Indian River Inlet and Bay, part of the Delaware State Park system, comprise one of the East Coast's most varied recreational playgrounds. You can do just about anything along the 6 miles of ocean and bay shoreline -- camping, all kinds of fishing, clamming, crabbing, nature walks, scenic cruises, swimming, sunbathing, surfing, windsurfing.

The inlet's popularity as a recreational destination was cemented in 1939 when the U.S. government completed construction of two large steel and stone jetties that stabilized the pass to the ocean. Now, the 2,018-acre park welcomes millions of visitors a year.

These photos, all taken from atop the Indian River Inlet Bridge that takes Route 1 across the inlet, represent a few of those activities on a warm spring day in mid-May 1998.