Indian River Inlet / Delaware / United States

This spot provides surfing most of the year, although the conditions vary between those suitable for beginners and those that need a fair amount of experience. It has a decent atmosphere and is a popular spot.

This is a big sandy beach with lots of room. The Coastal Highway runs right alongside it – just take this to the north side of Indian River Inlet Bridge, and take the left exit to find the parking lot. There is a fee for parking, but the lot is right by the beach and you’ll practically step out of your car onto it.

The wind is usually northerly or slightly off this and from the northwest or northeast. The swell is only ever good from the north. It will start working at less than 1m and hold up to a decent 4m or even bigger, and works on both rising and falling tides. A standard beach break, right and left, the waves are fun without being overpowering. The length of the wave is usually pretty short, but can reach to over 100m on a good day. There are only a handful of surfers here during the week, but it gets crowded on summer weekends. Wave quality varies – June and July will see no more than 1m, August and September see 4m and more because of the hurricane swells. Winter can also produce some good swells somewhere in between the two extremes.

There isn’t really anything here, but Bethany to the south and Dewey Beach to the north offer different atmospheres and between them cover most things you might want.

Don’t stand on any urchins and mind the rocks. Sharks have been sighted in the area and the river outflow means there are rips to watch out for.