pickering beach

A must during horshoe crab mating season (check dates for May full moon). Positively other-worldly, exciting and informative to watch the annual rite of spring on the beach. Naturalists are usually on hand to explain, answer questions. Mater nature is, indeed, grand!

Pickering Beach is one of the best places to see horseshoe crabs - the 350 million year old species that still has many mysteries for biologists to figure out - during their mating season. From mid-May through mid-June during high tides on new and full moons, horseshoe crabs come ashore by the thousands to lay and fertilize their eggs. Come to Pickering Beach to see them up close during that time of year!

I went there especially to see the horseshoe crabs on the beach. It was amazing but surprisingly empty (besides the thousands of horseshoe crabs!) Just a few people were walking on the beach. If you're into marine life and want to see something out of the ordinary, this is the place to be around the spring equinox (end of May-June). We went back at night and it was unreal.

Horseshoe Crab viewing is optimal here. Parking is limited, but residents are pleasant, friendly and accommodating.

Our friend was showing us the Dover area, and headed out one night just before dusk to show us Pickering Beach. It was high tide when we arrived, and it was quite a thrill to drive along the shore, five feet from the lapping waves. We stepped over some rocks and walked out on an old boardwalk pier, met some local's fishing (off duty air force), chatted for awhile and watched the night start to settle and a cool breeze sweep in. All in all a fun experience. We would not have found this on our own, and are grateful that we had the chance to experience this natural area.

We went there to see the full moon/tide specific influx of horseshoe crabs. So did many other like minded people. That being siad, we met great people...witnesses a rare moment in nature and got to play with horsehoe crabs which covered the beach like a blanket. So we loved Pickering Beach. BUT, as far as swimmimg during the day---I am not sure if this would be my first choice. It is very natural which means rocky. It is not the white sand pretty beach that one conjures up. If you want that, head to Dewey Beach. We loved it---but for other reasons.

This is one of only a few places where we can see horseshoe crabs come to lay eggs. These bring laughing gulls and red knots making this beach an incredible place to see the ecology of this region. Very highly recommended!!!!

This seems more like a small community that doesn't really want tourists. All resident only parking. Very little info. It's in the bat as well so the water wouldn't be great for swimming.In may/June the trip would probably be worth it with the horseshoe crab migration. Other than that don't waste your time

this beach in april is the place to be for nature lovers. you can witness first hand the migration, mating and egg burying of the horseshoe crab. local enthusiasts are at the beach collecting eggs in marked areas as these eggs are a particular favorite of birds that also follow the migration. you can also "upright" a crab sleeping after a long busy amorous night in their quest to walk back into the bay! the view from this beach is great and it is pleasant for strolling but unfortunately not for swimming!

There were several people fishing here and slips for boats, but there did not appear to be anyplace for swimming or just lying down on the beach. If you're going to fish or boat, then bump up my rating by a couple of notches to very good. We parked, looked around, then got back in our car to go to another beach. There was some sort of festival the day we were there, so there were several trucks with food, ice cream, etc. I don't know what is available on a normal day.

This beach looked good from a distance, nice and quiet, secluded from hustle and bustle. We were unpleasantly surprised when we couldn't find parking (everywhere said residents only) so we parked at a house that seemed to be condemned. We walked maybe 50 feet to the beach to find white sugary sand. It was great, until sandmites, or whatever they were, started attacking us! We got some exercise running from them. We couldn't retreat to the water, since from the sand to water that appeared "swimable" was about 100 feet of mud. There were thousands of snails in the mud, which our kids had fun playing with (my son wanted to take one home as a pet but we said no extra guests allowed in the hotel). Pickering Beach is declared an official horseshoe crab sanctuary, but unfortunately, the only ones we could see were dead. They were gigantic which was interesting, but not moving, which was sad. I would not recommend this beach to anyone until there is a massive clean-up.