Dewey Beach · Sussex County
Can dogs go on Dewey Beach?
Dogs are allowed on Dewey Beach today, with limits
Today, before 9:30 am and after 5:30 pm — not in between. Dogs are allowed, but only outside the middle of the day. This is the summer answer nobody publishes: every other town on this coast is shut, and Dewey is open at either end of the day.
Yes, year-round — Dewey is the only Delaware beach town that never closes to dogs. In summer they are limited to before 9:30am and after 5:30pm. You need a town dog license, and visitors get fined for skipping it.
Dewey Beach. Dogs are legal here right now, but only before 9:30 am and after 5:30 pm — the guard stand is the thing that decides it. Turn up in the middle of the day and you are in the wrong.
Illustrated stand-in. Replaced when the photograph is taken.
The dates
Dewey Beach — dog rules by season
| Where | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Beach | May 23 – September 13 2026before 9:30 am and after 5:30 pmThe ordinance reads "the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through the Sunday following Labor Day", so the dates move each year. | Dogs allowed, with limits Dogs are allowed, but only outside the middle of the day. This is the summer answer nobody publishes: every other town on this coast is shut, and Dewey is open at either end of the day. Leash required |
| Beach | September 14 2026 – May 22 2027 | Dogs allowed All day, and off-leash is permitted if the dog is under your full control. Confirm what the town means by that before relying on it — "under control" is a judgement an officer makes, not a rule you can read. |
Also true
- License
- Required for visitors too. Three-day, eight-day or lifetime, online or at Town Hall.
- Off-leash
- Permitted off-season if the dog is under full control. Leashed in the summer window.
- Cleanup
- Required at all times.
- Doodles in Dewey
- Late April, running 20+ years. Doodles are free to attend but still need the $5 town license.
You need a license
Every dog in Dewey Beach needs a town dog license, whether you live there or are visiting for a weekend. Three-day, eight-day and lifetime licenses are sold online and at Town Hall. This is the single most common way visitors get fined here — the beach hours are widely repeated, the license almost never is.
Dewey is not closed to dogs in summer
Aggregator pages tend to flatten the whole Delaware coast into one rule and tell you dogs are banned from the beaches all summer. That is wrong here. Dewey never closes — it narrows to early mornings and evenings between Memorial Day weekend and the Sunday after Labor Day, and runs all day the rest of the year. If you want a Delaware ocean beach with a dog in July, this is the closest one to Rehoboth by a wide margin. The catch is the license, not the hours.
About Dewey Beach
A mile long and two blocks wide, ocean on one side and Rehoboth Bay on the other. The only Delaware beach town that never closes to dogs — and the only one that requires a town dog license.
- Water
- Ocean and bay
- Boardwalk
- None
- Parking
- Paid, in season.
- County
- Sussex County
Who to call in Dewey Beach
Town of Dewey Beach
105 Rodney Ave
Mon–Thu 8–4:30 · Fri 8–6 · Sat 9–3 · Sun 9–2
Where you buy the dog license. Open weekends in season, which matters if you arrive on a Saturday.
Dewey Beach Police, non-emergency
If something goes wrong
Delmarva Animal Emergency Center
About 1 hour1482 E Lebanon Rd, Dover, DE 19901
Hours Mon–Thu 6pm – 8am · Fri–Sun 24 hours
NOT 24/7 on weekdays — it opens at 6pm and closes at 8am. A Tuesday afternoon emergency is not covered here.
Pet's ER
About 1 hour402 Punkin Ct, Salisbury, MD 21804
Hours Not confirmed
Closest option to Fenwick and Bethany. Confirm hours and whether they take out-of-state clients.
BluePearl Pet Hospital, Christiana
About 1 hour 45 minutes106 Geoffrey Dr, Newark, DE 19713
Hours 24 hours, every day
The only genuine round-the-clock option in Delaware, but it is at the top of the state — a long drive from the beaches.
Rehoboth Beach Animal Hospital
In townNumber not confirmed
Rehoboth Beach, DE
Hours Urgent care, reported five days a week
Nearest urgent care to the beach towns, but it is urgent care and not a 24-hour ER. Confirm the days, the hours, and whether they see non-clients.
- Emergency — people
- 911
Always. Beach emergencies, injuries, anything time-critical.
- Delaware SPCA
- Not confirmed
Stray and loose-dog intake. Number not yet confirmed.
- Animal Poison Control (ASPCA)
- 888-426-4435
24 hours. A consultation fee usually applies. Useful for a swallowed bait, a bloom exposure, or anything eaten off the sand.
Hours at coastal practices move with the season and none of these numbers has been confirmed first-hand yet. Call ahead rather than driving on trust, and pick your one now — before you need it.
The other towns
No two of these share a set of dates. If your trip crosses more than one, check each.
- Can dogs go on Rehoboth Beach? — shut May 15 – September 15
- Can dogs go on Bethany Beach? — shut May 15 – September 30
- Can dogs go on Lewes Beach? — open all year, before 8 am and after 6:30 pm in season
- Can dogs go on Fenwick Island beach? — shut May 1 – September 30
- All five, side by side
- How we check this, and what we do when we're wrong