Delaware
Delaware’s beaches are superb. But here are 21 things our beaches need to be more fun
See how french fries are made at Thrasher’s in Rehoboth Beach
Get an inside look at how Thrasher’s French Fries are made in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Every few years over the past decade, Delaware Online/The News Journal has published an occasional series called “What Wilmington needs to be more fun.”
A bit of a think-out-loud brainstorming session, we reach for the stars, but keep a dash of reality in our minds as we cook up ideas.
Over the years, many have actually come to be: beer gardens (Constitution Yards Beer Garden, Maker’s Alley), record store (SqueezeBox Records), another art house movie theater (The Screening Room at 1313), production brewery (Wilmignton Brew Works), rooftop bar (The Quoin Hotel) and more.
With the weather heating up, we figured it’s time to turn our attention down south to Delaware’s beaches, already a bastion for summertime fun.
We asked readers, co-workers and others for suggestions, condensing the best recommendations into this list.
Keep in mind, some of these may not be feasible for a bunch of reasons. But just like the list, we wanted to be fun … and think big.
Swim-up bar
Maybe we’re jealous of the set-up at Seacrets in Ocean City, Maryland, with tables and chairs in the Isle of Wight Bay, allowing patrons to play in the water while grabbing a drink or snack. And perhaps we like “The White Lotus” a little too much, and we’re still daydreaming about that swim-up bar at the hotel in the show’s first season.
But it got us thinking. We have water. And bars. Why not combine the two?
We know of two in the area: the heated pool with a swim-up bar at the Sun Outdoors resort at Massey’s Landing near Long Neck and one in the private Coastal Club near Lewes. But what about one for the public?
While Indian River Bay is too deep where it meets Dockside Marina Bar & Grill and perhaps Rehoboth Bay is not quite clean enough at The Rusty Rudder or northbeach in Dewey Beach for sitting, perhaps in-bay seating could work out somewhere, somehow.
More likely to work is a restaurant or resort with a pool, allowing swimmers to splash their way up to a pool-level bar to grab a drink.
More concerts on the beach
Each September, a large stage is constructed on Dewey Beach near Dagsworthy Street for a “Property Owners’ End of Season Beach Party” once the tourists have returned home.
It’s a great event with food and drink vendors right on the beach with a local cover band playing familiar tunes only a few feet away from the coastline.
That show, combined with the Rockin’ the Docks concert series near the Cape May-Lewes Ferry in Lewes and the growing on-the-beach concert festival schedule at Ocean City (Oceans Calling, Country Calling, Boardwalk Rock) has us dreaming of on-the-beach concerts at Delaware’s beaches.During the summer season, it’s likely not possible. But perhaps the fall or spring could be a good time to host bands if a promoter was able to get a town on board. Until then, bandstand shows in Rehoboth and Bethany beaches are the closest we’ll get.
Bird’s-eye view of the beach
OK, we promise that we don’t want to turn Rehoboth Beach into Ocean City. OC is fine for those who like it, but we think Delaware’s beach towns have small-town charm that you can’t find in Ocean City or most of the Jersey Shore.
But there’s just something about the Ferris wheels in Ocean City and the Jersey Shore – it gives the space a whimsical touch, but more importantly, a new vantage point for beachgoers to see the beach.
Is there any way we could deliver a bird’s-eye view of our beaches besides the Haunted Mansion and the Sea Dragon ride at Funland on Rehoboth Beach’s boardwalk?
Maybe our own Ferris wheel? Perhaps a tethered hot air balloon or two like they had at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover? There has to be a better way to see our beaches from the air besides photographs taken by drone operators.
Full-time dog-friendly beach
At each of Delaware’s beach towns, there are restrictions on when owners can bring their dogs to the beach.
Some have total bans during the summer season (Rehoboth and Bethany beaches) or have summertime restrictions, allowing doggies only in the early morning or evening hours (Dewey Beach, Lewes).
