Cape Henlopen State Park
Herring Point
An elevated overlook on the Atlantic side of Cape Henlopen State Park, reached from Dune Road. People come for the view, the surf and the drive-on fishing. Almost nobody notices they are standing on a gun battery.
Where the name comes from
Herring Point is named for Battery Herring, a Second World War coastal-defense battery that mounted two 6-inch guns as part of Fort Miles. There is a Delaware State Parks marker at the site, and its subtitle tells you the whole arc in four words: From War to Natural Beauty.
What is less well known is that the war ended and the military stayed.
| By 1944 | Proximity-fuse testing was carried out here — the shell fuse that detonates when it gets near a target rather than on contact. |
|---|---|
| 1946 | The Navy tested rockets from this point. |
| 1950s | An early anti-aircraft missile testing station, part of Operation Bumblebee. |
| 1961–62 | The old battery structure was rebuilt as a submarine-listening facility. |
| 1963 | A submarine-surveillance cable was run from here 104 miles out to sea. |
Read that last line again. The guns at this cape were meant to stop submarines coming into Delaware Bay in the 1940s. Twenty years later the same headland was wired to listen for them a hundred miles offshore. The threat moved out to sea; the job stayed here.
Fishing and driving on the beach
Herring Point is one of Cape Henlopen's four drive-on surf fishing crossings, along with Gordons Pond, Navy Crossing and Point Crossing.
Driving on the beach is not general access. Delaware requires a surf fishing vehicle permit and plate, and the driver has to be actively surf fishing — the permit is for anglers, not for beach parking. You also have to carry the required equipment: a shovel, a jack, a jack board, a tow rope or chain, and a low-pressure tire gauge. The speed limit on the sand is 15 miles per hour.
Rules and permit requirements change. Confirm with Delaware State Parks before you air down.
Surfing and swimming
Herring Point is a well-known surf spot — the rock groins below the overlook shape the break, which is why you will often see boards here when the main beach is flat.
It is not the park's guarded swimming beach. If you want lifeguards, go to the main ocean beach.
The trail starts here
Herring Point is the northern end of the Gordons Pond Trail, which runs 3.2 miles south along the salt pond toward Rehoboth. Walking out and back from this end gives you the overlook at the start and the marsh overlooks in the middle.