Best Equestrian Camping near Rehoboth Beach, DE

Park Name-Delaware Seashore State Park

Date of Stay-June 2018

Site-237

This is one of favorite local parks! The location (in between Dewey/Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach/Ocean City, Maryland) is PERFECT. You have close access to miles and miles of touristy beaches and uninhabited beaches. From the campground you can walk less than a 1/4 of a mile to get to the beach.

Even though this park is run by The State of Delaware or a subsidiary agency the park is well maintained, the sites are level. All of the RV sites are full hook up and level. If you have a larger vehicle make sure you bring your “A” game when it comes to parking and pulling out as the interior roads are a little bit tight.

Even though they don’t have the staffing levels of a KOA…there was always someone “official” around who could answer questions or help out if needed.

If you are able…try to book a site on the newer side (sites 400-480)…the sites are WIDE and DEEP

Our first time camping here was in 2019 and we loved it! The weather that time was perfect! Last year and this year, the weather was terrible. This year it rained and was cold. Fire pits are not allowed at your site and the wind is such that you can’t sit outside when it’s chilly. The campground itself is nice. Full hookups, walking distance or short drive to 2 restaurants, though neither is dog friendly, walk to beach and also a dog beach. If the weather cooperates and you love the beach, this might be for you! Otherwise, skip it and find something inland. Site 235 was and end site with views of the bridge, at least when the fog lifted there was a nice view. Close to Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Fenwick, Lewes, and Ocean City isn’t too far away.

The really great aspect of Delaware Seashore State Park is your close proximity to the water. The park is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian River, and Indian River Bay. The park has two separate campgrounds divided by the Indian River Inlet. We stayed at the southern campground but both are similar with regards to the hook-ups, sites, and proximity to the water. Both campgrounds are wide open with no shade. Pads are paved but patios and area between sites is sandy with a little bit of grass. If you don’t like sand, this is not the place for you. 

We were there in April so it wasn’t very crowded and temperatures were cool so we didn’t mind the lack of shade. Some campsites are open year-round and can accommodate various camping units from tents to 45’ RVs offering back-ins and pull thrus. Roads are fairly narrow and paved campsites barely fit big rigs as we had just a few feet to spare but were able to park the car in the sand/grass so it was not a problem. Most campsites have 30- and 50-amp electric, and water and sewer hook-ups. There are also no hook-up and tent sites. There are bathhouses with free showers scattered throughout the park and laundry facilities. Since we were there in the off-season only one bathhouse was open. There are no fire pits at your site but two community fire pits are located on the outskirts of the campground. Our over the air antenna picked up a dozen or so television channels and we had no problem getting cell or internet service with our Verizon phone. 

Full hook-up sites range from $30-$55/night depending on if you are a resident and what day of the week you are there. No hook-up sites are available from $25-$50/night and tent sites range from $20-$35/night. We inquired about a senior discount and received it after a phone call to them. The south campground is about a half mile from the ocean access where there are two full-service restaurants(which were both closed when we were there). The beach is wide and great for walking on and dogs are permitted during certain times of the year. If you like to fish this is a great place for surf fishing in the Atlantic and bank fishing in the Inlet River. If you have personal watercraft, there is access to the marsh and bay directly from the park. 

Near the north campground is a full-service marina with a bait and tackle shop, fish and seafood sales, and a short hiking trail. Just up the road is the Indian River Life Saving Station with a visitor center, museum and gift shop. Continue on up to the road and you will pass through the small town of Dewey Beach. Keep going another mile or so and you enter Rehoboth Beach where you will find everything you need(and don’t need). Rehoboth Beach is a typical beach town with everything from t-shirts to taffy and a mile-long boardwalk. If you are a beer lover there are plenty of breweries to choose from ranging from the smaller craft breweries like the Dewey Beer Company to the larger producer Dogfish Head..

Last minute I booked this place for a friend and me to stay for 2 nights to go to the beach. The beach is in walking distance of the camp site as well as fishing, surfing and other activities in the area.

It’s between Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach. We like going to Rehoboth Beach and that was only a 10min drive.

I picked site #087. Right across from the Bathhouse w/ a fence and some high grass between the site & Guardhouse.

The sites are butted up right next to each other, but are fairly big. Many people had reserved sites together & created a “base camp” which looked like the right way to go!

Both buildings were well lit at night, but didn’t really bother us because of high grass and leaving the front & back windows open 1/3 of the way.

This is a very family friendly place & everyone seemed to be in the “Active” community & there with kids & dogs. There is also night fishing in the inlet.

With that being said, I would make sure to bring EARPLUGS and SHOWER SHOES!

The only “complaints” we had were as follows:

1. By the end of the day the bathrooms/showers were a little gross.
2. No open fires at your site for safety reasons (totally understand) & there are communal places provided for open fires.
3. Need to bring propane cooking devices if you want to cook at your site (we ate out every meal lol).

All in all we enjoyed staying here and most of the people were supper nice. Check-in and Check-out were supper easy and you could come and go as you pleased.