Perhaps one of our beach towns could open up a portion of their beach to dogs full time, allowing families to bring their four-legged friends for some oceanfront fun during the day in the summer.
All-inclusive resort
Did we mention our slight addiction to “The White Lotus” already? That’s right, we did. Well, here we go again.
While there are plenty of ways to make a temporary Delaware beach home in the summer from house rentals to hotels to campsites, all-inclusive resorts like those found at other vacation destinations are missing.
Sure, no one expects a Four Seasons-level resort like those found on the HBO series at Delaware’s beaches, perhaps a smaller all-inclusive resort would work for those who want to be pampered in one setting, while still allowing them to venture out into town when they want.
Foilboard rentals
If you’ve ever seen someone on a foilboard, a surfboard powered by a hydrofoil underneath in the water, it’s hard not to be wowed at the possibilities for fun.
It gives the user the ability to lift out of the water and travel at higher speeds.
While you can take foil lessons at spots such as East of Maui in Dewey Beach, they don’t do rentals due to insurance liability issues and the price of the boards, which can range from $1,000 to $3,000. (They do have limited, supervised rentals for experienced riders.)
So if you want to foil at the beach, you have to bring your own board. Perhaps a water-lover with deep pockets will take the risk and open a spot allowing for wider rentals, but it’s an uphill battle.
Laser tag
When it comes to what the beach needs to be more fun, a constant refrain is more activities for families and, more specifically, their children. And, of course, that goes doubly for rainy days at the beach.
While laser tag had a home for a short time at Lefty’s Alley & Eats near Lewes, it was discontinued, leaving the beaches without a spot for you to go pew-pew.
Maybe a dedicated laser tag spot such as Dover’s Diamond State Laser Tag could work at the beaches with the right set-up and location.
Aquarium
Whether it’s Baltimore, Atlantic City or Camden, New Jersey, aquariums attract crowds year-round.
Perhaps another waterfront area – our beaches – could find success with an aquarium, drawing visitors that already have water on their mind.
Sure, we don’t expect anything like Baltimore’s National Aquarium with its 2.2 million gallons of water to be replicated here. But a smaller aquarium could actually work.
Large-scale LGBTQ dance club
Years ago, Delaware’s beaches were home to some large-scale LGBTQ dance clubs such as Renegade and The Boathouse, partially fueled by the gay-and-lesbian Washington, D.C., crowd that found summertime fun here.
Sure, there are still spots with dance floors, but Diego’s Bar & Nightclub in Rehoboth Beach stands out in our mind as the only spot that operates as a true large-ish LGBTQ dance club.
Given the size of the LGBTQ community in Rehoboth Beach – both in the summertime and off-season – along with the increasing popularity of LGBTQ dance clubs with straight crowds as well, maybe a bigger dance club like those found in major East Coast cities would work.
IMAX theater
There’s nothing like an IMAX theater, especially for summertime blockbusters. But if you’re at the beach, you wouldn’t know it.
The closest IMAX theater is in Wilmington or Baltimore – not even in Ocean City.
While we love the homespun, family-owned Movies at Midway (those affordable candy prices and popcorn refills can’t be beat), it’s hard not to dream about also seeing films on a massive 72-by-52 IMAX screen.
Could Delaware’s beaches sustain one on their own? Probably not unless it’s prime summer season. But it would also pull in movie fans from the entire surrounding region, no matter the season.
Zipline
It’s hard to believe there’s not a zipline at Delaware’s beaches, given that it seems like a perfect warm-weather activity for visitors.
We envision a beach version of the Go Ape Zipline and Adventure Park, which operates at Lums Pond State Park near Bear.
Perhaps one of our state parks down south can go ape themselves and add ziplines, treetop adventures, ax throwing and more.
Teen dance club
As demand for fun activities for teens at the beach seems to increase, along with concerns about large groups of teens congregating and getting into trouble, like in Rehoboth Beach this spring, perhaps a teen dance club would help.
