Roughly three miles east of Ocean View along Route 26, Bethany's boardwalk is the closest ocean beach and the default destination for Ocean View residents and their visitors. It is a smaller, quieter boardwalk than Rehoboth's, with a bandstand that hosts free summer concerts and movie nights, and it anchors the town center's shops and restaurants. The proximity without the oceanfront property taxes is a substantial part of why people choose Ocean View in the first place.

A multi-use trail running along the historic canal on Ocean View's eastern edge, connecting toward Bethany Beach. It provides a walking and cycling route separated from the Route 26 traffic and passes through the wetland corridor that defines the town's eastern boundary. It is one of the few genuinely local recreational amenities that residents use year-round rather than seasonally.

On the south shore of Indian River Bay northwest of Ocean View, Holts Landing offers bay access, a fishing and crabbing pier, boat launch, picnic areas, and trails through the pine woods. It is the closest state park and the most accessible bay-side recreation for Ocean View residents, and it is considerably less crowded than the ocean beaches even in peak season.

South along the coastal corridor, Fenwick Island State Park offers ocean beach with less development and fewer crowds than the town beaches, plus bay access on the western side for kayaking and windsurfing. It is a common alternative when the Bethany beaches fill up.

North of Bethany along Route 1, this park spans the barrier island between the Atlantic and Rehoboth and Indian River bays, with ocean and bay beaches, the Indian River Inlet, marina facilities, and one of the region's best fishing access points. The Indian River Inlet Bridge is a landmark in its own right.

The 27-hole course in Ocean View itself, open to public play alongside community members. It is the town's most significant recreational facility and a draw for the golf-oriented retirement demographic that has shaped Ocean View's growth.

The historical society maintains a small campus of preserved structures in the town's original core, including historic residential and agricultural buildings that document Ocean View before the resort era. It is the primary institution preserving the town's pre-development identity, and it offers a genuine sense of how different this area was within living memory.

A town park in Ocean View with fields and open space, used for local recreation, community events, and youth athletics. It functions as one of the town's main gathering points outside the commercial corridor.

An outdoor performance venue in the Selbyville area south of Ocean View, presenting a summer season of concerts, theater, dance, and family programming. It has become the region's most significant performing arts venue and draws audiences from across the Delaware and Maryland coastal towns.

The bay north of Ocean View supports flounder, rockfish, and blue crab, and the access points at Holts Landing and the local landings put residents on the water within minutes. Crabbing off a pier or a small boat is one of the defining local summer activities and requires almost no equipment investment.

The protected water on Ocean View's edges is well suited to paddling, with the canal offering a sheltered route and White Creek opening toward the bay. Wildlife along these corridors includes osprey, herons, egrets, and in the colder months substantial waterfowl.

A local nature education facility near Bethany offering trails, programs, and interpretation of the coastal wetland and maritime forest ecosystems that surround Ocean View. It is a common destination for families and for visitors trying to understand the landscape beyond the beach.

The commercial corridor through Ocean View and Millville plus the Bethany town center provide the area's restaurants, shops, and services. Bethany's town center in particular carries the independent shops and seasonal restaurants that give the area its character, all within a short drive.

The coastal Sussex towns run seasonal farmers markets and community events through the warm months, drawing on the substantial agricultural production of interior Sussex County. Bethany Beach's market and the surrounding town events are the closest to Ocean View.

Roughly a half hour south, Ocean City offers the large-scale boardwalk, amusements, and entertainment that the quieter Delaware beaches deliberately avoid. For Ocean View families with visiting grandchildren it is the standard day trip.

North past Lewes, Cape Henlopen offers ocean and bay beaches, the World War Two observation towers, extensive trails, and the Fort Miles historical area. It is the largest and most varied of the Delaware coastal parks and a common day trip from Ocean View when residents want more than a beach.

North along the coastal corridor, Lewes offers a historic downtown, the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, and a quieter waterfront, while Rehoboth carries the region's largest concentration of restaurants, shopping, and the outlet corridor along Route 1. Both are within a half hour of Ocean View and function as the area's destination for dining and retail beyond what the Bethany corridor provides.

The wetlands, creeks, and bay shoreline around Ocean View sit on the Atlantic Flyway, and the seasonal migrations bring substantial waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors through the area. Prime Hook and Bombay Hook national wildlife refuges to the north are among the better birding sites on the mid-Atlantic coast, and the local canal and creek corridors deliver osprey, herons, and egrets without leaving town.

Improved shoulders along portions of the corridor plus the Assawoman Canal Trail and the trail networks in the state parks make the area workable for recreational cycling, particularly outside the summer traffic peak. The flat terrain suits riders of any level.

Indian River Bay, the inlet, and the connected waterways support boating from small craft to offshore fishing vessels, with marina and launch access at Holts Landing, along the Indian River, and through the private facilities in the bay-side communities. Offshore and inshore charter fishing operates out of the Indian River Inlet through the season.

Beyond Bear Trap Dunes, the surrounding area carries several courses within a short drive, making the Ocean View corridor a genuine golf destination and one of the reasons the retirement demographic settled here in the numbers it did. The season runs long here compared to points north, with playable conditions well into the fall and often through mild stretches of winter.

Residents will tell you the best time on the Bethany and Delaware Seashore beaches is between October and April, when the crowds are gone, the parking is free, and the shoreline is open for miles. Winter storms reshape the beach and bring in shells and sea glass that the summer foot traffic never leaves behind. This is a genuine year-round amenity rather than a seasonal one, and it is a large part of why people stay through the winter rather than closing up and heading south. The dune crossings at the Bethany and Fenwick access points stay open through the year, and the state park beaches are almost entirely empty on a clear January afternoon.