Dayton to Detroit drive: Distance, time & best road trip stops
The distance from Dayton to Detroit by car is 209 miles, with a 3h10m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Dayton to Detroit drive are Wapokoneta, the National Museum of the Great Lakes and the Henry Ford Museum.
Planning a Dayton to Detroit road trip itinerary
The Dayton to Detroit drive takes you from the home of the Wright Brothers in Ohio to the biggest city in Michigan.
Dayton, Ohio, isn’t a massive city, but it has more than played its part in history. It was here that Orville and Wilbur Wright created the first plane capable of manned, sustained flight. The original Wright Cycle Company Shop that still stands is not where the Wright Flyer was made – that was a future incarnation of the company HQ – but it was home to their bicycle business.
In Dayton, you can also visit the SunWatch Indian Village, a recreated Native American village. Alternatively, explore the National Museum of the US Air Force.
Top things to do in Detroit include the excellent architecture walking tours, the Sealife Michigan Aquarium and the Legoland Discovery Centre. The Motown Museum and Ford Piquette Avenue Plant are great, too.
Dayton to Detroit distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Dayton to Detroit is 209 miles. This makes for a driving time of around three hours and 10 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-75.
The best stops to add to a Dayton to Detroit road trip itinerary are Wapokoneta, the National Museum of the Great Lakes and the Henry Ford Museum.
Dayton to Detroit drive: Wapakoneta
Wapakoneta, Ohio, is home to the delightfully odd Temple of Tolerance. Created by artist Jim Bowsher, this place of refuge has been created over two decades. It has been a laborious process of finding big rocks and moving them into position.
But Wapakoneta is best known as the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. The Armstrong Air and Space Museum pays tribute to the pioneer astronaut. It also looking at Ohio’s contribution to space exploration.
Things to do between Dayton and Detroit: National Museum of the Great Lakes
The National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, really embraces the scale and scope of its subject. The aim is to show how the Great Lakes have shaped America’s cultural, economic and political history, covering everything from the Underground Railroad to Prohibition-era rum-runners.
The highlight of the visit is the Col. James M. Schoonmaker, once an iron ore freighter plying its trade on the lakes, now a museum ship.
Other Toledo experiences include Toledo Zoo.
Dayton to Detroit road trip attractions: Henry Ford Museum
A slight detour off the route in Dearborn, Michigan, the Henry Ford is arguably the most astonishing museum in the United States.
The Henry Ford is home to an incredible haul of modern history. The bus on which Rosa Parks made her world-changing civil rights protest is there, as is the car JFK was assassinated in.
The Greenfield Village outside has remarkably transported buildings such as the courthouse in which Abraham Lincoln practiced law and the bike shop where the Wright Brothers made the first plane brick by brick.
You can very easily spend a full day here.
More Dayton road trips
Dayton to Chicago | Dayton to Cleveland | Dayton to Columbus | Dayton to Indianapolis.
More Detroit road trips
Detroit to Atlanta | Detroit to Baltimore | Detroit to Buffalo | Detroit to Chicago | Cincinnati to Detroit | Cleveland to Detroit | Columbus to Detroit | Dallas to Detroit | Fort Wayne to Detroit | Grand Rapids to Detroit | Houston to Detroit | Detroit to Indianapolis | Kalamazoo to Detroit | Detroit to Knoxville | Lansing to Detroit | Louisville to Detroit | Memphis to Detroit | Detroit to Milwaukee | Detroit to Nashville | Detroit to Niagara Falls | Philadelphia to Detroit | Pittsburgh to Detroit | Detroit to St Louis | Toledo to Detroit.