Imagine you’ve just parked in a Delaware beach town on a hot summer day.
There’s sweat dripping down your back. The kids are complaining about how many blocks they have to walk to the beach. You’re pulling a cooler with one arm and carrying a 40-pound bag of towels and toys in the other.
Just as you’ve prepared yourself to make that final, arduous trek to the beach, you realize you need to download a parking app first. You have to put down your things, get out your credit card and input the numbers. God forbid you start walking and have to turn around to get your license plate number.
Actually, there’s a worse scenario: Imagine realizing you’ve parked in a permit-only area. Get back in the car kids!
Make sure these common yet rage-inducing situations never happen by using our guide to parking at the Delaware beaches.
Lewes
In Lewes, beach parking lot meters are in use May 1 to Sept. 30 and downtown meters through Oct. 14. Meters are in use in all areas from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Meters are $2.50 per hour at the beaches and $1.50 per hour downtown. There is a three-hour maximum downtown. Quarters are accepted only at downtown meters (a change machine is located at Mary Vessels Park, behind Biblion on 2nd Street), while cash is only accepted at the beach parking lots. Credit cards are accepted for all metered parking through the ParkMobile app, with a 50-cent fee.
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Lewes has free parking in multiple lots located at:
- Franklin and Schley avenues,
- Roosevelt Inlet, at the north end of Cedar Avenue,
- Beebe Healthcare, off Savannah Road and behind Rite Aid (evenings and weekends only),
- Otis Smith Park, 454 East Savannah Road, next to the Daily Market,
- Lewes Little League, Pilottown Road and Shipcarpenter Street (between July and March only),
- Lewes Public Library, 111 Adams Ave.
Click here for a map of parking areas in Lewes.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach parking is by meter or permit only between May 15 and Sept. 15. Meters run 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., while permits are only enforced through 5 p.m.
Parking meters are $3 an hour and can be paid with quarters or via ParkMobile. Change machines are available at the following locations:
- Center of Rehoboth Avenue at First Street,
- Center of Rehoboth Avenue across from City Hall,
- The parking department, 1 City Hall Dr.
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Rehoboth has two metered parking lots, off Christian Street next to the senior center and off Rehoboth Avenue next to the fire department. Click here for a map of Rehoboth Beach parking areas.
Permits can be purchased at the parking department or from multiple kiosks throughout town. Check the city’s website for hours.
Don’t forget: All perpendicular or angled parking in Rehoboth Beach, except handicapped, is head-in only.
Dewey Beach
Dewey Beach does a couple of things differently than other beach towns. Those with handicapped license plates or placards can park anywhere at no charge, and on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, between 5 and 11 p.m., all parking is free.
Otherwise, between May 15 and September 15, you must either pay a meter or purchase a permit to park in Dewey. Hourly payments can be made using ParkMobile, at a $3 rate. Some meters take coins, but not all.
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Daily ($25), weekend ($45), weekly ($90) and seasonal ($250) parking permits can be purchased via an automated kiosk outside of the Town Hall, at 105 Rodney Ave., or online.
Bethany Beach
Bethany Beach is pay- or permit-to-park May 15 through September 15, between 10 a.m. and 4, 8 or 11 p.m., as indicated by signage. There is a two-hour limit on Garfield Parkway.
Meter rates are $2.50 per hour, paid via ParkMobile or using credit cards or quarters at pay stations and meters. Change machines can be found throughout the beach and 100 blocks of Garfield Parkway, as well as at North Pennsylvania Avenue and Central Boulevard.
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Parking permits can be purchased at the police department (214 Garfield Pkwy.) at a rate of $25 per day, $75 for three days and $175 for seven days. Permits are valid in all pay-to-park areas except Garfield Parkway.
If you’re not purchasing a permit and want to pay to park, you have a few options: Garfield Parkway, the beach blocks, Atlantic Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. Most other downtown parking areas are reserved for those with residential or business permits. This map of Bethany Beach parking areas will help with any confusion.
In Bethany, like Rehoboth, all perpendicular or angled parking is head-in only.
Fenwick Island
Parking requires paying a meter or purchasing a permit in Fenwick Island, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. from May 15 to September 15.
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Meters are $3 per hour. Parking permits are $25 daily, $150 weekly and $500 seasonally. Both meters and permits can be paid for via Parkmobile, at the police department (800 Coastal Hwy.) or at the kiosk outside the police department.
Signs indicate which parking areas are for blue (resident) permits only. This brochure is helpful.
State parks
Cape Henlopen, Delaware Seashore and Fenwick Island state parks all have great beaches, and a fee from March 1 to November 30.
It’s $5 a day for Delaware-registered vehicles and $10 for others, and passes can paid for with cash or credit. In-state residents can purchase an annual pass for $35, out-of-state for $70. They can be purchased online here or at park offices.
If you want to surf fish on Delaware State Parks’ designated beaches, you must purchase an annual permit, also online or in park offices. Unlike in previous years, there’s no cap on how many can be sold now.
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There are two types of surf-fishing permits. The first is $90 for in-state, $180 for out-of-state, and allows for surf-fishing year-round except for during peak times, during which reservations are required. The reservation system is set to launch in mid-May, with more details to come.
The second type of surf-fishing permit is for off-peak times only. It allows access year-round except for 36 days: Saturdays and Sundays and holidays starting the third weekend in May through Labor Day weekend. These permits are $70 for in-state, $140 for out-of-state.
Be aware: Delaware State Parks will stop admitting people when capacity is reached, which happens often mid-summer. Go early to ensure your spot.
Other options
The Delaware Department of Transportation’s Park and Ride program is an excellent alternative to paying for parking at the beach.
You can park your car for free in one of two lots, at 20055 Shuttle Road in Rehoboth or at 17616 Coastal Highway in Lewes. The bus fare is $2 per trip, $4 daily, $16 weekly for $60 for 30 days. Buses stop at the lots and the beaches multiple times per hour. Get more information here.
A major perk of taking the bus is getting on after baking in the sun all day to find the air-conditioning is already ice-cold!
Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught
