multiple tees for different levels of play
baskets have arrows to get you to the next tees
baskets are either orange or have an orange number plate
you're at the beach!!! You can play 18 holes, go for a dip in the ocean, then come back for some more.

some of the tees are in poor shape
chains are very rusted on the baskets
there was a lot of standing water in areas that there were trees from heavy rains and flash flooding from several days before.
You can't see the basket from most of the higher level tees. The signage could use an update. You'll spend a lot of time marching up the sand to see if you can find the basket before you tee off.

I played Henlopen three years ago, the last time we vacationed in Lewes. It seems that several of the tees have been fixed, but there's a lot of work that the course needs. There were several holes that were completely unplayable because of water. Between holes 17 to 18, there were trees down blocking any walking paths.
If you're visiting, and it hasn't rained hard recently, then it's a nice vacation play in the sand if you need a break from the water.

- Nice use of elevation because of the dunes. Terrain reminds me of the dunes on the outer banks of North Carolina.

- Some really cool holes. #16 (I think - sign said 14b) had a basket on the slope of a steep dune. Great hole. Like the baskets that are on or behind the dunes.

- No heavy brush. Mostly downed pines and dead pine needles. Holes 1 and 10 have some tall beach grass that could maybe cause a lost disc but that's about it.

- Short tees actually are a totally different hole as opposed to just a shorter shot. Less blind shots while adding finese skill shots to the basket.

- The back nine wooded holes are really well designed, more like a regular course and make great use of the terrain.

- Beach is the best way I could think of to cool off after a round.

- Too many blind shots unless you play short tees.

- Hard to find the next tee but the Next Tee signs do help.

- Very easy to shoot at the wrong basket due to the up and back layout of the course. I threw to 18 accidentally instead of 8. And almost threw to 1 on hole 7 and basket 10 on the first hole. Use a printed map and next tee signs together and it helps. Without a map I would have been lost.

- HOT!!!! Avoid playing mid day in the summer. If so bring PLENTY of water. I felt like I was going to pass out when I played mid day and had to rest in the shade and down some water. The heat coming off the sand is brutal by noon.

Was staying in Lewes for a weekend and went two days in a row. First day was rough but brought my wife and dad who wanted to try disc golf and they had a blast. Not an ideal beginner course but I think the red tees and a day at the beach made it a hit. My dad wants to try some local Baltimore area courses now.

I had more fun on day 2 by just playing the red tees while teaching my wife and dad. There were less blind shots and less plodding through the hot, soft sand to scout the basket before teeing off, which can sap your strength and fun if you're not used to it.

Thanks to reviews I wore sandals. They were the best option but the sand still chafes your feet after a while.

An idea my dad and I had after playing on day two: Park at the big beach lot. Start at hole 13 across from the lot and finish up at 12. Play in your swim trunks and sandles and you can dip in the water after a short walk across the lot, otherwise you have to walk around the course again from 18 to the beach.

This course is much more fun once you are used to it. On day one I was pretty frustrated and hot, playing at around 2 pm in scorching sand in august and skipped some holes to go to the beach. On day two we played early morning, knew the layout and it was much more fun. For those who tried it and hated it, another round may be a totally different experience.

18 hole course located a few hundred yards from the beach at a nice state park in Lewes. A kiosk with course information sits beside hole 1. All holes have working baskets. Multiple tee pads of sufficient length (red, white, blue) depending on level of difficulty you desire. Course is laid out well and distances are reasonable. Decent use of elevation, especially for a beach course. Course navigation is pretty easy with "next tee" arrows a big help. A small nature center building on site sells a limited supply of discs and provides a course map for anyone interested.

Built in 1978 and located by the beach, this course is showing heavy wear and tear. Signs are weathered and chipped, basket numbers are faded, basket chains are rusty and the salt air has taken its toll. Some of the wood planks which comprise the tee boxes are broken and need to be replaced. Many blind shots off the tee. Only a couple of benches and no bag poles, which would be a nice extra. Drinking fountains and bathrooms not in close proximity. Now 11 bucks for out-of-staters to enter the park.

