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Best Beaches in the USPfeiffer BeachCannon Beach

Photos: Ralf Beier / CC BY 3.0 · Anita Ritenour / CC BY 2.0 · cjuneau / CC BY 2.0

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Best Beaches in the US

Twenty-six US beaches, five of them in Hawaii, picked mostly for having nothing built behind the sand. Siesta Key, Coronado, Ka'anapali and Cape May are the town beaches we kept anyway.

26 places · United States

Must-see
Beaches
Hanalei BayMust-see
Flat in summer, big in winter

Hanalei Bay

Two miles of golden sand curve around the bay. Walk out on the old pier, or paddle a kayak up the Hanalei River.

Plan your visit
Hanalei, HI Kauai
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Pfeiffer BeachMust-see
Down a narrow lane off Highway 1

Pfeiffer Beach

On a few days in December and January the setting sun shines through Keyhole Rock. The sand here is purple.

Plan your visit
Big Sur, CA Big Sur
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Cannon BeachMust-see
Tide pools under Haystack Rock

Cannon Beach

At low tide you can walk right up to Haystack Rock, a 235-foot sea stack, and poke through tide pools full of starfish and anemones. Portland is about 80 miles east.

Plan your visit
Cannon Beach, OR Oregon Coast
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Sleeping Bear DunesMust-see
No ocean required

Sleeping Bear Dunes

You arrive at this one by climbing: the dunes rise 450 feet straight off Lake Michigan. Down at the bottom it's wide and quiet, with the Manitou Islands out on the horizon.

Plan your visit
Empire / Glen Arbor, MI Lake Michigan
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Coast Guard BeachMust-see
Seals beyond the surf

Coast Guard Beach

The shuttle from the Little Creek lot keeps the sand uncrowded. Seals hang around offshore, past the cold, clean surf.

Plan your visit
Eastham, Cape Cod, MA Cape Cod National Seashore
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Driftwood BeachMust-see
Sunrise through bare branches

Driftwood Beach

Hundreds of oaks and pines lie rooted in the sand where the forest lost ground to the sea. Come before dawn at low tide, when the wet sand mirrors them.

Plan your visit
Jekyll Island, GA Georgia Coast / Golden Isles
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Siesta Key BeachMust-see
Sand that squeaks

Siesta Key Beach

The sand is about 99 percent quartz and stays cool on a hot afternoon. The free trolley runs to Siesta Key Village for dinner, and the drum circle plays Sundays at sunset.

Plan your visit
Sarasota, FL Tampa Bay
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More to explore

Lanikai Beach Beaches

Lanikai Beach

Kailua, Oahu, HI · Oahu Windward Coast

There's no lifeguard, and parking on the neighborhood streets is difficult. Leave the car at Kailua Beach Park and walk in. The Mokulua islets are a state seabird sanctuary.

Coronado Beach Beaches

Coronado Beach

San Diego, CA · San Diego

The sand glitters with flecks of mica, and you can park free on Ocean Boulevard.

Ruby Beach Beaches

Ruby Beach

Olympic National Park, WA · Olympic Coast$

A 735-foot trail drops from the lot to a beach with sea stacks. Stay off the driftwood logs: waves can roll them, especially at high tide.

Waimea Bay Beaches

Waimea Bay

Haleiwa, Oahu, HI · Oahu North Shore

Glassy enough to snorkel in summer. In winter the same bay throws 30-foot faces.

Hapuna Beach Beaches

Hapuna Beach

Waimea, HI · Big Island Kohala Coast$

The Big Island's biggest white-sand beach. Winter shorebreak here humbles bodysurfers.

Ka'anapali Beach Beaches

Ka'anapali Beach

Lahaina, Maui, HI · Maui West Coast

Most evenings at sunset a cliff diver lights the torches and jumps off Black Rock.

Caladesi Island State Park Beaches

Caladesi Island State Park

Dunedin, FL · Tampa Bay

Reach it by ferry from Honeymoon Island, and don't miss the last one back.

Bahia Honda State Park Beaches

Bahia Honda State Park

Big Pine Key, FL · Florida Keys$

The park runs snorkel boats to Looe Key every day, about seven miles out to the reef.

Race Point Beach Beaches

Race Point Beach

Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA · Cape Cod National Seashore

Humpbacks surface within sight of the sand in summer, and right whales in spring.

Main Beach Beaches

Main Beach

East Hampton, NY · Long Island / The Hamptons$$

Non-residents pay $50 a day to park, May 15 to September 15. The lot out front fills early.

Cape May Beaches

Cape May

Cape May, NJ · Jersey Shore$

Hunt Cape May diamonds at Sunset Beach. Beach tags are $10 a day, and kids 11 and under go free.

Ogunquit Beach Beaches

Ogunquit Beach

Ogunquit, ME · Southern Maine Coast$$

The ocean side gets cool Atlantic surf. Behind the dunes, kids tube the calm, warm river.

Assateague Island Beaches

Assateague Island

Berlin, MD · Mid-Atlantic Barrier Islands$

Wild horses walk the surf line and ignore you. A $25 car pass is good for seven days.

El Matador State Beach Beaches

El Matador State Beach

Malibu, CA · Malibu$

A dirt path and several sets of steps drop from Pacific Coast Highway. The bluff-top lot is small and open 8 a.m. to sunset, and dogs aren't allowed.

Pictured Rocks / Twelvemile Beach Beaches

Pictured Rocks / Twelvemile Beach

Munising, Upper Peninsula, MI · Lake Superior

Lake Superior stays cold enough to keep the crowd thin. Camp on the bluff and walk down at dawn.

Hunting Island State Park Beaches

Hunting Island State Park

Hunting Island, SC · South Carolina Lowcountry$

The 1875 lighthouse is worth the climb for the view up the Lowcountry coast.

Padre Island National Seashore Beaches

Padre Island National Seashore

Corpus Christi, TX · Texas Gulf Coast$

Past the last paved road, you drive on the sand. The Gulf shore runs seventy miles.

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