Top 10 | Beaches

Best Off The Beaten Path Beaches

This is an ideal time to visit some of our country's best beaches. Throughout the country you can find sunny, sandy, beautiful beaches, some of which are great for exploring, others for swimming and relaxing. Many of the best beaches in the country can be found in Hawaii and Florida, but it is easy to find amazing beaches in many other states as well. Here are a few of the most beautiful and interesting beaches throughout the United States.

Coronado Beach, San Diego, CA
This beach is located on the ocean side of Coronado Island, in front of the Hotel Del Coronado. Coronado Beach has the widest expanse of sand of any beach in the area. In addition to being sandy and sunny, it has a gentle surf and a year-round lifeguard making it a great beach for children, swimming, sailing, surfing, bodyboarding, fishing, beach volleyball and much more. Visitors to Coronodo Beach from January to March may even catch sight of migrating whales.

Main Beach, East Hampton, NY
Visitors to East Hampton Village in New York can enjoy this amazing beach located at Ocean Avenue. Main Beach has wide expanses beautiful clean sand.  Visitors can enjoy plenty of sunbathing, swimming in designated areas, sand castle building and beach-combing. Outside of the swimming areas, visitors can fish, surf, kayak and more. A visit to Main Beach can be turned into a fun event by taking the ferry to the Hamptons and exploring the village of East Hampton.

Hamoa Beach, Maui, HI
This Hawaiian beach is located just outside of Hana on the island of Kauai. The half-moon shaped beach is rimmed by sea cliffs with beautiful lush vegetation. The beach is composed of stunning black and silver sand. Visitors can enjoy swimming, snorkeling, bodysurfing and diving. The best time of year to visit Hamoa is the summer and early fall.  This beach is not protected by a fringing reef, so there can be dangerous big surf and strong currents (outside the bay).

Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, MA
Coast Guard Beach is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The beach has beautiful sand and gets its name from the Coast Guard Station overlooking the shoreline. Coast Guard Beach is a popular surf spot on the cape and it is an ideal summer swimming destination. In addition, there is a consistent summer swell that's perfect for short and longboarding. Visitors to the beach can also explore the Nauset March.

Kailua Beach Park, Honolulu, HI
Located on the east shore of Oahu, this beach is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Oahu. It has beautiful fine sand, perfect for recreating and sunbathing. Kailua Beach is also known as a world-class wind-surfing location. Visitors to the beach can enjoy swimming, kayaking and bodyboarding. There is high surf at the beach as well as Portuguese Man-o-Wars, a species of stinging jellyfish.

Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, WA
Shi Shi Beach is a little out of the usual mold of beautiful beaches, but nevertheless it is truly spectacular. Located in the Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula, this beach is a stunning example of the wild coast in Washington. In fact, is one of the longest stretches of undeveloped shoreline in the lower 48 states. Shi Shi is a two mile crescent-shaped beach with towering sandstones bluffs, fringed with forests. The beach is a wild mix of sand and stones. One feature of this beach is that it is very difficult to reach - the remote location has protected the beach's wild beauty. Shi Shi can be reached by taking a 13 mile trail starting in Ozette. The trail is rough, often muddy and very rugged. Unfortunately Shi Shi is not a great swimming location, as it has frequent riptides.

Ocracoke Island, NC
Ocracoke Island has 16 miles of undeveloped sandy shoreline. It is a barrier island of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and it is a part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Ocracoke is fairly remote and can only be reached be public ferry, private boat or private plane. The beach is perfect for swimming, fishing, surfing, sunbathing, fishing and even camping. Certain portions of the beautiful sandy beach can be enjoyed by off-road vehicle.

Poipu Beach, Kauai, HI
Widely considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the United States, if not the world, Poipu Beach is located on the south shore of Kauai and is part of Poipu Beach Park. The beach is composed of a string of golden, sandy crescent-shaped beaches. Visitors to Poipu can have hours of fun snorkeling, boogie-boarding, swimming, and surfing. The best surfing spots are located slightly offshore.  The reef establishes wavebreaks which make good surfing for surfers of all experience levels.

Bahia Honda State Park, Bahia Honda Key, FL
One of Florida's beautiful keys, Bahia Honda Key, is home to Bahia Honda State Park. Visitors to the park will find several beautiful white sand beaches with soft, fine sand and beautiful clear water. Fun beach activities include snorkeling, beachcombing, swimming, sunbathing, fishing, kayaking and more. Bahia Honda State Park has over 500 acres in the park which includes 2.5 miles of the beautiful beaches.

Padre Island National Seashore, TX
Padre Island National Seashore is located along the south Texas Coast.  The National Seashore protects the longest undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. Visitors can enjoy over 70 miles of sandy beach. These white sand beaches have warm water and sandy dunes, great for beach driving, biking, camping, birdwatching, fishing, picnicing, swimming and beachcombing. The beachcombing at Padre Island is particularly good because of the items brought to shore by the currents in the Gulf of Mexico, including seashells and much more. Visitors should be aware that there are strong currents offshore, so care should be taken when swimming.