.com the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Dover, not drive time.

• Dover Civil Air Terminal/Dover Air Force Base (DOV) — 4 miles
• Millville Municipal (MIV) — 28 miles
• Cape May County (WWD) — 35 miles