From the boardwalks of the Atlantic to Oregon’s sea stacks, here are the stories behind America’s best beaches, and why each one deserves a place on your list.
Where to Find America’s Best Beach Destinations
Ask a Brit to picture an American beach and you’ll get Baywatch, in slow motion.
The real coast is longer, and richer. It runs to 153,646km of shoreline, where sea lions snooze on Californian sandstone, turtles sunbathe on Hawaiian lava and children build sandcastles from Appalachian quartz in Florida.
Most of these beaches need no windbreak, no flask and no cardigan. Except for Oregon, which needs all three.
My American beach days have taken me from a honeymoon stop in Miami to a Florida road trip with our daughter, then a toddler (a tougher crowd). So where should you spread your towel?
Let me take you on a lap of America’s best beaches, and show you what to do when you’ve had enough of lying still. Red swimsuits optional.
America’s Best Beaches on the Atlantic: Boardwalks and Lighthouses
This stretch of coastline does the classic American family holiday, with arcades, ice cream and a history lesson on the side.
If you’re travelling with children, it helps to stay close to the sand. Westgate Resorts beach vacation packages include stays in Myrtle Beach and Cocoa Beach, with pools and water parks on site and the shore a few steps away. (Cocoa Beach throws in rocket launches from nearby Cape Canaveral.)
Virginia Beach: Boardwalk and Lighthouse
Virginia Beach is a beach town built for strolling, with a boardwalk almost 5km long and ocean breezes on summer evenings. Its waves suit a first surf lesson, and dolphins cruise past offshore.
Nearby, the 1792 Cape Henry Lighthouse stands on a military base, and overseas visitors need a US security pass to get in at all. The colonists only had to cross an ocean.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Boardwalk Days
Further south, Myrtle Beach is the summer holiday many Americans grew up with, and one of the easiest beaches for families on the East Coast. Expect firm sand, an August sea like bathwater and waves that suit bodyboarders.
The mood is cheerful and a little neon, with the SkyWheel turning above the 2km boardwalk and crazy golf courses multiplying behind it. At Family Kingdom, a seafront amusement park, the wooden Swamp Fox coaster first rattled riders in 1966.
For a gentler morning, fish from the Myrtle Beach State Park pier. Known as the Grand Strand, the surrounding area strings beach towns along 97km of shore.
Driftwood Beach, Georgia: The Ghost Forest
On Jekyll Island, the sea has turned a forest into sculpture. Erosion has felled the trees of the north end, and the beach is known for their bleached trunks, scattered like the bones of something enormous.
It’s hushed and a little eerie. Nobody would call it pristine.
High tide swallows much of the sand, so come on a falling or low tide to weave between the trunks with a camera.
Then cycle the island’s paths to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, where injured turtles recover in full view.
South Beach, Miami: Deco and Lifeguards
South Beach is Miami at its most iconic. Its sand is wide and pale, the sea warm and clear, and the Art Deco hotels of Ocean Drive line up behind it in sorbet colours.
Even the lifeguards get the designer treatment, in 36 playful towers by architect William Lane.
The vibe is people-watching with a soundtrack, and couples and night owls lap it up. Play volleyball at Lummus Park, then stroll to South Pointe Park, where families spread out and cruise ships sail past the jetty.
Afterwards, find out what else Miami is famous for here.
The Gulf Coast: Warm Water, White Sand
Round the tip of Florida, the water calms and the sandy beaches along the Gulf turn pale. On the west coast, the white-sand beaches face the sunset, so add them to your Florida bucket list.
Siesta Beach, Florida: The Cool Customer
Siesta Beach is a beautiful stretch of sand, and in 2025 travellers voted it the best beach in the US. Its soft sand is about 99% quartz, washed down from the Appalachians, and locals say it doesn’t get hot in the sun.
On our Florida Gulf Coast road trip, we based ourselves in nearby Sarasota, and I’ve dug my toes into this sand. And the locals are right. Pale quartz reflects much of the sunlight that darker sand absorbs, so it warms more slowly.
