Broadkill Beach
Milton, DE
Broadkill Beach runs along the Delaware Bay just north of where the Broadkill River meets it, a low key stretch of vacation homes locals sometimes compare to a smaller, closer version of the Outer Banks. A 2016 nourishment project widened the sand and rebuilt the dunes, and horseshoe crabs still come ashore here every spring in numbers worth planning a trip around.
The horseshoe crab spawning and the wide, rebuilt beach are genuine draws, but there's no commercial strip at all, so it's a beach you drive to on purpose, not a stop along the way.
How we score beachesLate May and early June, time a visit around the evening high tide during a full or new moon. That's when the horseshoe crab spawning is heaviest along this stretch of bay.
A public lot with restrooms sits near the center of the beach off Beach Drive; additional informal parking lines the road at various points along the community.
The beach is flat and open, a short walk from the road with no dune crossing structure needed most places.
Dogs are allowed on the beach from October 1 through April 30, and are not permitted during the summer season.
Being on the bay, the water warms a little earlier than the ocean beaches to the south, comfortable by June. The horseshoe crab spawning season runs May into June, right before the summer hurricane season, June through November, gets underway.
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