Higbee Beach has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
When it fills in
No daily onset to plan around. The working directions come in behind a front rather than off a thermal cycle, so the wind can be in at first light and dying by dark on the same day. Nothing local has been recorded.
The wind
Direction
Strength
Direction to shore
The beach faces west onto Delaware Bay, so both directions it is ridden on arrive over water: W straight onshore, NW cross-onshore off your right shoulder as you look out. Read off the coastline.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan78
- Feb75
- Mar86
- Apr87
- May68
- Jun73
- Jul52
- Aug51
- Sep63
- Oct53
- Nov64
- Dec67
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
- 16Jan6°
- 15Feb6°
- 16Mar8°
- 16Apr12°
- 13May17°
- 13Jun22°
- 11Jul26°
- 11Aug25°
- 12Sep24°
- 12Oct19°
- 14Nov14°
- 14Dec8°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 78% | 16 kt | NW | 4°C | 5.6°C |
| Feb | 75% | 15.2 kt | WNW | 5°C | 5.7°C |
| Mar | 86% | 16.3 kt | WNW | 7.8°C | 7.9°C |
| Apr | 87% | 15.5 kt | S | 12.1°C | 12.2°C |
| May | 68% | 12.9 kt | ENE | 15.9°C | 17.2°C |
| Jun | 73% | 13.2 kt | SSW | 21.5°C | 21.8°C |
| Jul | 52% | 11.4 kt | SSW | 25.1°C | 25.6°C |
| Aug | 51% | 11.4 kt | SW | 24.3°C | 24.9°C |
| Sep | 63% | 12.3 kt | NE | 21.4°C | 23.7°C |
| Oct | 53% | 11.8 kt | W | 15.9°C | 18.8°C |
| Nov | 64% | 13.6 kt | WNW | 10.9°C | 13.5°C |
| Dec | 67% | 13.6 kt | NW | 5.7°C | 7.8°C |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024
The water
Type
ocean
Tides
Semidiurnal, and the tide gauge sits at the spot: mean range 1.48 m (4.85 ft), and 1.66 m (5.44 ft) from lower low to higher high, on the 1983-2001 datum epoch.
Temperature
24°C summer · 4°C winter
Your level
The record rates the levels and says nothing more about what this spot asks of a rider.
The scene
What riders come here for
How busy
quiet — the working directions blow in autumn and winter, and there is rarely anyone else on the sand then
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
No school names this spot
Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.
On your own
Room to launch: large
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
VHF 16
Launch
Sandy beach launch from the small dirt parking lot just south of the inlet.
Space
large
Rider tips
- Park in the small dirt lot just south of the inlet and carry the kite onto the sand.
- Come on NW or W. No other direction is listed as working here.
- Stay well down the beach from the old foundation; there is rebar in the water.
- Watch for the Cape May-Lewes ferry moving through the inlet before you ride out that way.
- This is drysuit riding: the water is about 4C in February and only reaches 24C in August, months after the wind season ends.
- Check the tide before you pick your patch of sand; the range here is about 1.5 m.
Photos
FAQ
Is Higbee Beach good for beginners?
No, it is rated intermediate to advanced rather than a beginner spot.
What is the wind like at Higbee Beach?
Northwest and west winds are the ones used at this Cape May inlet spot, producing small-wave and wind-swell chop.
What are the hazards at Higbee Beach?
A foundation with rebar sits in the water down the beach, and Cape May-Lewes ferry traffic passes nearby.
Last updated: August 2026