The novelty of taking the Cape May ferry to Lewes and biking a mile to the course was what inspired me to play here. Cape Henlopen is not a bad course and I am a beach person, but truth be told, I wasn't real impressed with the place. Throwing tomahawks every third shot off the tee and dealing with intrusive pine trees blocking paths to the basket is not my preferred day of disc golf. I know there is a group of devoted locals who play here and it is a unique experience for sure, but not one I'd want to have each week.

If ever there was a course in need of considerable TLC, this is it. Many things need to be upgraded as indicated above- including the secondary tee pads and accompanying markers- to make this a better overall course.

Differently interesting. Playing in the sand was more difficult than I thought it would be, as (perhaps obviously) it's tough to get much on those long fairway shots.

Nice little store near the course that sells discs (but no water ) with a kindly park official who couldn't get the change drawer open when I bought an Xpress...easiest donation he ever received.

Ooooooollllllddddd signage and par designations. These circa 1980 metal signs with bad hole maps on them were as often misleading as they were correct. The fact that the course is in transition makes this doubly frustrating.

Very little in the way of course amenities. I did not find out until later in the day that Delaware has this "carry in-carry out" policy about their parks...which is no big deal really, but the occasional bench and/or trash can is nice IMO.

$8 out of state to park there, as you most likely know by now. I didn't care because I was on vacation, but this would be a negative if I were planning to drive from Maryland or something.

HOT HOT HOT midday. I'm so glad I played in the morning, because I might have dehydrated if I played it in the afternoon during the summer. All that sunshine bouncing off the sand...eeep.

If you can keep the disc high and level with little fade, you will do well here. If you have a killer tomahawk, you will own this place. There were sufficient obstacles for a player like me that depends on a low drive, but I know a couple players that lean on the overhand shots that would have an unfair advantage here. There are a couple holes that simply DO NOT HAVE A LINE if you don't have a good overhand.

I enjoyed myself here despite the negatives, mostly because it was so different from anything I've ever done before. I can definitely see that this is a "love it or leave it" course.

The locals are obviously putting some love into this course, and I bet when they are done (hopefully the signage will be part of your renovation) it will be a 3.5 or so. It's cool enough to deserve the attention imo, kudos to you guys.

If I found myself near it again, I'd play it...but I wouldn't go out of my way for this course. (Sorry, guys)

Multiple tee pad locations per hole (Red/White/Blue)

Sign on all 18 holes at White tee location showing distance, basket location, & pars

Permanent 18 baskets with what looks to be another 9-18 being built

$8.00 per car to play at this park

Be prepared to walk in the sand throughout the entire course!

At times it can be difficult to find alternate tee pad locations as there's only one sign per hole on White tees

Can't see the baskets location from tee pad on a majority of the holes

Basket 1 & 18 on opposite sides of the course

Difficult at times to navigate from one hole to the next

Overall I enjoyed the experience & may go back to play. I'd recommend others to play here as well

You can smell the ocean and see the crowds of people crowding the State Park. (not my scene) You can watch some great ultimate Frisbee games every now and then. It is close to fishing and many other activities.

The course is REALLY BAD. When I was there every time, the tee areas were quite inadiquate and dangerous. I played it many times, but from a stand and throw every shot. The tees were something like broken skids and the course did not play well. Too many hidden baskets. Hadd to walk evey hole before it was played.

If I am in Delaware, I will play it because it is there, and I like the ocean smell.

-Right near the beach and most of the course is in the sand.
-Good course layout with the back nine in a larger circle around the front nine.
-great altitude changes and there are just enough trees to make it challenging without making it frustrating.
-Course markings are clear and easy to follow once you find the fist tee.

-The sand get into everything. Bags, shoes, ect. I would suggest wearing sandals.
- Small cactus are everywhere so watch your step.
- there are not many bushes but the ones that are there have some of the biggest thorns that I have ever seen.
- Rollers do not work in sand.

I played this course twice in the five days that I spent on vacation and I would have to say that this course provides an overall positive experience. Playing in the sand is incredibly fun and its interesting to see how your game changes when you play on a different surface. You do have to pay to get into the park however this will also get you into all the Delaware state parks some of which have other disc golf courses. Lastly there is wildlife everywhere, we pulled in and the entire parade field of the park was full of deer.

