Regional Guide · 17 beaches
Delaware Bay Beaches
The Delaware Bay shoreline is a different animal from Delaware's Atlantic coast — calmer, quieter, and dotted with tiny bayside villages that live around horseshoe crab spawning, bird migration, and the slow rhythm of the tide. Communities like Slaughter Beach, Broadkill, Bowers, Pickering, and Kitts Hummock are on the MDE/DNREC monitoring map even when they're not on most travel guides. Lewes is the grandest; Prime Hook NWR the wildest. Water is generally calmer than the Atlantic, shallower, and warms earlier.
Current Conditions
Average water temperature: 78°F
Across 17 monitored stations on the Delaware Bay.
When to Go
May through September for wading, crabbing, and bird watching. Peak horseshoe crab spawning runs late May through June on a full-moon tide — one of the biggest natural events on the East Coast.
Watch Out For
Several Bay beaches turn to mud toward low tide (Pickering, Kitts Hummock notably) — arrive at mid-tide or rising for a proper swim. Greenheads (biting flies) can be fierce on still summer afternoons. Respect posted piping-plover and least-tern nesting closures at Prime Hook.
Delaware · 12
All Delaware beaches →Kitts Hummock Beach
Ideal for fishing.
Augustine Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Lewes Beach
Ideal for fishing.
Pickering Beach
Great day for swimming.
Big Stone Beach
Great day for a beach walk.
Woodland Beach Wildlife Area
Ideal for a beach walk.
Port Mahon
Ideal for a beach walk.
Broadkill Beach
Great day for a beach walk.
Slaughter Beach
Great day for a beach walk.
Bowers Beach
Great day for a beach walk.
South Bowers Beach
Great day for a beach walk.
Prime Hook NWR — Fowler Beach
Decent day for sunbathing.
New Jersey · 5
All New Jersey beaches →Fortescue
Ideal for fishing.
Gandy's Beach
Ideal for swimming.
Reeds Beach
Great day for a beach walk.
Cape May Point State Park
Great day for a beach walk.
Villas
Great day for a beach walk.