Slaughter Beach, DE

Slaughter Beach is a quiet, low-key community set along the Delaware Bay shore just outside Milford. With only a couple hundred full-time residents, it feels far removed from the crowded resort towns further down the coast. Most of the homes here are raised cottages with front-row views of the water, bordered by the protected wetlands and open skies of the Milford Neck Wildlife Area.

Despite its jarring name, which likely comes from an early settler or a nearby creek, daily life is calm and laid-back. The town serves as an official horseshoe crab sanctuary, and each spring the shoreline fills with thousands of spawning crabs and migrating shorebirds. Because there is virtually no commercial development in town, residents make the quick drive into Milford for grocery runs, restaurants, and schools.