The under-21-only H20 just off the boardwalk in Ocean City could serve as a model with DJ-led nightly parties, foam parties and theme nights.
Upstate/downstate ferry
We have a good way for someone to probably lose some money, but, hey, we’re going to pitch it anyway.
We heard from plenty of upstate Delawareans tired of Delaware Route 1 traffic who would love to be able to hop on a small ferry or water taxi from Wilmington to Delaware’s beaches.
If you don’t want to drive your own car, there’s always DART’s Beach Bus, which runs from Wilmington to the Lewes Transit Center on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. But that still leaves you in traffic.
Maybe one day we’ll be able to pay extra to make the trip on the water and leave the highway blues behind.
Rooftop bar
Yes, we have Mangos in Bethany Beach, Starboard Claw in Dewey, Big Chill Beach Club at the Indian River Inlet and Above the Dunes and Cultured Pearl in Rehoboth, all of which give you an elevated spot to have a drink and a bite.
But there’s no true outdoor rooftop bar at the beach where everyone can mingle, have fun and take in a view without a restaurant vibe.
We’re envisioning something like the former Two Seas restaurant in Dewey Beach with its views of the ocean and the bay, but stripped of the fine dining and focusing more just on drinks and small bites, giving more of a bar/lounge vibe.
Food truck festival
Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of places to stuff your face at Delaware’s beaches from Boardwalk eats and fast food to fine dining and family restaurants.
But a food truck festival once a year would be a fun way to inject some new flavors into the scene, whether it’s held during the summer or restricted to spring or fall.
It could be held in a downtown, state park or another venue. Either way, a food truck festival would likely be a hit.
Food vendors on the beach
Sometimes you just don’t feel like making the trek across hot sand to the boardwalk for something to eat or drink.
Maybe our beach towns could contract with a local company to provide limited food vendors to roam the beach selling sodas, hot dogs or ice cream with restrictions to make sure they aren’t too intrusive.
Sure, the prices would rival those at concerts or sporting events, so both the company and the town could make their money. But being handed an ice cream sandwich on a hot day while lounging on your beach blanket sounds really good to us.
Marijuana lounge
With marijuana now legalized and recreational retail shops (eventually) opening across the state, perhaps marijuana lounges aren’t more than a longtime wishful hallucination of sorts.
As more people turn away from alcohol and toward marijuana and THC drinks and cocktails, a marijuana lounge at the beach could be a thing of the future. Perhaps the distant future, but it could happen – not without a fight, most likely.
And if you want one in the “quiet resort” of Bethany Beach, where bars close early, don’t hold your breath.
Higher-end supermarket/wholesale club
While there’s no shortage of local supermarkets for residents and vacationers looking to fill their rental house refrigerators, you won’t find any higher-end supermarkets such as Trader Joe’s or Wegmans.
While we give a nod to The Fresh Market in Rehoboth as an enticing specialty grocer, if you’re used to your wholesale clubs at home, the only one in the area is a BJ’s Wholesale Club and gas station near Millsboro. Sorry Costco fans, the only one in Delaware is found upstate.
A little more variety, especially when it comes to the possible addition of a Trader Joe’s or Wegmans, already has us salivating.
Water taxis
When you’re on land, seeing boats fly across Rehoboth and Indian River bays might make you think, “I wish I could take one to get around.”
Perhaps a water taxi that could connect waterfront restaurants and bars such as The Rusty Rudder, The Lighthouse, northbeach, Paradise Grill and Dockside Marina Bar & Grill would be popular.
Back Bay Tours has hourly water taxis from Ocean View to Paradise Grill and offers special restaurant charters in addition to fishing trips and sunset cruises, but not regular service to all the bayside restaurants.
And maybe one day water taxi service will return to connect Lewes and other towns to Rehoboth Beach, but for 2025, it has been shut down due to structural concerns at the Grove Park Canal dock.