-Good path guidance with arrows on baskets pointing to next tee, got around quite easily first time playing with a little confusion around hole 10.
(you can pick up a course map from the nature center or look at the board by the first tee)
-Good for all levels of play because most holes have a blue, white, and red tee pad.
-Unique course in that it is primarily located on sand.
-Hard to lose a disc (despite other reviews) because there is not much shrubbery or or rough so if you have a general idea of where it went you should be fine.
-Well kept, great tee pads, great signs showing length and direction of the hole.

-It is a short course.
-Most of the throws are blind.
-Some of the baskets a rusty and rickety.

If you are in the area, this is definitely worth making a trip to just because of its uniqueness of the course.
If you are willing to travel, this is a great destination because after a quick round (love it or hate it) you can take a stroll to the beach afterward to cool off on the white sandy beaches!
Its a relatively easy course that plays rather quickly.

i absolutly love this course. the layout is awesome. the sand dunes in which it is constructed are an added difficulty not only in the hiking but in the spotting of the baskets. everything about this course i love and i will definatly be making the 2 hour drive again to play this course multiple times

the only bad thing i can think of about this course was ummm well nothing. i loved it

Interesting course! Boardwalk teepads and constant sand give it a beach feel, but I hop that you don't hope for rolls/skips in the sand!
Beach is very closeby: Within the park!

Sand gets in shoes, boardwalk tees can be rickety, hard to see basket from tee.

Cool course. I would come back for sure. It's certainly different from other Delmarva courses I've played!

Your disc wont skip, ever! Sand is cool, I guess.

$8 out of state. bathrooms closed. windy. rusty baskets. several water hazards. tee signs hard to read and confusing. bad course layout, no flow. did I mention the wind?

sorry, there isn't much else to say. I'll probably never play this course again.

Wow! This is one of the funnest and most unique courses I have ever played. Rolling up and over hills of sand, Threading Pine Alleys, Taming the Wind, and just soaking up the otherwordly experience of playing this one of a kind disc golf course. This course will present you with plenty of blind BUT rewarding holes. I was expecting an annoying blind course and to lose discs all over this course based on my intermediate skill level, the prior reviews, and playing alone. I was so glad I took the chance to play this joyride. I did not lose a disc and the holes were some of the funnest and unique I have ever encountered in over 90 played courses. 2/3 of the holes play over white sand dunes with scrub brush and pines sprinkled throughout. It's almost like your out in some far away desert or another planet as you play here. The tees are wooden plank boardwalks that provide enough room to drive from given the not so distant baskets. The challenge here is derived from the elevation shifts and tight pine fairways. Often your disc is sailing upward over a dune with nose up and it catches the wind...woooah! Next time you might throw a sideways wind cutting hyzer and take into consideration the effects wind can have on your throw. The blind throws require some scouting but it's glory to walk over a massive dune and see your disc parked next to the basket. Holes 14 and 15 are fun woods holes that break up the dunes. Hole 18 is a monster 500 footer that depending on the wind can play differently everytime. The course area is primarily disc golf so relax and escape for awhile into the dunes. Your discs will not get beat up by rocks and even the pines are gentle in how they handle discs.

Sure your gonna get sand in your shoes and sand on your discs....boo hoo! I'd rather be plastered with sand than caked in mud and scratched by thorns like most east coast courses of this caliber. I did get 2 metered once but it wasnt hard to retrieve or find the disc...(The pines at Seneca and other places are much more evil). The boardwalk tees can be awkward at first but you don't need crazy run ups on these mostly short driving holes. Navigation is a bit tricky and it could stand to be better marked but you can print a map or take note of the map at the info kiosk. I really can't whine too much I just found the course to be a delight and the fun factor far outweighs any cons. Be careful of bike riders and walkers on a few of the holes on the back 9. Not an elite course but is definetely memorable.

