The route provides access to Rehoboth Beach from DE 1, heading north before turning to the west.

From DE 1, the route heads north on two-lane undivided King Charles Avenue.

The route bends north and crosses the lake, where it enters the city of Rehoboth Beach.

The road intersects DE 1B, which connects to DE 1, before it comes to a roundabout at Grove Street/Columbia Avenue, with Columbia Avenue heading northeast to provide access to the town of Henlopen Acres, the community of North Shores, and the Gordons Pond section of Cape Henlopen State Park.

[3][4] DE 1A has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 25,168 vehicles just west of Rehoboth Beach to a low of 3,437 vehicles on the Rehoboth Avenue Extension frontage road at the northern terminus at DE 1.

[11] The roundabout features a replica of the Cape Henlopen Light and serves as a gateway to Rehoboth Beach.

Senators Tom Carper and Joe Biden helped secure federal funds for the project.