1. Coronado Beach, California
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Swimming, sunbathing, surfing, and other outdoor recreation draws crowds to this scenic, urban beach
Featured in The Best of California
#56 in Best Attractions in the USA
2. Clearwater Beach, Florida
Best time to visit: Oct-Dec
Cost: $
- Clearwater Beach includes a resort area and a residential area on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico
- Clearwater Beach is characterized by white sand beaches stretching for 2.5 miles (4 km) along the Gulf and sits on a barrier island
Featured in The Best of Florida
#75 in Best Attractions in the USA
3. Coast Guard Beach, Eastham, Massachusetts
Best time to visit: May-June, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Beach that is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, and is popular among locals and tourists for surfing and boogie boarding
- It is one of five Cape Cod National Seashore beaches that are on the ocean side of the Cape, generally providing a better surf than beaches on the bay side
Featured in The Best of Massachusetts
4. Caladesi Island State Park Trail, Florida
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Oct-Dec
Cost: $
- State Park located on Caladesi Island in the Gulf of Mexico
- It is accessible by passenger ferry or by private boat from a dock on Honeymoon Island, provided primarily for convenience of access from the north (Dunedin area)
- Alternatively, since the late 1980s, the state park can be reached on foot from Clearwater Beach to the south; it is only separated by a "welcome" sign
- Amenities include a three-mile nature trail, a marina, picnic pavilions, bathhouses, a park concession stand, and a beach
Featured in The Best of Florida
5. Cooper's Beach, New York
Best time to visit: April-June, Sept
Cost: $
- Beach with guards on duty, that offers snacks and chair/umbrella rentals, with high-end fee to park
Featured in The Best of New York
6. Poipu Beach Park, Hawaii
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: April-June, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Poʻipū Beach Park is located in the community of Poʻipū on the southern coast of Kauaʻi island
- Amenities include swimming and snorkeling areas, and a surf break over a reef for experienced surfers only
Featured in The Best of Hawaii
7. La Jolla Cove, California
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Small cove with a beach that is surrounded by cliffs in La Jolla, San Diego
- The area is protected as part of a marine reserve and is popular with snorkelers, swimmers and scuba divers
Featured in The Best of California
8. Gap Point Trail, St. George Island State Park, Florida
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: May-Oct
Cost: $
- Park that has such amenities as beaches, birding, boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking, kayaking, picnicking areas, swimming, wildlife viewing, and full camping facilities, as well as an interpretive exhibit.
Featured in The Best of Florida
9. Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Hawaii
Best time to visit: April-June, Sept-Dec
Cost: $
- Sandy, curved beach that offers swimming, surfing, and paddle-boarding
Featured in The Best of Hawaii
10. Old Lighthouse Beach, North Carolina
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Once the sight of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was relocated, now what is left is a circle of granite stones marking the original perimeter of the lighthouse's base
Featured in The Best of North Carolina
11. Wailea Beach, Hawaii
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Sandy public beach with activities such as swimming and snorkeling
Featured in The Best of Hawaii
12. Siesta Beach, Florida
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Siesta Beach is a beach located on Siesta Key
- Unlike beaches elsewhere that are made up mostly of pulverized coral, Siesta Beach's sand is 99% quartz, most of which comes from the Appalachian Mountains
- According to Harvard University geologists, it's estimated that the sand on Siesta Beach and Crescent Beach on Siesta Key is millions of years old, having its origin in the Appalachians and flowing down the rivers from the mountains until it eventually was deposited on the shores of Siesta Key
Featured in The Best of Florida
#23 in Best Beaches in the World
13. Kaanapali Beach, Hawaii
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Beach featuring resorts, eateries, shopping, plus a scenic beachwalk, swimming, and snorkeling
Featured in The Best of Hawaii
14. St. Pete Beach, Florida
Best time to visit: March-May
Cost: $
- St. Pete Beach is a Florida resort city set on a barrier island, known for its beaches
- The Pass-A-Grille area offers galleries, shops and the Gulf Beaches Historical Museum, which displays postcards and other artifacts in a 1917 church
Featured in The Best of Florida
15. Pope Beach, California
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Small beach with dunes and pine trees, that lends itself to swimming, boating, cycling and picnicking
Featured in The Best of California
16. Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area, Hawaii
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Large park and sandy beach on the Big Island of Hawaii
- It is one of a few other white sand beaches on the west coast of the Big Island
Featured in The Best of Hawaii
17. Lanikai Pillbox #2, Kailua Beach Park, Hawaii
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: April-June, Sept-Dec
Cost: $
