Welcome to Indian River Inlet (outer coast), DE

Gasoline, diesel fuel, slips, and some marine supplies are available in the small-boat basin on the north side, 0.8 mile inside Indian River Inlet, and at a marina on the south side 0.9 mile inside the inlet. Hull and engine repairs can be made at both facilities. The boat basin has a 10-ton lift, and the marina a 25-ton lift.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Indian River Inlet, 12 miles south of Cape Henlopen, is the first opening in the barrier beach south of Delaware Bay. The entrance is marked by buoys, and a light is on the end of the south jetty. Indian River Inlet Coast Guard Station is on the north side 0.5 mile inside the inlet.
A channel leads from Indian River Inlet through Indian River Bay and up Indian River to Millsboro, 12 miles above the inlet. In 1995 and 2009, the controlling depth was 15 feet through the dredged channel between the jetties to the fixed bridge, thence 1 foot to Millsboro. The channel from the entrance to Buoy 20 in Indian River Bay is subject to continual change due to severe shoaling. The channel is marked by uncharted buoys that are frequently shifted to mark the best water. The channel to Millsboro is marked by daybeacons and seasonal buoys.
The fixed highway bridge over Indian River Inlet has a clearance of 35 feet for a midwidth of 100 feet or 32 feet for a width of 200 feet. The stub ends of a former drawbridge, now used as fishing piers, are close westward of the bridge. In 2010, a replacement fixed highway bridge was under construction close W of the existing bridge with a design clearance of 45 feet. An overhead power cable with a clearance of 66 feet crosses the inlet about 100 yards westward of the bridge.