Dewey Beach is an incorporated coastal town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 314. It is part of the Seaford, Delaware Micropolitan Statistical Area. Dewey Beach is located at 38° 41' 46"N 075° 04' 35"W (38.69611, -75.07639). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.3 square miles, all of it land.
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.
Incorporated in 1981, 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.
As is the case with most beach areas, Dewey Beach quiets down in the fall and winter.
The town hosts the Dewey Beach Music Conference during the last weekend of September. This event began in 2002 and has been a huge draw for unsigned bands from all over the country.
Another popular Dewey Beach event, which occurs every October, is Greyhounds Reach The Beach, where thousands of rescued greyhounds and their owners congregate.
Also, the town is the location of the annual East Coast Skimboarding Championships, in mid-August.
Dewey Beach, together with the towns of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island, comprises Delaware's beach-resort area and is Sussex County's most densely-populated and fastest-growing area.