- Area known for its white, powder-like sandy beach and its hiking trail along the Kaʻiwa Ridge to the World War II military bunkers commonly known as the "Lanikai Pillboxes"
Featured in The Best of Hawaii
18. Driftwood Beach Trail, Georgia
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Beach on Jekyll Island's north end that features numerous driftwood trees
Featured in The Best of Georgia
19. Henderson Beach State Park, Florida
Best time to visit: April-May
Cost: $
- Park with such amenities as beaches, bicycling, birding, fishing, hiking, picnicking, swimming, wildlife viewing and full camping facilities
Featured in The Best of Florida
20. Las Olas Beach, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida
Best time to visit: Jan-April, Dec
Cost: $
- Known as the "Venice of America", Fort Lauderdale has 165-miles of inland waterways across the city
- The city is a popular tourist destination with an average year-round temperature of 75.5 °F (24.2 °C) and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year
- With over 50,000 registered yachts and 100 marinas, Fort Lauderdale is also known as the yachting capital of the world
Featured in The Best of Florida
21. Port Aransas Beach, Texas
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- 6-mile, sandy beach area popular with locals for surfing, swimming, and sunbathing
Featured in The Best of Texas
22. Ogunquit Beach, Maine
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: June-Oct
Cost: $
- Ogunquit is a resort town where, resolving to create a safe anchorage, the Fish Cove Harbor Association dug a channel across land they purchased to connect Fish Cove with the Josias River
- When the trench was complete, the resulting tidewater basin was spanned by a manually operated draw footbridge
- By 1888, the village became an attraction for artists, and a tourist area
Featured in The Best of Maine
23. Padre Island National Seashore, Texas
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Seashore located on North Padre Island and consists of a long beach where nature is preserved
- Most of the park is primitive, but camping is available, and most of the beach is only accessible to four-wheel-drive vehicles
- PAIS is the fourth designated national seashore in the United States
- North Padre Island is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world
- PAIS hosts a variety of pristine beach, dune, and tidal flat environments
Featured in The Best of Texas
24. Harris Beach Trail to Harris Butte, Harris Beach State Park, Oregon
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: June-Aug
Cost: $
- Harris Beach State Park is home to Bird Island (also known as Goat Island), which is reported to be the largest island off the Oregon Coast and is a National Wildlife Refuge.
- The island is also a breeding site for rare birds such as the tufted puffin
Featured in The Best of Oregon
25. Bodie Island Lighthouse Boardwalk, Nags Head, North Carolina
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- The current Bodie Island Lighthouse is the third that has stood in this vicinity of Bodie Island on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and was built in 1872
- There are 214 steps that spiral to the top, and the structure is one of only a dozen remaining tall, brick tower lighthouses in the United States — and one of the few with an original first-order Fresnel lens to cast its light
Featured in The Best of North Carolina
26. Sea Camp Beach, Georgia
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Destination for tent camping amid dense woods and sand dunes, with access to nearby beaches
Featured in The Best of Georgia
27. Navarre Beach, Florida
Best time to visit: April-May
Cost: $
- Navarre is a major bedroom community for mostly U.S. military personnel, federal civil servants, local population, retirees and defense contractors
- Due to Navarre Beach and the 4 miles (6.4 km) of beach front on the Gulf of Mexico thereof, as well as several miles of beaches within the Navarre Beach Marine Park and the Gulf Islands National Seashore, it has a small, but rapidly growing community of nature enthusiasts and tourists
Featured in The Best of Florida
28. Airlie Gardens, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Public garden located in Wilmington, noted for the Airlie Oak, a 500-year-old southern live oak
- In 2007, Airlie Oak was 128 feet (39 m) tall, and had a trunk circumference exceeding 21 feet (6.4 m)
- At that time, it was designated the largest live oak in North Carolina
Featured in The Best of North Carolina
29. Oak Street Beach, Illinois
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Sandy city beach located in Chicago, on the shore of Lake Michigan
Featured in The Best of Illinois
30. Mosaic Tile House, Venice Beach, California
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- 1940s home that has been covered inside and out with colored tile and splintered-glass mosaics
Featured in The Best of California
31. Santa Monica State Beach, California
Best time to visit: Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Beach located along the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica
- It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long and has parks, picnic areas, playgrounds, as well as staffed lifeguard stations, the Muscle Beach, bike rentals, concessions, a bike path, and wooden walking pathways
- Visitor activities include volleyball, surfing, stand up paddleboarding, and swimming
Featured in The Best of California
32. Good Harbor Beach, Massachusetts
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Small beach with prime swimming conditions, surrounded by dunes and marshes
Featured in The Best of Massachusetts