Parking garage
These two words are enough to make your blood pressure spike: beach parking.
On-street parking is hard to find, for sure. And, yes, there are transit centers, park-and rides and the Jolly Trolley to help make parking and getting around without your car a bit easier.
But many of our respondents fantasize about a proper parking garage in Rehoboth Beach. Given how much property is worth in town, don’t hold your breath for a big parking garage to make beach life easier, however.
More restrictions on canopies on Dewey Beach
Large beach tents and canopies that block the ocean view for others are a big no-no in Lewes and Rehoboth and Bethany beaches.
While Dewey Beach fixed their free-for-all and added restrictions in the offseason – tents are now prohibited and open-sided canopies with roofs must be supervised in the morning – some don’t think it goes far enough.
Perhaps canopies should be restricted to the back third of the beach so they don’t interfere with the view of beachgoers and, more importantly, lifeguards.
You tell us: What else do Delaware’s beaches need?
We threw some of our Delaware beach wants out there into the world. Now what about you? What lifestyle additions to the beaches would make it a more fun place to play? Send your suggestions to Ryan Cormier at rcormier@delawareonline.com. Please include your name and town.
Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).
Delaware
Delaware history in The News Journal archives, March 29 to April 4
Hear about Winterthur’s historic 1890 train station gingerbread replica
Diana Anello reveals the artistry behind the Winterthur gingerbread train station by Bredenbeck’s Bakery & Ice Cream Parlor.
The Delaware history column features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
March 29, 1926, The Evening Journal
Acclaim for high school national champion swim team
A self-appointed committee has started a movement to publicly honor the Wilmington High School swimming team, winner of the national inter-scholastic championship on Saturday at Northwestern University, Evansville, Ill., with a banquet in the Hotel duPont on Tuesday, April 6.
Reservations at $3 a plate can be made by sending a check for that amount to Herbert B. Mearns at Wilmington Trust Company, 10th and Market streets. Frank Ford Palmer, president of the Wilmington Swimming Association, and Councilman Alexander R. Abrahams, are the other members of the committee. …
Today is a holiday at Wilmington High School in celebration of the swimming team’s honor.
For several hours, the student body, headed by the school band as an escort to the championship team, paraded on Market and other streets of the city. …
The parade was the second within 24 hours, the boys having also paraded about the city upon the arrival of the team late last night.
Members of the team faced one of life’s proudest moments at the school this morning, when before their enthusiastic and cheering fellow students, they were eulogized by school teachers and officials for their achievements as mermen. …
The team includes Coach Leroy F. Sparks, Manager C.C. Gerow Jr., Captain Frank Holt, “Bus” Palmer, Sam Reese, Jim Frazer, Jack Spargo, Leon Syfrit, Charles Hartman, Bill Brown and Bill Briggs.
March 31, 1976, The Morning News
Wilmington plaque to honor slave escape route
A plaque to commemorate Delaware’s role in the Underground Railroad during slavery will be erected late this spring in the Peter Spencer Plaza on French Street, between 8th and 9th streets.
The two-foot-by three-foot bronze emblem will have pictures of Thomas Garrett, who helped more than 2,700 slaves escape, and of Harriet Tubman, who led hundreds of slaves from the south to their freedom.
The project is sponsored by the Wilmington branch of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History through a $5,000 grant from the Delaware Bicentennial Commission.
The plaque will be erected about 25 feet from the Father and Son Statue honoring Peter Spencer. The plaza was named after Spencer in 1974 to commemorate the site of the church he founded in 1813 that was the first in the country entirely controlled by blacks.
The plaza was selected as the site for “The Underground Railroad” memorial “to permanently commemorate the spirit of freedom, self-determination and camaraderie,” according to a resolution passed by the Wilmington City Council earlier this month.
