The World's Oldest Continuously Operating Airport Is A Charming Gem Near DC Founded By A Wright Brother

It might seem hard to believe that the world's first airport is still around, but it's true. After giving birth to aviation in a tiny North Carolina beach town with their first successful flight of the Wright Flyer in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright wasted no time busying themselves with military contracts to further finance their experiments. By 1909, they'd built and sold their first-ever military observation plane, the Wright Military Flyer, for the tidy sum of $30,000. To train the earliest members of what would become the U.S. Air Force, Wilbur came to College Park, Maryland — a once-humble field less than 10 miles northeast of Washington, D.C. — and, together with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, opened an airstrip.

Unlike the First Flight Airstrip, which today commemorates that first lift-off and landing as part of the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, College Park Airport has operated continuously since the first day it opened for training. In fact, it's recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration as "the oldest continuously operating airport in the world." While it has never offered commercial flights, the airstrip is open daily to general aviation pilots who bring their own aircraft, providing them with parking, hangar rental, and fuel.

There's also an onsite aviation museum dedicated to sharing stories of the many accomplishments seen by College Park (known as the "Field of Firsts"), including flights by the first airmail delivery (operated by the U.S. Postal Service), the first helicopter, and the first female test pilot. The museum is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday and, as of this publication, regular admission is priced at $5 per adult.

A pilgrimage to College Park is an absolute must for die-hard fans of aviation, and with its location just outside Washington, D.C., getting there is easy. Since the U.S. capital also claims the title of America's "Capital of Free Museums," you can start your day at the Smithsonian campus, where both the Wright Flyer and the Wright Military Flyer are on display at the National Air and Space Museum. While driving from the National Mall takes about 30 to 40 minutes, the Green Line of the Metro offers a similarly quick ride and can be boarded from several stations along 7th Street, including L'Enfant, just two blocks south.

Surrounded by grassy lawns and suburban trees, College Park feels more like a community hub than an airport. But stand outside long enough, and you're bound to see a plane take off — from the very runway paved by the Wright Brothers. Inside, the Aviation Museum's colorful display of vintage aircraft appeals to guests of all ages and makes for some delightfully vivid photography. You can stand beneath an early Boeing, pioneered in WWII, with bright yellow wings; see a baby blue "flight simulator" from the 1970s; and even sit inside a fire-engine red, build-it-yourself helicopter from the 1990s. The museum also features rotating exhibits, including a fascinating overview of the important women in aviation who left their mark on College Park.

If you'd like to add more aviation fun to your Washington itinerary, you can explore historic planes and spacecraft for free at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Museum, just south of Washington Dulles International Airport, where the bulk of the Smithsonian's jets, warplanes, helicopters, and rockets are actually kept.