Rosedale Beach

Tucked back in the neighborhoods of Oak Orchard and Riverdale  along the north shores of Indian River Bay located in Millsboro DE.  There are three  boat ramps, one is good for larger boats and is an official state boat ramp, the other two are small sandy ramps, that have been there for years and are not really maintained, but sometimes used in emergencies by the Indian River volunteer fire department.

 The main Delaware state boat ramp in Riverdale is Rosedale Beach, located in Gull Point on Riverview road.  The two other boat ramps are located in Oak Orchard.  These are very small sandy ramps and are only good at high tides.  Be respectful to the neighbors and you cannot park at these ramps.  The best ramp of the two is located at the end of Riverview Ave.  There is a plastic grid system for your tires and is maintained by the locals in cooperation with DNREC.  Mind the animals in the area this is a small community.  Great place to put in a kayak or a very small boat.  Good mullet and bullhead minnows for bait near the pylons.  The last one is located at the end of Oak Orchard Rd. or Route 5.  Just make a left and its between two houses.  This is the toughest ramp to use as it is very soft sand be wary it is really only good for kayaks and very small boats.

Rosedale Beach is the best ramp to use in the Riverdale and Oak Orchard back bay communities.   There is not an actual beach at Rosedale Beach these days, except at low tide.  It is a state boat ramp with a crabbing and fishing pier.   That is only open dusk to dawn for parking unless you are actively fishing at the pier.  You need a Delaware state boat ramp sticker to use the ramp.  The Marine Police check the area occasionally.  The ramp is also used by DNREC, The Indian River Volunteer Fire Department, and DNREC Fish and Wildlife Enforcement.  There is limited parking for vehicles with trailers and a small parking section for single vehicles.  This is a carry in carry out area and is open to fishing twenty four hours a day.

Blue crabbing  is decent on the pier that stretches out past the boat launch piers.  The  crabbing pier has a wider deck area at the end. This is a great place to catch blue crabs with the kids for the day, a quiet place.  You never know what kind of excitement you will see at the boat ramp either.  It can get very entertaining at times.   Crabbing with small rings or folding traps works great or just use hand lines and a net  Bring the basket and keep the crabs moist throughout the day.   Try to keep blue crabs in the shade, which there isn’t much of at this pier.  There is a lot of bait fish along the water’s edge at high tide,but there is little land access, each side of Rosedale beach is private property as it is surrounded by the Gull Point Community.  Hence why it is often called Gull Point.  Enjoy the pier and have fun crabbing and fishing.

The view from the area is beautiful .  There  are always a lot of boats cruising around, kayakers, and jet skis.  A diverse amount of birds including the local raptors , eagles and ospreys.  They nest around the area, live off of the fish in the back bays and can be seen often.  This is a great place for bird watching.   Lots of bait fish can be caught day or night spot, bunker, mullet, and bullhead minnows even grass shrimp in the reeds.   This is a great place to access the Indian River and bay.   Aside from decent crabbing, you can catch flounder, striped bass, dogfish, sand sharks, bluefish, pinfish, croaker, puppy drum, spot, and white perch around the Rosedale Beach area and Indian River.  This area is more brackish than freshwater so you will mostly only see the saltwater species.  Farther up the river towards Millsboro, when you get closer to Cupola park you can get catfish, crap, and bass.  Bunker, shad and herring will go all the way to the spillway at Cupola park and striped bass back in the day would go all the way up there to spawn and feed.  That area was known as the rockpile by locals, because the fish would pile up so thick.  We have caught bluefish and blue claw crabs near the spillway at Cupola park, the headwaters of the Indian River.