Delaware became an important link in the Underground Railroad because it was usually the “last stop before freedom” for slaves on their way to Philadelphia and other northern cities. The chain of safe homes stretched from the South into the North and Canada before the Civil War. As they moved north to freedom, blacks fleeing slavery could be hidden in the houses of antislavery whites.
April 2, 2006, Sunday News Journal
Runaway development overwhelming Delaware
Look around Delaware. Tens of thousands of people have poured in from other states, enticed by an affordable suburban lifestyle in neighborhoods framed by farms and woods – all just a short drive to the beach.
But now, look-alike houses stretch from Bear to Rehoboth Beach, every year consuming an area of land larger than Wilmington. Kent County has so many new homes that Boyd White of Magnolia can’t tell where one town starts and another ends: “The charm is disappearing.”
In old farming communities, newcomers found a peaceful rural refuge. But now, that influx has forced Middletown High School to put students in trailers. …
Vacationers and retirees from all over the East Coast have migrated to the Delaware beaches to escape metropolitan life. But now, traffic is so bad on the two-lane road to Fenwick Island that retiree Jack Weston would “rather go out in a boat than a car.”
Indian River Bay, a magnet for boaters and fishermen, is so clouded by pollutants that if Stephen Callanen goes sailing, “You can’t see the bottom when there’s a lot of toilets flushing.”
Fifteen years of growth that has outpaced Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania – in fact most of America – has forever changed much of rural Delaware. Since 1990, about 84,000 new homes have been built statewide.
But with about 100,000 more homes planned, experts fear that unless government leaders do a better job controlling land use, the prosperity and qualities that make Delaware so appealing might be lost.
“It’s a rush to destruction,” said John Hughes, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Beyond the loss of scenic vistas, growth has created unprecedented traffic jams and air and water pollution, crammed classrooms and created a pressing need for public safety services. …
That is the legacy of decades of politicians promising strong land use reform but delivering weak policies that were often ignored. As a result, hundreds of farms have been transformed into one of the region’s top housing bargains. …
Maynard Esender, a cabinetmaker who has lived for nearly 20 years in the Sussex County town of Frankford, has watched growth steadily envelop the nearby beach areas. But last year, he was stunned after nearby Millville, which has about 270 people, approved a 2,700-home subdivision – the largest in state history.
“Soon the entire Delmarva Peninsula will be paved,” Esender said. …
When nurse practitioner Maltide Cruze moved to Middletown with her husband and two sons five years ago, they envisioned rural bliss. …
Both Maltilde, who commutes to Dover, and her husband Luis, who works at Christiana Hospital, now endure rush-hour backups as Middletown’s population has doubled to 12,000.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
Delaware
Supreme Court says local elections board must hear residency challenge
Top headlines of the week, March 27 2026
Here are some stories you may have missed this week in central Ohio.
In the latest development in the ongoing challenge over where a Delaware County Board of Elections member actually lives, the Ohio Supreme Court has weighed in.
On March 27, the state’s high court ruled that the Delaware County elections board must hold a hearing about the challenge to Melanie Leneghan’s residency. Leneghan is running for reelection to the position of District 19 women’s representative for the Republican State Central Committee seat in the May 5 primary.
A March 5 elections board hearing could not proceed after the two Democrat members recused themselves, along with Leneghan, a Republican, and the board could not reach a quorum. After that meeting, Velva Dunn, a Delaware County Republican Party Central Committee member, asked the Ohio Supreme Court to force the board to act.
Democrat elections board members Ed Helvey and Peg Watkins both recused themselves from the March 5 decision, citing concerns that any action they took could be perceived as partisan. Leneghan also recused herself.
Dunn challenged Leneghan’s ability to vote in Ohio, claiming Leneghan lives in South Carolina. Leneghan has denied the allegations, saying she lives in Ohio but travels out of state for work and to visit her daughter, who attends college in South Carolina. Leneghan owns two homes there.