Even the sea behaves. It’s clear and shallow for a long way out, which is perfect for a beach day with small children.
Snorkel at Point of Rocks, a five-minute drive south, or join the Sunday drum circle as it plays the sun down.
Come early, before the car park fills, for the kind of quiet Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote about further down this coast.
Clearwater Beach, Florida: Pirates at Sunset
Just over an hour north, Clearwater Beach came second in the US in the 2026 Best of the Best awards, based on traveller reviews of listings on Tripadvisor.
Turquoise water, gentle surf and easy access from Tampa make it one of the best places on the Gulf for a family-friendly holiday. The beach is clean, and it’s easy to recommend this beach to families.
At Pier 60, the sunset is absolutely beautiful, and brings artisans and street performers every evening, so arrive early for a spot on the sand.
By day, Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise sails a red pirate ship, often with dolphins for company. Children love it. So, secretly, do the adults.
The catch? High-rises behind the sand, crowds on it and weekend traffic on the causeway.
South Padre Island, Texas: Turtle Town
Across the Gulf in Texas, South Padre Island is a barrier island beach backed by sand dunes, with green-blue water and a pace best measured in flip-flops. Avoid March, when spring break fills it with students.
Then there are the turtles. Sea Turtle Inc., a non-profit hospital, lets visitors meet its patients, and from mid-June to August, Padre Island National Seashore holds public hatchling releases at dawn.
Wildlife lovers, set the alarm. Tiny turtles racing for the surf beat any lie-in. Behind the island, kiteboarders skim across the shallow Laguna Madre, while horse riders trot along the beach.
Hawaii: Worth Crossing an Ocean?
Around six hours west of Los Angeles by air, the islands answer that quickly, with stunning beaches on every coast.
Waikiki Beach, Oahu: Where Surfing Went Global
Waikiki is Honolulu’s front garden and Hawaii’s most famous beach destination, a curve of golden sand with Diamond Head at one end.
Duke Kahanamoku, the Olympic swimmer and surfer who carried Hawaiian surfing to the world, grew up here. His statue stands with its back to the sea, which drew grumbles, but fresh leis garlands suggest all is forgiven.
Warm water and waves that roll slowly over the reef make this the place to learn with the beach boys, Waikiki’s original surf instructors. Prefer to sit down? Ride a wave in an outrigger canoe.
Then hike Diamond Head (non-residents must book ahead). Like most popular beaches, Waikiki is calmest before breakfast.
Lanikai Beach, Oahu: A Name Back to Front
Over the mountains on Oahu’s windward side, Lanikai Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii, a narrow strip of white sand with turquoise water so clear it seems lit from below.
With no facilities and little parking, it’s a quiet beach escape for swimmers and early risers, so walk over from Kailua Beach Park. Kayakers paddle 1.2km to the Mokulua islets, both of which are seabird sanctuaries (stay off Moku Iki and out of Moku Nui’s interior).
Because it faces east, the beach is beautiful at sunrise, best seen from the steep Pillbox trail. As for the name, it’s a 1920s developer’s invention that reads back to front in Hawaiian. Native Hawaiians knew the area as Kaʻōhao.
The Big Island: Black Sand, Basking Turtles
On the Big Island, Punaluʻu is a black sand beach made of tiny fragments of lava and fringed by coconut palms. Green sea turtles (honu) haul out here to bask, which few sea turtles anywhere do.
The turtles get the best spots. They were here first.
Its name means “spring water dived for”, after freshwater springs where Hawaiians once filled gourds. They still flow, so swimmers feel icy and warm water at once.
Top tip: only snorkel on calm days. Otherwise, slippery lava rocks and strong currents make the sea best admired from the sand.
Keep at least 6 metres from the turtles. Hawaii has also banned the sale of sunscreens with oxybenzone or octinoxate, so make sure to pack a mineral one.
The Pacific Coast: Sea Stacks and Sea Lions
Back on the mainland, the Pacific cools as you head north. In return, you get sea stacks, sea lions and scenic coves.