Bring fluids if it's hot out. The actual Cape is just a driver's throw away and I would recommend hitting the waves after a round as a way to unwind and cool off or just to soak up the ocean views. I fully expect many to disagree with my rating of this course but I had a blast playing here and the environment with the ocean and beautiful beaches nearby is second to none. Pay the entry fee and drive to the beach access area as you pass the soccer fields to your right the course will be on your left. Park near the basketball courts.

The signage is fairly good. At the long tees (there appear to be unmarked short tees for holes 1-9), you'll find the distance, basket location, and next tee information. At many baskets, you'll find next tee arrows.

The main parking lot for the beach is not too far away, there are other activities at the park, and there is a Dairy Queen just a few miles away if you simply stay on the main road when you exit.

$8 to enter the park. Since most opening shots are blind, can be time-consuming for a first-time visitor if you bother to scout the basket locations before throwing. A few shots play near walking/biking paths. Sign for #11 was missing the day I played.

Two nine-hole loops playing in a counterclockwise direction, with holes 1-9 forming a loop inside of holes 10-18. Other than the mostly wide-open nearly 500' #18, and a few holes around 200', most holes fall into the 240'-335' category, and the average length is about 275'. The tee pads, maybe 5'x12', are pallets made from beach boardwalk planks.

Since you are playing amidst small sand dunes with some pines scattered about there are several non-typical things about this course:
- What shoes to wear? I played in sandals, so couldn't do very good run-ups. Players in other shoes typically comment how their's fill with sand.
- There is usually, at a minimum, a mild breeze blowing - you may want to have heavier/more stable discs.
- If you typically count on gaining some extra distance due to your disc skipping and/or rolling, that's not going to happen on this course - hit the sand, and stop

Fairly good variety - some holes are flat, some up/down a gentle slope, but several where you need to get up-n-over a dune with trees growing on it, but back down quickly, some times also needing to turn to get to the basket. Decent blend of straight, S-shape, and turning holes, with a bit of an emphasis of left-turns. A couple wooded holes, a couple open holes, but most have you throwing around and over tree/dune combinations.

Some navigation tips: when teeing for #13, you may want to make note of tee #14 to your right, as you'll soon be walking back to it. After finishing #13 and walking back towards tee #14, you should note the location of #15 to your left, as it is not at all visible from basket #14.

Favourite hole #14: About 300', left-turning about 2/3rds of the way to the hole, need to throw between trees early, but be high enough to get over other trees just past the midpoint.

Your entry fee will allow you into other Delaware state parks that day, so playing a trifecta of Henlopen, Trap , and Killens, all about an hour from each other, is certainly possible.

Don't know how many courses there are similar to this - probably fairly unique!

1)Beach no more than 300ft away from the course....
2)Not like any other course you will ever play...
3)New Baskets
4)Skilled shots are needed to play this as a 54 par course...

1)Bugs are really bad in the middle of summer...
2)Expect to get sand in your shoes your basicly playing on the beach...
3)Course is kinda hard to follow first time playing....(but the locals are maintaining it nicely)
4)At one time the baskets were out dated.. making long puts were impossible to stick...

This was my first course I have ever played. Going camping at the park and being able to golf is very nice.. Including having the beach within distance makes this an amazing beach vacation experience...

Unique course over the sand dunes. loved the Wooden decks used for T pad.
Park is clean and easy to navigate.

I cheat I have a spotter point the direction I need to throw, Also helps find errant discs. Bugs and heat are the devil from the end of July to the first of August

If you like to play unique courses. This is a must. Yeah you have to pay but you will not be bored playing this course

This is a completely unique course, most of which is laid out on or into a set of sand dunes. Each hole is different, and almost all are technically challenging.

All but one tee has a sign and if you know someone in the area who plays it is not terribly hard to follow. There is now a course layout map by the practice pin and first tee, so taking a look at it should clear up any issues.

The par is really lax, but if you play a pro par the course becomes much harder.

Also, it is right by the beach, so after you are done disc golfing, you can chill in the waves or take a nap in the sun.

First time this course is hard to follow, but now that there is a map of the course, it has become a lot easier for first timers.