She sold her Delaware County home in 2025 and is registered to vote at a house in Galena, of which she became a listed co-owner March 12 through a deed transfer that involved no monetary exchange, records from the county auditor’s office show.
Ohio does not have any known requirements about the amount of time a person needs to live in Ohio to be considered a resident. Voters must be a resident for at least 30 days before the election to be eligible to vote.
Ohio also does not have a process outlined in law for how recusals of elections board members should be handled. Those boards each comprise two Democrats and two Republicans.
In its ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court said Helvey, Watkins and Republican Steve Cuckler, the fourth board member, must hold a hearing about Leneghan’s challenge “forthwith.” It was not immediately clear when that meeting would take place.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
Delaware
50 boys outdoor track and field athletes to watch in Delaware in 2026
Tatnall’s Gavin Leffler wins 3,200 at indoor state meet
With a 28-second last lap, Tatnall’s Gavin Leffler won the boys 3,200 at the Delaware indoor track and field state meet in 9:28.10.
Since the start of 2025, Delaware boys track and field athletes have set 11 state records between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
After a winter season in which 17 performances reached the top five on the state all-time list, Delaware appears poised for another strong spring.
Our list of track and field athletes to watch (presented alphabetically) features athletes from 24 schools who compete in sprints, distance races, throws and jumps. They are the athletes we expect to be among the state’s leaders at the DIAA Championships at Dover High on May 15-16 although many new names could emerge by then.
After defending its indoor track and field state title, Middletown is in search of its second straight Division I championship. Saint Mark’s enters the season as the Division II winner in three of the past four seasons.
2026 Delaware boys track and field athletes to watch
Elijah Annan, sr., Dover
Jason Baker, sr., Cape Henlopen
Derick Belle, sr., Odessa
Suhayl Benson, jr., Howard
Shaun Bosman, sr., Christiana
Elijah Burke, sr., Saint Mark’s
Khalid Burton, sr., Laurel
Isaiah Charles, jr., Caravel
Chukwuma Chukwuocha, jr., Wilmington Friends
Timothy Claessens, jr., Newark Charter
Rodney Coker, so., Odessa
Jaheim Cole, sr., Dover
Josh Cox, sr., Archmere
Calvin Davis, fr., A.I. du Pont
James Dempsey, jr., Salesianum
Will DiPaolo, sr., Cape Henlopen
Logan Elmore, jr., Middletown
Dahani Everett, sr., Caesar Rodney
Jayden Feaster, sr., Middletown
Gabe Harris, sr., Caesar Rodney
Phoenix Henriquez, sr., Smyrna
Christian Jenerette, sr., Odessa
Brandon Jervey, jr., Middletown
Mekhi Jimperson, sr., Caesar Rodney
Benjamin Johnson, jr., Dickinson
Michka Johnson, sr., Hodgson
Trey Johnson, sr., Cape Henlopen
Amir Jones-Branch, sr., Middletown
Alec Jurgaitis, sr., Saint Mark’s
Gavin Leffler, sr., Tatnall
Elijah MacFarlane, sr., Caesar Rodney
Max Martire, sr., Tatnall
Dylan McCarthy, sr., Tatnall
Chase Mellen, so., Salesianum
Zamir Miller, sr., Middletown
Ryan Moody, sr., Sussex Academy
Wayne Roberts, jr., Appoquinimink
Elijah Tackett, sr., Dover
Kai Thornton, sr., Sussex Central
Marc Patterson, sr., Dover
Charles Prosser, so., Salesianum
Riley Robinson, fr., Middletown
Roan Samuels, sr., Salesianum
Douglas Simpson, jr., Cape Henlopen
Jessie Standard, jr., Middletown
Riley Stazzone, sr., Cape Henlopen
Jamar Taylor, jr., Salesianum
Jordan Welch, sr., Sussex Tech
Brandon Williams, sr., Charter of Wilmington
Xzavier Yarborough, jr., Dover
Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com.
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