La Jolla and Coronado, San Diego: Sea Lions and Sparkle
In San Diego, the water is warmest. La Jolla Cove, which topped those 2026 traveller awards, is a pocket of sand beneath sandstone cliffs, inside a marine reserve.
You’ll hear the sea lions before you see them. (On a hot day, you’ll smell them too.)
Snorkellers look for garibaldi, California’s orange state marine fish, while kayakers paddle to the sea caves. From July to September, harmless leopard sharks gather off La Jolla Shores. At low tide, explore the tide pools.
Across San Diego Bay, Coronado Beach sparkles with mica. It’s an easygoing beach with plenty of room for families, gentle waves and an off-lead dog beach at its north end.
Marilyn Monroe filmed Some Like It Hot on this seaside stretch in 1958. Check San Diego County’s beach water quality map before you swim, since Tijuana River sewage sometimes closes this shore.
Carmel Beach, California: Dogs Welcome, Heels by Permit
Further up the coast, Carmel Beach unrolls white sand below Monterey cypress, with Point Lobos to the south. With cold water and strong currents, the water is best left to surfers in wetsuits.
Few beaches in America welcome dogs so warmly, though. They run free in the surf, provided they answer to their owners.
In town, a 1963 ordinance asks for a permit to wear heels over 5cm, because tree roots lift the pavements. The permit is free, and makes a fine souvenir.
Browse the art galleries among the fairy-tale cottages, then walk to Carmel River State Beach for sunset.
Baker Beach, San Francisco: Front-Row Bridge Views
North again, Baker Beach has some of the finest views of the Golden Gate from the sand, best in the late afternoon, when the low sun deepens the bridge’s red.
Just don’t plan on a swim. The Pacific Ocean runs cold here, and the National Park Service warns of rip currents. Instead, hike the Coastal Trail or grill in the cypress grove.
It’s an easy first stop if you drive down the coast from San Francisco to Santa Barbara.
Cannon Beach, Oregon: The Cardigan Coast
Past the redwoods, the lap ends at Cannon Beach, a beach town named after a cannon from a navy schooner wrecked in 1846.
About 6km of flat sand runs through town, and Haystack Rock, a 72-metre sea stack, rises at the water’s edge.
The sea is cold enough to make you gasp, so surfers wear thick wetsuits at Indian Beach in Ecola State Park.
At low tide, the tide pools at Haystack Rock fill with anemones and sea stars, and volunteers from the Haystack Rock Awareness Program point out the tufted puffins on its ledges. In June, a sandcastle contest takes over the sand.
Here, at last, pack the windbreak, the flask and the cardigan. Grey skies, a stiff breeze, a fleece in July. Cannon Beach is a beautiful place to be cold.
Lab Travel Notes: Planning Your Beach Vacation
How I chose them: Magazines publish their 25 best, the best sites rank their favourite beaches and every list crowns a different winner for 2026. And the cleanest beach isn’t always the best beach.
So, having seen beaches around the world, I look for three things in a great beach. Inviting sand and water, plenty to do and a view you’ll still be describing at Christmas. Of the hundreds of public beaches in the US, these pass the test.
When to go: Virginia Beach and Myrtle Beach shine from May to September, Oregon from July to September, and Florida’s Gulf Coast in April, May and November, when the sea is about 23 to 26°C. The hurricane season runs from June to November. Hawaii works year-round.
Rip currents: They pull you out, not under. The National Weather Service’s rip current advice is to swim parallel to the shore until the pull eases. Better still, swim near a lifeguard.
Wildlife: In nesting season, keep beachfront lights low, because hatchlings head for the brightest light. More in these sustainable beach tips that will surprise you.
So, Which of America’s Best Beaches is for You?
My advice? Families should start with Myrtle Beach or Siesta, snorkellers with La Jolla and wildlife lovers with South Padre or the Big Island. For romance, catch sunrise at Lanikai or sunset in Carmel.
Pick your coast, see the driftwood while it still stands and leave the windbreak at home. Unless it’s Oregon.