Sand: I would suggest bare-footing it on cooler days, or finding a sand proof shoe of some variety, because you are playing on a dune, so there is no avoiding the sand.

Older tees and pins may annoy some, but everything is there, and a new set of tee platforms have recently been put in.

Watch out for trees. Pine trees are annoying to retrieve discs from, and several holes you have to shoot over or around a bunch of them.

Overall a great course. Aged though it may be, there is still the aura of novelty about it, that I have not found in any other course.

Also: if you come in the off season, like October to late March, you do not have to pay to get into the park. Other ways to get around the $8 out-of-state fee: ride a bike in; get lots of people to go; get to know a local.

I highly recommend this course if you are looking for something a little different in your schedule, just be prepared to compensate for the setting.

If there's one thing I dig its playing a totally unique course and Cape Henlopen is just that. Course weaves up, down and around sand dunes and through a maze of scruff pines. A few holes are wooded and there's a long open one as well. Though short course can be quite challenging and 2/3 of your drives are blind. Playing in the sand gives a bit of a twist as your shots will, for the most part, stay where they land, no skips or rolls. Wooden platform tees work nicely. A number of holes force you to drive up and over a wall of pines. A totally unique playing experience.
***UPDATE***
Two and often 3 different tees on every hole! The locals have been putting in many hours and excellent work here. Tees are slowly getting truck bed liner rolled onto the front of them to increase grip on the wood. multiple basket placements are also being added. Also, dead trees being removed and baskets repaired.

Course navigation is a bit hard the first time out. As stated, many holes are blind shots, so do yourself a favor and take a moment to walk up and locate the basket your first time here. With the exception of the open hole, from which you can see the basket anyway, the holes are short so you don't have to walk that far up.

Cape Henlopen is a fantastic park overall. Close by the course is the beach, nice hikes and pier fishing. Being right next to the beach I can even get my girlfriend to come play here with me. Lots of wildlife here, during the summer tiny lizards can be seen running around the course and in the afternoons a heard of deer containing an albino can usually be seen in the field across from the nature center. (Which sells discs) Yes, there is a park entrance fee, but if you plan on playing Delaware state park courses more than 5 times a year just buy the State Park Pass and it will easily pay for itself. Nothing beats playing here in the off season, when its nice and quiet, and throwing to the sound of the waves crashing.

It's tough to rate this course because it is so unique
Many of its pros are also its cons
Located in a State Park near the Ocean on the Delaware Shore, Cape Henlopen is dune golf! Teepads used to be little boardwalks set in the sand. The dunes are peppered with a weird kind of pine tree that doesn't get huge, but provides an interesting obstacle. Due to the nature of the topography, many of the holes are blind forcing you to walk up a dune, spy the basket and get a fix on a site line above the hole to use as reference from the tee.
Once you play it a few times, it actually becomes a fun little challenge, Some folks only get to play it once, and go away feeling a little off - which is what dune golf will do to you your first time.
Fortunately, it's not terribly long, so trudging through the sand is minimal

Holes are blind, gotta clean sand out of your shoes, and pay close attention to your errant shots. Throwing over stuff you cant see can yield a lost disc pretty easily.

The Cape is one of those fun to play, on the way, convenience courses. Maybe not a great tournament course, but worth a stop if you're on your way up the coast.

Not much, it's a disc golf course close to my in-laws house in Long Neck DE

Course was hard to follow. Signs at tee boxes were kind of vague (preffered path was a straight line to the basket DUH). Short tee boxes were in disrepair. Most shots were blind holes, with baskets being behind foliage with no way to get around except for small walking path. Baskets were very old, and I think were original to the 1978 course. Strollers for the kids would be impossible.

Course is layed out on sand dunes, so sand in the shoes was unavoidable. Played on Thanksgiving...the park was open for free. Back 9 more open than front 9.

Lots of elevation changes. Blinds shots that I felt you couldn't loose your disc on. The sand if you fancy that, the park it is located is fantastic spend the day on the beach.

Little hard to navigate for the first time. Walking in the sand is though.

I played this course after a long day of other DE courses and it was the highlight, i think because of the great difference the sand and mix of blind and elevation.