Sandy beach

Yes

Hike-in Required

No

Surfing

No

Snorkeling / SCUBA

No

Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Learn more about how to apply the principles of Leave No Trace on your next outdoor adventure here.

Slaughter Beach is a sandy beach mixed with semi-large pebbles that have been smoothed over by the waters of the Delaware Bay.

Upon entering the town of Slaughter Beach, you will find several public beach access points nestled between the quaint beach homes lining the dunes or the main parking lot at the fire house. The beach plays host to many dramatic events within the animal kingdom, the two most notable being the various shorebirds that stop here to rest along their strenuous migration south for the winter.

The other, and most well known, is the mass congregation of horseshoe crabs during their mating season that usually peaks in the later part of May and into June. One interpretation of the name Slaughter Beach comes from the animals being knocked over by the incoming waves and becoming food for the various predators in the area.

Other migration-related events include monarch butterflies on their return trip from Mexico.