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Cape Henlopen State Park & Camp Ground
Rating Details »
42 Cape Henlopen Dr
Lewes, DE 19958
(302) 645-5005
Lewes, DE 19958
(302) 645-5005
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
7 reviews for Cape Henlopen State Park & Camp Ground
Cape Henlopen State Park is a HUGE park with lots to do that includes camping and hanging out at the beach.
My roommate and I came here because we heard that this park was dog-friendly. It is but your dog must be on a leash...unlike Dewey Beach.
Plus, if you got one of those 4WD...you can drive it on the beach.
It was a nice park. Just never thought of going to the state park to hang out at the beach. Interesting.
Memorial Day Weekend 2009 at Cape Henlopen was hot, sunny, crowded, buggy, sticky sweet and fun. Unfortunately, since being exposed to the expansive campsites of other parks, I gotta downgrade the Henlopen one star for squeezing way too many sites so close together. Another negative of this year compared to the last was that the bathrooms somehow got way more filthy than I remember. Even though a cleaning person came every afternoon -- and closed down the bathroom to clean it, God forbid you have to pee -- the bathrooms got nasty dirty with feminine products strewn across the floor, water leaking from the flush button every time you press it, and half-ply toilet paper ripping to shreds when you try to pull it. The hand soap ran out on Saturday and wasn't restocked the whole weekend either. In the grand scheme of things, these are minor complaints, but still.
The upsides to the campgrounds are that they have bathrooms at all, each of the sites has a water line, each fire ring has a grate for grilling and the ground is padded with pine needles and sand. The campground office sells firewood for $6 a bundle and bags of ice as well.
The park is still awesome for having lots to see and do. The beach is beautiful, with substantial waves, clean sand, and life guards. (But the bath house by the beach has only scalding hot water showers. And the snack bar's smoothies taste like pure artificially flavored syrup even though they put real fruit in it.)
The fishing pier is really long and well-lit with street lamp-style lighting, and a shop by the pier sells bait and other little doodads. There's also a shaded picnic pavilion type place and a good number of relatively clean bathrooms. You have to have a license to fish, and note that you can't get the license there, and they do come checking. When we were there, we caught oh maybe about a dozen horseshoe crabs. Others also caught some flounder and skate.
Like the campgrounds, the fishing pier culture is something else. If you have a problem with Korean people or red necks, you won't want to come here. Every other group was either a Korean church or an extended hillbilly family. Makes for a rowdy, fobilicious good time.
We also climbed one of the 11 WWII-era watch towers again, which is cool and a little freaky if you're scared of heights. They have old abandoned barracks that you can walk through as well.
Overall, it's still plenty of outdoorsy family fun, complete with mosquito bite souvenirs to remember your trip.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/8/2008 First to Review
Some things have changed since the first reviewer -- the campgrounds do take reservations. Online,… Read more »
What-do-ya-know?! There are nice beaches on the East Coast besides those in FL and NC! Herring Point Beach at Cape Henlopen State Park is a great beach. The Beach is anchored by large, rolling dunes and stretches for perhaps a few miles or more. The sand is fine and a sandy coral color, not course and gray like those in NJ. The surf is small but fine for body surfing and the like. And a real plus is that dogs are allowed on the beach. And while there were a number, they were well behaved and not a drop of poop was in evidence!
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This place has a nice beach where folks can surf fish and you can bring your dog (on a leash) ... I'd definitely recommend a 4 WD vehicle to get off and on the beach (Jeeps were having trouble) ... I had to park my little car down the road a bit and hike it. But it was a lovely beach, not very many people at all, and the doggie loved it.
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I'm probably giving this place 5 stars for the memories, but I've been visiting here almost annually since I was a wee tot.
There's so many things to do here--and if that's not enough, it's conveniently located near Rehoboth's boardwalk and a few outlet malls. When the tide goes out, you can dig up little clams, play with hermit crabs, maybe even spot a horseshoe crab on the shore. If you go to the deeper end, you can catch conch the size of your hand (usually the object of our family gatherings), step on all sorts of things that might give you the willies, get your toes nipped at by crabs, and you may even feel what it's like to get stung by jellyfish~ That sounds a lot worse than it actually is. I tend to have more fun in the water than on the shore (but I take a pair of water shoes to ward off the crabs).
As a kid, I learned that if I'm going to dig up clams, I will need a container to hold them in. I placed the handful of clams I'd dug up on the sand to dig up another one, only to find that some went missing mid-dig! The little buggers run away if you let them!
I just want to be clear that the beach isn't for those who get squeamish about being surrounded by live critters. When you step in the water, you'll notice the empty shells and baby conch (which have an unfortunate resemblance to little snails)... it really takes you back to nature.
Man... I don't know how to really judge the campsite since this is the only place I've been camping. I had so much fun, but I could also play connect-the-dots with my mosquito bites so if you plan to camp as well, don't forget to bring your choice method of repelling mosquitoes. Also, with the grounds covered in pine needles and wood chips, you really want some sturdy sandals... getting poked by the dry pine needles is more painful than I would've expected.
What makes this a good place to bring your significant other (not a first date)? 1. It's a beach that isn't crowded in the summertime. 2. You can barbecue your catch of the day and have a picnic with it. 3. Watching their expressions with all sorts of things under their feet can be rather endearing.
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This is our favourite campground, and they're open March-November. Once off the ferry, turn left and continue down a mile or so until you reach the entrance.
Dogs are allowed (yeah!), unlike in NJ.
We've generally gone at the end of the season (October and November), when it's barely occupied; at least once we were the only campers there. At least half of the camp sites have running water, many are partially shaded and surrounded by the local pine trees. Online reservations make it easy to see whether your preferred site is available or not, as well as how crowded it might be.
There are good hikes towards the water, and the bathing facilities are clean.
To find firewood, we've had to head to Walgreen's/Happy Harry's (I would not recommend the creosote versions, as you will never get the goo off of your hands which will, in turn, irritate your nose and eyes). They also have $1 mugs, sea salt and pepper grinders.
It's close enough to Rehoboth to drive in for dinner (our favourite is Dogfishhead Brewpub).
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if your an out of stater the cost to get in is 8 dollars kind of high. this is basically a dis-used military base from 100 years ago. it has lookout towers from world war ii and barracks and a few howitzers throw about. there are some excellent biking / hiking paths. there are also several concrete bunkers you can look out of. the beach section is however closed to the public, i dont understand that part at all. from the lookout towers (used to spot submarines) you have a pretty comanding view of everything.
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