WHY GO: Of course, most people visit the Delaware beach towns of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, and the small town of Fenwick Island to build sandcastles and frolic in the Atlantic Ocean waves. But, on too hot days, when you tire of the beach, there are things to do inland Sussex County DE that might astound you.
Commenters once called Delaware’s inland region, “The Slow Coast.” But, with innovative farms and a cutting edge Botanic Gardens to visit – well, it pays to slow down and perhaps walk an alpaca or two. We let you in on our favorite places to go both on sand (coastal towns) and dirt (inland). Just keep reading.
If you want more travel ideas, check out more Romantic Getaways in Delaware.
Things to do In and Near Delaware Beach Towns
GO: Lewes DE
The port of entry – by ferry – for those coming from the southern tip of the Jersey Shore, we’ve covered all the Things to Do in Lewes DE here. Start with Cape Henlopen State Park – less than a mile from the Ferry Landing – and then spend the day or a night or two in this popular retirement community with the lesser known Lewes Beach, and quite an active Historical Society.
GO: Rehoboth Beach DE
Another featured town on Getaway Mavens, the LGBTQ and Family-Friendly Rehoboth Beach DE is considered the “Nation’s Summer Capital,” as it draws a good number of seasonal visitors from the Washington DC area. Activities revolve around the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk – but we’ve got 9 great Beachy Romantic Things to do in Rehoboth here.
GO: Bethany Beach
Bethany Beach is a scaled down Rehoboth. It’s got all the features of its sister town – a few miles to the north – but here, more compressed and upscale. There’s a much shorter boardwalk, without midway games and rides.
There’s Khor’s Ice Cream and Thrasher’s Fries near the beach – but not multiples of those. And the shops in Bethany tend to be “indie-er” than those beachy souvenir emporiums in other beach towns.
EAT: Sunshine Crepes
Everyone who comes to Bethany Beach seems to end up at one time or another at Sunshine Crepes in the Bethany Market Building. Owner since 2010, Pavla Evans is front and center with her employees, making and then stuffing the sweet or savory crepes of your dreams. Right before your eyes.
Order the “Monster” – stuffed with every kind of breakfast meat, the “Mom” – a veggie-cheesy version – or from a long list of crepes, bowls, waffles, smoothies, and more. Even on a mid-week June day, there’s a long line out the door. Totally worth it.
SHOP: Tickled Pink Gift Shop (Across from Sunshine Crepes)
Owner of the Tickled Pink Shop, Elise, is a “give back” kind of gal. She loves to fundraise for area organizations, while selling cute, unique objects and gifts. (Personal fire-pit, anyone?) In June ’23, Elise was raising money for the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Co. by selling outdated (but still working via batteries) parking meters: a bargain conversation piece for your home at $50 a pop.
GO: Fenwick Island
Fenwick Island, abutting the Maryland State border, and Ocean City, is the least developed, and most laid back of all the Delaware Beach Towns – so don’t expect lots of commotion after dark.
You will find a great kayaking outfitter, the quiet Fenwick Island State Park beach, the Discoverseas Shipwreck Museum (above an expansive souvenir shop), some exceptional restaurants (see below under Where to Eat), and a great, high-end hotel (see under Where to Stay).
Things to Do In and Around Delaware Beach Towns
TOUR: Delaware Botanic Gardens, Dagsboro
13 miles from Bethany Beach
The Delaware Botanic Gardens, created on a former soy farm, is a 37 acre wonder. With a focus on sustainability and eco-friendly initiatives – right down to the small Welcome Center and incredible modern bathroom building – the DBG incorporated green technologies from the very start.
The newest state botanic garden in the USA, DBG opened during the pandemic without much fanfare. And yet, it’s been attracting visitors from all over the globe due to its one huge draw and many smaller ones.
The Big Draw is the centerpiece of the property – Piet’s Meadow – a wildflower landscape created by Dutch garden designer, Piet Oudolf: best known for his work on the NYC High Line and other projects around the world. He took on this project after learning about the commitment and passion of volunteers who worked to get the DBG off the ground and continue, as “Garden Stewards,” to actively sustain it.
The maestro of moorlands, Oudolf had one demand: that the DBG not use plant labels in his meadow. So, you won’t find any information about the plants in his space (although the other gardens do have them).
Oudolf included a short, elevated, grass mound that visitors can climb – and roll down! From the top, it provides a sweeping view of the expanse of a “high density” wild garden, planted at various heights.
Garden #1 – the “Ditch”
Your intro to the DBG begins at the parking lot, where you’ll find Garden #1 – the Rhyne – a stormwater management ditch that’s a “ditch” the way the Highline is just a walkway. With thousands of plants, it’s a productive trench that filters stormwater into retention pools and around the property.
Take a quick and fun frolic through the “Folly Garden”(#3), with the recreated ruins of a mansion’s fireplace – surrounded by non-native ornamental plantings – where the original one might have been. Visitors beeline to this garden in Spring, when “a sea of yellow daffodils” are in bloom.
The 12-acre Woodlands (#4) are next. But, instead of the Big Bad Wolf, you’ll encounter an oversized spider, turtle, snail, lizard, and sea serpent – all formed from natural materials found nearby.
Woodlands
The Woodlands back up to the wide but shallow Pepper Creek – a terrapin hotspot. Don’t miss the observation deck at The Point on Pepper Creek – gorgeous in the early morning sun – to see the 1,000 foot “Living Shoreline.” The use of a fence system above and beneath the water restores salt-marsh plant growth and adds sediment by breaking up waves during storms and tidal surges.
The DBG also includes a couple of outdoor classrooms – one inside a huge “nest” built out of forest overgrowth. Learn how to plant a fall container, ID trees, or plant bulbs.
Even if your visit doesn’t involve a class – you’ll learn a lot. Especially if paired with adult beverages. The Delaware Botanic Gardens offers special fundraising events – like “Aquatic Bugs & Beer, and “Sip & Saunter” – throughout the year. Consult website for hours and fees.
DO: Sail With Coastal Kayak, Fenwick Island
Yes, you will get wet on Coastal Kayak’s 5-person catamaran sailboat – if only while pushing it from the beach and climbing aboard. But, oh, how nice it is to glide around Little Assawoman Bay (yes, that’s its name: insert your own joke here) and Wildlife Area with Captain Mitch.
You’re sure to see lots of birds – possibly Bald Eagles – and get to know others aboard this trampoline slung between two pontoons. It’s a fun and pleasant way to spend two hours away from the hot sand.
Jenifer and Mitchell Adams own Coastal Kayak – the only kayak outfitter on Fenwick. They’ve got 200 of them, so you don’t need reservations to rent one and get out on the bay yourself. However, reservations are required for guided sunset and wildlife tours – and for sailing tours. All, it must be noted, are weather dependent.
TOUR: Indian River Inlet Life Saving Museum, Between Bethany and Rehoboth Beach
Tour the Indian River Life Saving Station, one of the first of many on the East Coast USA. Built in 1876, the Indian River Station is the oldest still in its original location – and a tour here documents the extreme courage it took to rescue crews and passengers from shipwrecks right offshore.
The building was used by the U.S. Coast Guard until 1962, when it was decommissioned due to storm damage. The Delaware Seashore State Park took over its management in 2004, and rehabbed it to look like it did in 1905. Start in the Visitors Center next door, pay a small fee, and grab a self-guided tour brochure.
A tour throughout the station provides a glimpse of the bare bones life these heroes lived – with a kitchen picnic table set in the Mess Room. As it was. At all times. The Surfmen understood how dangerous their job was, so by setting the table they knew there was a place waiting for them when they returned.
See the boats and Breeches Buoy used in rescue missions in a large room, then head upstairs to find the Keeper’s Room, and 6 twin bed bunkroom for the surfmen. Step up a few stairs for a view from the cupola, where surfmen stood watch 24 hours a day. Just be aware – to get to the 2nd floor, you have to be able to climb a very narrow, steep staircase.
Agricultural Tours: Get To Know The Farmers Outside of Delaware Beach Towns
Story Hill Farm, Frankford
8 miles from Bethany Beach
Story Hill Farm owners, Helen and Steve Raleigh, (along with farmhand, Derick Kuebeck), would like to see this area of Delaware become a “fertile crescent” – like Lancaster PA. So, they are doing their part to populate it with fields of wildflower pollinator plants. And, it’s working. Those meadows are spreading faster than Helen ever dreamed they would.
This is of utmost importance. “The earth has seen a huge decline of insects – some say 70% – over the last couple of decades. It’s shocking because one in three bites of food is pollinator dependent,” says Helen, who began her farming journey four years ago with a 25 acre plot of land and a simple wish to save the Monarch Butterfly, now on the Endangered Species list.
Story Hill Farm has expanded into a livestock and agricultural farm – keeping horses, mini-donkeys, goats, chickens, and heritage breeds of turkeys and Randall cows (the latter nearly extinct).
By using the old ways of regenerative agriculture – poop and hoof – where cattle both fertilize and aerate wild pastures themselves, Story Hill Farm cuts down on methane – a huge source of climate change gasses emitted from factory farms.
Guests are invited to this oasis of a farmstead to see the “jewelry”- the butterflies and birds flittering around the ever-expanding pollinator fields. Or to pick your own flowers (for a fee), take a farm or “edible garden” tour. Or to pick up some organic provisions, local food and drink, or a gift in the farm store.
Four Acres Living, Frankford – Alpacas
8 miles from Bethany Beach
There is no doubt that alpacas are one of the most adorable animals on earth – with their big expressive eyes and inquisitive nature. And, as alpacas tread lightly, don’t destroy pastures, and provide a renewable resource (fleece), they are also the most eco-friendly livestock in the world.
Four Acres Living Owners, Liz Ferguson and Jose Palma, hire a professional shearer once a year – in the spring – with most of the high-quality fleece sent to fiber mills to make yarn. Some of this yarn is sent to a knitting factory in Queens NY, and sent back in the form of scarves and clothing that you can purchase in the well-stocked farm store.
