Hello all,

I was wondering what some nice quiet beaches are in Delaware? My wife and I are 30 and we have an 18 month old and a 3 year old. We would prefer a nice quiet beach rather then one with a boardwalk.

I read very old posts on Fodors that said Rehoboth Beach may not be for us. Crowded, lots of teens, large boardwalk etc. I have also read on these same threads that Delaware Shore State Park, Fenwick Beach, Cape Henlogen State Park, and Bethany beach are all nice.

Anyway, can you please give me some ideas for a nice, clean, quiet, beach on the Delaware shore? We will be tent camping so camping areas near the beach will also need to be considered.

Thank you.

I think you can camp at Cape Henlopen State Park, and it seemed to be a relatively quiet beach.

http://www.destateparks.com/chsp/chsp.htm

Cape Henlopen is a great park, with great campsites. However, in season, it can be very difficult to get a space. Delaware Seashore also has camping, but I'm not sure they have facilities for tent campers.

Suggest you research this one carefully.

Jeff:

In 2000, I went to Cape Henlopen beach area and its pretty crowded in summer. However, if you decided to hike around the Park (with its pine trees all around it would be less crowded). It would also be worth your while to get a daily or weekly pass to the Delaware State Parks (near empty mid-day). The one I went to was right after you cross the bridge between Rehoboth & Dewey Beaches. Last time I paid to enter the park it $5/daily which allows you to enter all DE State Parks. I've only been to Dewey Beach at end of day and it was not too crowded but that may have been due to dinner time. There are beach houses crowded all over the place so it might be more busy other times. Forget Rehoboth in summer by 12 noon not an inch left for a blanket.

Concerning camping, I remember as a kid going to DE and NJ shores staying at Yogi Bear Campground. I'd do an Internet search and see if one is around the area. Yogi's places are good because they show movies at night for the kids, keeps them occupied. Also Yogi the mascot use to come around and say "hi" to all us kids.

The Delaware beaches are beautiful. Definitely go to one of the state parks. Fenwick Island state park is particularly nice and Bethany Beach is a very family oriented town with a tiny boardwalk.

There is no way to get away from the beach crowds in Delaware. Don't know anything about camping, but the Fenwick/Bethany area is the nicest. It is also equidistant from Rehobeth and Ocean City Maryland. Your kids may be too young for this but there is a pirate ship adventure on Route 54 in Fenwick at or near Harpoon Hannah's restaurant. The kids sing shanty songs, search for treasure, shoot canyons (balloons) into the bay, etc.

As a Delaware resident, I can tell you that I have been to all of the beaches. Lewes is a small, beautiful sleepy town with a beach on the bay. It is wonderful for small children as there are no waves or undertow. Cape Henlopen State Park is a wonderful campground that we have stayed at numerous times. They do have some planned activities for children (storytelling, seining the beach, etc.) It is a 5 minute ride into the town of Lewes. The campsites are spacious and reasonably priced. You can even go onto the Delaware.com site or www.state.de.us and find the links so that you can reserve in advance - this is HIGHLY recommended because as summer gets going, space is available on a first come, first served basis and the sites are very often sold out. Enjoy Delaware!! Not to be missed is the Blue Plate Diner in Lewes for a good, reasonably priced breakfast.

Gotta second the motion for Lewes. The bayside beach is perfect for youngsters--and it's relatively quiet.

In addition, Lewes is a great small town. The state park at Cape Henlopen is definitely the place to camp, but as the others indicated, it can be tough to get a spot in the summer. If you get shut out there, I believe there is a campground or two north on Rt 1 from Lewes, and I believe there's one out Rt 24, as well.

I go with Lewes, it has a nice little town to walk in. THe historic homes (some of the oldest in America) are amazing for a nightime walk.