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Trip from Bear, DE to Clayton, DE

Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

35m

Distance

28 mi

45 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$5

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 9 min
4 AM
0h 33m ★
6 AM
0h 36m
8 AM
0h 42m
10 AM
0h 38m
12 PM
0h 37m
3 PM
0h 38m
5 PM
0h 42m
8 PM
0h 34m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

census-designated place in Delaware, United States

Bear, DE

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Clayton, DE, DE

Clayton, DE

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Bear, DE to Clayton, DE covers 28 miles and takes about 35m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, South Dupont Parkway, East Glenwood Avenue for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 23.4 miles on Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $4.64 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 35m. Total distance: 28 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

35m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

Scenic Drive

Turn-heavy local drive route profile.

Drive Character

Expect a 35m drive with frequent turns across 28 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 15 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway is the longest continuous segment at about 23.4 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. You will hit about 9 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near DE 7 / Bear Corbitt Road.

Driving Effort 6/10

Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This drive requires moderate attention. Across 28 miles you will encounter 9 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (DE 7 / Bear Corbitt Road): Navigation decision point; at 0.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early; at 8.1 miles (DE 1 Toll / Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 9 key points

These are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.

4
0.1 mi into trip | ~0m in | DE 7 / Bear Corbitt Road

Turn right onto DE 7 / Bear Corbitt Road

Navigation decision point

5
0.5 mi into trip | ~1m in

Take the exit toward DE 1 South: Dover

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early

Toward DE 1 South: Dover
6
8.1 mi into trip | ~10m in | DE 1 Toll / Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway

Keep slight left at fork onto DE 1 Toll / Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / slight right lanes.
4
8.4 mi into trip | ~10m in | DE 1 Toll / Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway

Keep slight left at fork onto DE 1 Toll / Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway

Highway fork - watch signs carefully

4
24.2 mi into trip | ~28m in

Take the exit toward US 13: Rest Area

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early

Toward US 13: Rest Area

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway 23.4 mi 27m
South Dupont Parkway 1.3 mi 2m
East Glenwood Avenue 1.1 mi 1m
Smyrna Clayton Boulevard 0.4 mi <1m
Main Street 0.3 mi 1m
Pulaski Highway 0.2 mi <1m
North Dupont Boulevard 0.2 mi <1m
Bear Corbitt Road 0.2 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway — 23.4 mi, about 27m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Bear, DE and Clayton, DE.

1

Start on Old Hamburg Road

0.1 mi · 32 sec · Old Hamburg Road
2

Turn right onto DE 7

0.2 mi · 25 sec · Bear Corbitt Road
3

Turn right onto US 40

0.2 mi · 21 sec · Pulaski Highway
4

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 22 sec
Toward DE 1 South: Dover
5

Merge onto DE 1

7.3 mi · 8 min · Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway
6

Keep slight left at fork onto DE 1 Toll

0.3 mi · 19 sec · Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7

Keep slight left at fork onto DE 1 Toll

16 mi · 18 min · Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway
8

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 41 sec
Toward US 13: Rest Area
9

Turn left onto US 13

1.3 mi · 2 min · South Dupont Parkway
10

Continue on US 13

0.2 mi · 28 sec · North Dupont Boulevard
11

Turn right onto DE 300

1.1 mi · 1 min · East Glenwood Avenue
12

Turn slight right onto DE 6

0.4 mi · 49 sec · Smyrna Clayton Boulevard
13

Continue on DE 6

0.3 mi · 1 min · Main Street
14

Turn right onto Clayton Avenue

22 ft · 0 sec · Clayton Avenue
15

Arrive at destination

Clayton Avenue

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$4.64 one way

$9.28 round trip

$4.21/gal 25.4 MPG avg 10 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.61 $5.08 $10.17
premium $4.93 $5.43 $10.86
diesel $5.61 $6.18 $12.36

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$5

Estimated CO2 emission: 9.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 70% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 8.4 0 $2.94 $1.34
Efficient EV 7 0 $2.45 $1.12
EV Truck/SUV 11.2 0 $3.92 $1.79

Gas CO2

10 kg

EV CO2

3 kg (70% less)

This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast as of Apr 15, 2026

Origin

Bear, DE

Late night in Bear on Saturday

Local time

2:40 AM

EDT

Current temp

63°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Clayton, DE

Late night in Clayton on Saturday

Local time

2:40 AM

EDT

Current temp

49°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

14 degrees cooler at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

35m on the road

Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Bear, DE to Clayton, DE covers 28 miles and takes about 35m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, South Dupont Parkway, East Glenwood Avenue. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 14 miles from Bear, DE. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $4.64 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.

Leave by 9 AM and you'll arrive before lunch. Even a 4 PM departure gets you there before dark in summer.

This drive requires moderate attention. Across 28 miles you will encounter 9 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (DE 7 / Bear Corbitt Road): Navigation decision point; at 0.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early; at 8.1 miles (DE 1 Toll / Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.

The route from Bear, DE to Clayton, DE does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

How this page is built

Compiled by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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