The most expensive assumption you can make at the Delaware beaches in September is that the meters stopped when the lifeguards did.
They did not. Four of the five beach towns run paid parking for another week after Labor Day, and Lewes runs its meters for more than a month longer than that. Here is where each town actually stands, taken from its own published regulations rather than from the general impression that summer is over.
| Town | Paid season | Hours | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rehoboth Beach | May 15 – Sep 15 | 10 AM–10 PM | $4/hr |
| Dewey Beach | May 15 – Sep 15 | 9 AM–2 AM | Permit / ParkMobile |
| Bethany Beach | May 15 – Sep 15 | 10 AM–10 PM | $4/hr |
| Fenwick Island | May 15 – Sep 15 | Permit required | Permit |
| Lewes (most meters) | May 1 – Oct 14 | 9 AM–8 PM | $1.50/hr |
| Lewes (Savannah & Johnnie Walker beaches) | May 1 – Sep 30 | 9 AM–8 PM | $2.50/hr |
The four that end September 15
Rehoboth Beach charges $4 an hour, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., through September 15. The city recently aligned its other seasonal rules — dogs, smoking, overnight parking restrictions — to the same May 15 to September 15 window, so one date now governs most of what changes in town. Enforcement is by licence-plate reader; there is nothing to put on the dash.
Bethany Beach also runs to September 15, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., at $4 an hour across roughly a thousand public spaces. Garfield Parkway carries a two-hour limit; everywhere else is unrestricted. One detail people are routinely caught by: the town requires payment from every vehicle, including those displaying accessible plates or placards.
Dewey Beach runs May 15 to September 15, and its enforcement window is the long one — 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. If you are leaving a bar at one in the morning in Dewey on September 14, you are still inside paid hours.
Fenwick Island requires a permit to park on town streets and beach ends, May 15 through September 15.
Lewes is the outlier, and it is not close
Lewes does not work like the beach towns, because Lewes is not primarily a beach town. Its meters run from May 1 all the way to October 14 — nearly a month after the others have stopped — from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, at $1.50 an hour at most locations.
The two exceptions are the beach meters. Savannah Beach and Johnnie Walker Beach charge $2.50 an hour and shut off on September 30, about two weeks before the rest of the town.
So the practical rule for the second half of September is simple: the beach towns are free, and Lewes is not.
What this actually means this month
Between now and September 15, assume you are paying everywhere. From September 16, Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany and Fenwick are free and Lewes still is not. From October 1, the Lewes beach meters go quiet too. From October 15, the whole coast is free.
If you are coming down for the Boardwalk Arts Festival on the 12th, that is inside Bethany's paid season. If you are coming for the Songwriters Festival in Lewes on the 10th through 13th, that is inside Lewes's, which runs another month regardless.
Sources: Town of Bethany Beach, Public Parking — Pay to Park; City of Rehoboth Beach, seasonal restriction dates and city meter information; Town of Dewey Beach, Parking Code Enforcement; City of Lewes, parking meter locations, rates and dates; Town of Fenwick Island parking permit requirements. Rates and dates were read from each municipality's own published pages on 7 September 2026. Dewey's hourly rate is not stated on the town's enforcement page and is therefore not quoted here. Regulations change; confirm with the town before relying on a date.