I spent 5 days 4 nights on the shore of Assateague. As an equestrian this was a once in a lifetime adventure. Feral chincoteague ponies everywhere you look! Both towns of chincoteague and assatesgue lean into the horse craze, they have equestrian stores, riding barns, and horse museums just about everywhere you look. During the summer there is an annual “pony swim” where the wild ponies are rounded up and swam from one island to another so they can be sold. I cannot speak from experience but from what I learned from locals this event brings in over 50,000 people. You will need to plan around this if you wish to avoid crowds, although this location seems to be heavily populated all year round, don’t let that discourage you.

Side note- the crabbing is amazing among the local marshes!

We camped in the walk-in sites toward the end (south side) of the ocean side sites. You park along side the road and walk on a boardwalk to your site. Depending on site, you will have to walk on sand to get there as well. Bring a beach wagon!

Toilets are vault and showers are cold water beach showers (not full closure- open on the bottom) which would be fine in the summer but were a bit chilly when we went on a cool few days in April.

No dish washing station- to be expected- but we witnessed a few pple washing dishes under the water source and dumping there - making for a large puddle of gross water- not cool.

Some sites are on the beach, and you can position your tent to be on the dune looking at the water- some are inland a bit more but still a very short walk to the beach. Some you camp on sand (obviously) some of the inland sites have intermittent grass. I’ve heard bugs are bad in warmer months (naturally)- no mosquitos when we were there in April.

We drove through the bay side camp sites and these looked great too- the calm-watered bay side looked nice for wading & playing for small kids. There is some shade here vs none in ocean side. It’s a short walk or drive to the ocean.

BRING STAKES FOR SAND AND GUY YOUR TENT. I witnessed many collapsed tents while I was there. One sun shade that flew away.

Wild horses = piles of horse poop everywhere. Wasn’t a problem, just walk around them. Keep snacks in a locked cooler. The horses came for my 3 yo who was eating snacks while loading up the car. They aren’t messing around!

We saw many horses on ocean side & bay side. Watch out for a brown pony named Chip. The rangers & volunteers were very friendly & great at keeping tabs on the horses.

The beach shack store across from the ranger station near the entrance offered a surprisingly large selection of items.

Many people do not realize there is a wide array of wildlife on Assateague because everyone is so obsessed with the horses. Specifically the birding on Assateague is phenomenal. Oceanside camping is very neat, but it fills up fast. The sites are close to bathrooms (I believe the national side has pit latrines). There are also showers, albeit cold. The sites are a decent size but be advised, they are completely sandy. You WILL get sand everywhere and it is unavoidable. Expect it so it does not put a dent in how wonderful the trip will be. The Oceanside sites are a dune away from the beach. Use the walkways to gain access to the beach as the dunes are protected and you will get fined for taking a shortcut. As many of the reviews advise, there are mosquitos. A lot of them. There are also biting horse flies. However catch the island on a breezy day and the breeze takes care of them. One of the best parts about Assateague is all of the activities you can do. There are bike paths, kayak rentals on the bayside, bay fishing, ocean fishing, crabbing, etc. The worst part about Assateague are all of the tourists who stop in the middle of the road to view the horses, blocking traffic and causing back ups.

I was really looking forward to this trip. We stayed on the Bayside of the campground. Our site was close to the bathhouse, which was modest with cold water and vault toilets. Fresh water pump was nearby, as well.

Based on the reviews, I was expecting a beach camp out with the ambience of wild horses running along the shore. Sand between our toes. Fire cooked meals. Idyllic... Sadly, that’s not at all what we got.

We arrived late to meet some friends before setting up camp. We were supposed to have dinner with the them. But dinner was delayed — VERY delayed — because of horses. A small herd of them (around 8) decided to hangout in our campsite waiting for their meal. This meant we couldn’t get ours. As soon as any food would come into ‘nose-shot,’ they would start advancing on us. We waited over an hour for them to lose interest and move on to the next site. We went through this for every meal. It became a real hassle.

It’s obvious other campers have not been so responsible with their food in this area. The standard is to hide all food as soon as you see the horses. This mean storing anything with a scent in your closed vehicle or in the “horse box” under the picnic table. With the way they would wait for us to pull food out, it was very apparent other campers allowed them to have a free-for-all previously. And no amount of noise shooed them off. If anything, it made them more aggressive and we had to watch them closely.

A little while later, we finally settled in and set up camp after having our “dinner” in the confines of our car. Dinner was snacks since we couldn’t cook anything. Placing anything on the fire or stove was like a beacon to the horses.

The next problem we encountered was the mosquitoes — they were everywhere and in hoards. No matter how hard you tried, there’s no keeping them out of the tent. We left a day later covered in bumps, most from throughout the night.

One good thing was the cooler temps meant no horseflies. On a previous beach trip, we were swarmed and covered in bites within minutes of exiting our car. Be prepared because bug spray does very little.

Let’s also not forget the “stickers” — little burr-like plant pods that are all on the ground and stuck to anything and everything, especially skin. These stung bad.

Once settled in for the night, we dealt with the wind flapping the tent pretty wildly at times, horses neighing almost constantly and coming awfully close, and two raccoons fighting on the edge of our tent. A restful night was not in the cards there.

The only good thing was the location. We were a short walk away from the beach. The kids and I at least enjoyed that part.

I was beyond disappointed and cancelled my upcoming trip for the following month as soon as I got home. I don’t know if the experience was different Oceanside, but i will never be staying Bayside again.