Four Acres Living is open to the public on weekends, so come then to see dozens of these creatures, take a tour ($10), or sign up for a 45-minute “Alpaca Walk” ($30) to get in some exercise while leading one of these sweeties around with a halter.
Brittingham Farms, Millsboro
30 Minutes from Bethany Beach
Farming is in the Brittingham-Mumford family genes (and jeans), with the Brittingham Farms now helmed by its 4th generation, Jonathan and Laura Brittingham. The main crop began as a way to keep deer from eating soybeans: Plant lavender!
Both culinary and medicinal lavender plants now grow lushly in rows, with a bunch of lambs grazing serenely at the farm’s entrance. The Brittinghams also raise heritage Leister Longwool Sheep, a rare and threatened breed.
As with most state of the art, environmentally conscious farms out here, Laura and Jonathan Brittingham partner with other likeminded establishments in the community. Laura is a marketing whirlwind – her lavender can soon be found in area restaurants, ice-cream shops, and wineries.
Visitors can take a farm tour, watch lavender oil as it’s distilled, and shop in the very cool store on site. Take a gander at antique spinning wheel in one of the displays – it’s been in the family since the early 1800’s.
PERFORMANCE: Freeman Arts Pavillion
15 Minutes from Fenwick Island
The volunteers are awesome at the Freeman Arts Pavilion: a beautifully landscaped, friendly, non-profit performing arts venue about 15 minutes inland from Fenwick Island. They will happily guide you directly to a parking spot, and help you find the Box Office from there – all with smiles on their faces. A great first impression.
An open-air theater with folding chairs, the Freeman isn’t your upscale “Pavilion.” What it’s got can’t be measured in cushy seats or ornate décor. However, if you’re into sharing a fun night with likeminded others; if you’re looking for that feeling of communing with those on stage, and with everyone around you on a beautiful, temperate night, then the Freeman will certainly lift you up.
After all, the purpose of the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation is to “Create opportunities to elevate the human spirit.” To that end, the theater presents about 70 performances per year, with artists the likes of Ziggy Marley, Cheap Trick, Keb Mo, and more.
Where to Eat In and Near Delaware Beach Towns
EAT: One Coastal, Fenwick Island
Chef/owner, Matt Kern, presides over an open kitchen at the exceptional One Coastal in a small, unassuming space located right on Fenwick Island’s main drag. Blessedly, for foodies, there is never a Sysco Truck in sight. Kern relies on fresh ingredients from local farms and fishermen, for his healthier tweaks on comfort food.
He keeps his signature fried catfish dish on the menu year round. (Caught in higher water, these catfish are not bottom feeders, so they taste clean and extremely yummy). Although that dish is the most popular, you can’t go wrong with anything on a menu that changes often.
EAT: Good Earth Market and Restaurant, Ocean View
10 minutes from Bethany Beach
This fresh food eatery – the Good Earth Market and Restaurant – connected to a “health food” market – began as a farm. In fact, owner, Susan Ryan, once sold her vegetables on what is now a pretty outdoor dining patio studded with wrought iron tables, fire pits, and torches. Obviously, salads taste just torn from the earth.
But everything here – from breads to meats and fish – is “artisan” delish. And that includes the house-made ricotta – just like the Nona’s make it in Italy. Abuzz on a Thursday eve in June, this place seems to be favored by patrons of the Freeman Arts Center – just 15 minutes away.
Where to Stay on Fenwick Island DE
STAY: Fenwick Shores Tapestry by Hilton, Fenwick Island
It’s a credit to the recently opened Fenwick Shores, Tapestry By Hilton, that locals constantly asked me how nice it was. So, to answer: yes, it is very, very nice – and very beachy, very nautical, and quite impressive for a sandy shores locale: more like a boutique hotel than a corporate brand.
The hotel sits a block from the beach, and has all the accouterments necessary for a day on the sand: towels, carts, chairs, etc. So – it’s perfect for families and couples who are looking for a low-key-yet-upscale-no-boardwalk Atlantic Ocean getaway.
The lobby, with high ceiling, nautical palette, ample seating – and communal tables that invite board-gaming when yucky outside – makes for an impressive entrance.
Colorful starfish chandeliers hang over several cushy couches that face a large flat screen TV and a couple of ocean-blue water wall panels.
A small lobby bar serves alcohol and small meals in the evening, and breakfast (for purchase) in the morning. Guests can find coffee there, as well, early in the morning. Compliments of the house.
Guest Rooms at Fenwick Shores
Rooms here are nautical-chic. Backboards of ultra-comfy beds sport nautical charts. The faux-hardwood floors (rugged for sandy feet) are punched up with vibrantly colored nautical flag area rugs.
Suites feature a kitchenette, with microwave and sink. And there’s a large L-shaped couch so friends and/or family can gather comfortably. Bathrooms, though on the bland side, are pristine and modern – with plenty of light.
Amenities
The hotel maintains a Fitness Room with state of the art machines and weights.
A heated pool on the 2nd floor roof deck is a popular place to take the kiddos. By night, underwater lighting turns the pool a sexy deep purple.
During daylight hours, the poolside food concession is open – with tables overlooking the tops of houses. From some vantage points, you can see above them to the ocean.
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