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: 79°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 →Pickering Beach
Decent day for photography.
Port Mahon
Decent day for photography.
Kitts Hummock Beach
Decent day for photography.
Woodland Beach Wildlife Area
Skip the beach today.
Augustine Beach
Skip the beach today.
Big Stone Beach
Skip the beach today.
Prime Hook NWR — Fowler Beach
Skip the beach today.
Slaughter Beach
Skip the beach today.
Bowers Beach
Skip the beach today.
Broadkill Beach
Skip the beach today.
South Bowers Beach
Skip the beach today.
Lewes Beach
Skip the beach today.
New Jersey · 5
All New Jersey beaches →Reeds Beach
Great day for a beach walk.
Gandy's Beach
Decent day for photography.
Fortescue
Decent day for photography.
Cape May Point State Park
Skip the beach today.
Villas
Skip the beach today.