Surf spot

Indian River Inlet

Forecast conditions and map view for Indian River Inlet in USA, North East, Virginia. Open the interactive surf map to inspect wind, waves, and nearby spots.

Country: USA, North East, Virginia
Coordinates: 38.6084, -75.0593

Metric
Metric	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00
Wave height (m)	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3
Wave direction	SSE	SSE	SSE	SSE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	E	E	ENE	ENE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E
Wave period (s)	3.9	4	4.2	3.9	3.4	2.8	2.6	2.8	2.8	2.9	3	3.4	3.4	4	3.5	3.3	3.1	3.1	3.3	5	7.4	7.3	7.5	7	7.4	7.2	7	7.1	7.2	7.1	6	6	6	4.3	4.7	4.7	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.9	4.9	5	5	4.9	5	4.8	5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.4
Wave energy (kJ)	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	0	1	4	4	5	4	4	2	1	2	5	5	6	5	5	5	5	4	3	3	3	3	3	6	12	14	15	14	13	14	13	14	14	15	14	13	11	10	8	7	8	9	9	7	7	6
Wind speed (km/h)	10.1	8.2	10.5	17.4	19.5	10.1	10.4	10.2	10.7	10.8	18.6	21.2	22.7	19.6	18.9	17.3	10.1	5.1	5.1	7.4	10.5	6	7.6	5.4	10	10.4	10.5	18.5	15.5	11.7	6.5	10.5	13.7	13.7	10.8	13.8	17.7	17.7	14.9	16.3	13.4	11.7	8	13.5	18.7	13.9	13	13.7	12.2	9.2	9.2	13.4	17.9	19.5	11.8	7.6
Wind direction	WCross-off	NNWCross-on	NCross-on	NEOnshore	ENEOnshore	ENEOnshore	ECross-on	ECross-on	ESECross-on	ECross-on	ESECross-on	SECross	SECross	SECross	SECross	SCross-off	WCross-off	NWCross	WCross-off	NWCross	NEOnshore	SSECross	SCross-off	WCross-off	WNWCross-off	WNWCross-off	NNWCross	NCross-on	NNECross-on	NNECross-on	NCross-on	NEOnshore	ENEOnshore	ECross-on	ECross-on	ESECross-on	SECross	SECross	SSECross	SSECross-off	SSECross-off	SCross-off	SCross-off	SSECross	SSECross	SSECross-off	SSECross-off	SCross-off	SSECross-off	SSWCross-off	SCross-off	SCross-off	SCross-off	SCross-off	SSWCross-off	WSWOffshore

Indian River Inlet is a well-known surf spot on the Delaware coast, near Dewey Beach / Bethany Beach in the U.S. Northeast Mid-Atlantic region.
Small note: it’s not in Virginia—it’s in Delaware.

Spot overview

Type: Jetty/inlet beach break
Exposure: Very open to Atlantic swell
Wave quality: Can be powerful and fairly consistent when conditions line up
Best on: Smaller to medium swells, clean offshore winds, and an incoming or mid tide depending on sand/jetty setup

What it’s like

Indian River Inlet often produces peaky, shifting waves influenced by the inlet, jetties, and changing sandbars. It can offer: - Fast, punchy sections - Lefts and rights depending on tide and sand - More size and power than many nearby beach breaks - Occasionally good shape with clean lines, especially after sand movement

Conditions and hazards

Strong currents: The inlet can have very strong tidal flow, rip currents, and sweep.
Crowds: Popular with local surfers, especially when conditions are good.
Jetty hazards: Rocks and hard structure near the inlet require care.
Changing bottom: Sandbars shift frequently, so the break can vary a lot from session to session.

Best suited for

Intermediate to advanced surfers when it’s bigger or more powerful
Beginners only on smaller, cleaner days and away from the inlet flow

Summary

Indian River Inlet is a classic Northeast-style inlet break: fun, powerful, and often inconsistent but capable of very good surf when swell, tide, and wind align.