Dewey Beach is an incorporated coastal town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States.
While not as extreme as spring-break locales such as Panama City Beach or Cancún, Dewey Beach has developed a reputation as a wild summer "party town", and is particularly popular in the Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Wilmington areas.
The town lies on a small strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Rehoboth Bay, is about one mile long and only two blocks wide. Despite its small size and low year-round population of about 300, it is not uncommon for 30,000 to descend upon the town during summer weekends. Numerous bars and rock clubs line Coastal Highway (Delaware Route 1), the town's main street. Further down Coastal Highway is Ruddertowne, home to more bars and clubs. On summer nights, particularly on the weekends, Route 1 is choked with pedestrians as bargoers hop from one nightspot to another, backing up traffic for miles.
Notwithstanding its reputation as a magnet for partygoers, Dewey Beach is also a popular family resort spot, particularly because of its wide, sandy beaches, and many hotels, cottages, and condominiums may be found.