Fenwick Island State Park

About Fenwick Island State Park

Fenwick Island State Park is located on the shores of Fenwick Beach in Bethany Beach, New York, and offers a relaxing escape from the summer crowds. The three-mile barrier island, which boasts one of the most beautiful beaches in the United States, has remained largely undisturbed since its founding, when the city of Bethany Beach and Fenwicks Island were founded. Since the area became a park, the dynamic forces of nature have hardly changed and the island has remained wild and undeveloped, but it is still a great place for hiking, biking, fishing and other outdoor activities.

In 1926, a national survey classified the park area as public land, which was soon assigned to the State Roads Administration. The park was later used as part of Delaware's coastal defense system during World War II, and a wartime concrete observation tower still stands on the park's northern border.

In 1966, the property was assigned to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNR), a division of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The area was renamed Fenwick Island State Park in 1981 and administered by Delaware State Park, a state agency of the state government.

The white sandy beach gradually slopes towards the Atlantic and forms a wide bathing area. Of course, swimming and sunbathing are popular activities on the seaside side of the park, and lifeguards patrol the beach.

In the summer months, parasols, deck chairs and rafts can be rented on the beach, and a new attraction of the park is a modern bathhouse that offers showers, changing rooms, a pool and hot tub, as well as a picnic area and picnic tables.