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: 73°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
Ideal for a beach walk.
Kitts Hummock Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Bowers Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
South Bowers Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Woodland Beach Wildlife Area
Ideal for a beach walk.
Port Mahon
Ideal for a beach walk.
Augustine Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Lewes Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Broadkill Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Slaughter Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Prime Hook NWR — Fowler Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Big Stone Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
New Jersey · 5
All New Jersey beaches →Fortescue
Ideal for a beach walk.
Gandy's Beach
Ideal for a beach walk.
Cape May Point State Park
Ideal for a beach walk.
Villas
Ideal for a beach walk.
Reeds Beach
Great day for a beach walk.