DE 9 begins at an interchange with DE 1 just south of the toll road terminus at the south end of Dover Air Force Base near the city of Dover in Kent County. Past DE 1, the route heads north-northeast on two-lane undivided Bayside Drive. DE 9 soon reaches an intersection with Kitts Hummock Road, which leads east to the John Dickinson Plantation, which is part of First State National Historical Park, and the community of Kitts Hummock on the Delaware Bay. Following this, the route passes between the runways of Dover Air Force Base to the west and fields to the east. Along this stretch, Heritage Road leads west to the Air Mobility Command Museum on the base grounds. After the air base, the road continues north through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes to the west of the Little Creek Wildlife Area.