Best Beaches in the U.S.?
 

Where would you find the best beaches in the U.S.?

One area of little known beachs that have wonderful sugar white beaches and clear blue water lies from Gulf Shores, Alabama through Pensacola, Florida and then to Panama City and Destin, Florida. The waves are not as large as some places but as far as the sand and water it is great.

San Clemente, CA <BR>Drake's Bay (Point Reyes), CA <BR>Long Beach, WA

Here's another vote for the Florida panhandle from Pensacola to Destin. I have been around the world and found no better combination of sand and water.

I have also heard that Amelia Island is a nice beach,and not very crowded,but I am having a hard time finding sites on the web to help with renting a house for my family.Is anyone familiar with Amelia Island?

Best Beaches? Hawaii and Puerto Rico <BR> <BR>Continental US? Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Florida, Southern Cal

For 'warm' beaches, the Destin/Pensacola area is tops in the US. <BR>California beaches simply don't compare and the water is chilly most of the time. <BR>For 'cool' beaches, the scenery on MV and Nantucket just can't be beat.

Beware of the Paper Mill on Amelia Is. ...all the brochures don't tell you how stinky it is...I find it very annoying. <BR>Try the St. Augustine Beaches...especially up by the State Beach.

Best beach for what? Swimming? Sunning? Surfing? Seascape-watching? Birding? People-watching? <BR> <BR>I only know East Coast beaches, but I love Marconi beach on Cape Cod for the vistas but not for swimming; ditto some of the unnamed rocky cove-beaches of Maine. For swimming, I'll take Ocracoke with an on-shore breeze. For sitting quietly, some of the Sarasota beaches (other than Siesta). For long stretches of sea-oat beauty, Outer Banks national seashore.

I have probably visited over 100 beaches in the US and except for Hawaii you cannot beat the beaches around the Florida panhandle...Perdido Key, Orange Beach (AL), Destin, Etc.

We vote for Sanibel Island, Florida because of pristine blue water, amazing shelling and beautiful greenery...2nd <BR>choice would be the Gulf Panhandle area near Destin, followed by the Clearwater--St. Pete area. Near St. Augustine is surprising Villano Beach with waves big enough for surfing and only a five-minute drive away from the St. Augustine historic district...

Here's another vote for Sanibel Island, and Captiva Island's beaches. The sunset from Captiva's beaches can't be beat, and the white sand and turquoise water is so Caribbean which I love. I do like the crashing waves at Laguna Beach, CA but agree that it's too cold, and you can't wade into the ocean. I favor the white sand and turquoise water around Sanibel/Captiva over the brown sand and green water of CA, though both are beautiful in their own ways.

I don't know what all this talk about "cold water" in California is all about. I went to college in Orange County, and we went swimming all the time. It's great in the surf, but we used to dive through the surf and lie on our backs and just drift beyond the surf line. Great stuff! <BR>I've been to Florida and Mexico, and I find the water uncomfortably warm. More like a bath tub than the ocean. <BR>Maybe East Coast beach bunnies are just wimps when it comes to the water?

Siesta Key near Sarasota in Fla, it is the softest, whitest sand I have ever seen

It looks like everyone is tied to salt water. Personally, I love South Haven, Michigan on the shore of Lake Michigan. You won't get the crystal clear water of the islands but you will get fresh water and a nice lake front town.

There is actually a book on this very subject: "America's Best Beaches" by Stephen Leatherman. He goes region-by-region and picks the best beach overall, as well as in each of several categories (swimming, walking, "wilderness", sports, surfing, etc.) and has a pretty good write-up on each. Best beaches by region: Northeast - Main Beach at East Hampton, NY.... Southeast - Sandspur Beach, Bahia Honda, FLA.... Gulf Coast - a tie between Grayton Beach SRA and St. Andrews SRA on the FLA panhandle.... Southwest - East Beach, Santa Barbara.... Northwest - Cannon Beach, Oregon.... Hawaii - a 3-way tie of Kapalua (Maui), Hapuna (Big Island), and Hulopoe (Lanai). <BR>The national winners of the year have all been in Florida and Hawaii, not surprisingly. I got my copy of the book at Amazon.com

Polihale, Anini and Haena beaches on the most beautiful of the Hawaiian islands, Kauai ! <BR> <BR>Not only are the beautiful, they are not crowded like Fla. or So.Cal, et al. <BR>Kal

YORK BEACH, MAINE

Pali Hali (sp?) state park on Kauai is absolutely unbeatable! I've not been in approximately 17 yrs. but you used to have to drive through 3-5 miles of cane field to get there. We spent one whole day there and there was less than 25 people there all day.

Another vote for Sanibel and Captiva..we are from England, and we did not expect such beauty. The shelling was fantastic, and when we went in early August, the beaches were also deserted. Fabulous. We had also been to Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas, but I thought thta SAnibel and Captiva were much better.

My vote for best beach is Topsail Beach, Topsail Island, NC. It is quiet,relaxing, and best of all, inexpensive small town atmosphere. It is approximately 80 miles North of Myrtle Beach and 30 miles from Willmington, NC. (a nise waterfront small city. (a rainy day visit to either)

I live in New Jersey and was raised in Florida and have spent the years in between all over the US and always by a coast. You can not beat the color of the water in the Florida Keys, the color of the sand in the Florida Panhandle, the feeling of vastness on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and the power of the ocean on the New Jersy coast. So it depends what you arelooking for. For a real sense of beauty you ought to try scuba diving to see what goes on under the sea. keep the peace

Everything Debbie just said but add Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay on O'ahu for powerful surf. Also the west coast on Maui and the south shore of Lanai are very nice beaches. I love the sand in Ft Walton Beach.

Mike: which beach in York, Long Sands or Short Sands? <BR>

Hey, how come no one mentioned Coney Island or the Rockaways????

A very cozy, rugged, dramatic, less-travelled beach is Oceanside, just outside of Tillamook, Oregon. The weather may be more rainy than one likes, but the ambience, wind, surf, rocks, is unbeatable. If you're there, go to Roseanne's Restaurant, in Oceanside, right off of the beach on the main street. It's a touch of upscale class to a funky Oregon community.

Linda is right. Oceanside is a great little town with a beautiful beach!

i can't believe no one said Long Island beaches. Jones Beach - although way to crowded in the summer. And any beach on the South Fork - East Hampton, Montauk, Southhampton, etc.

Well, I for one didn't mention the Hamptons beaches because I don't think they are that great. THough there are some places on the north side of the south fork east of three mile harbor that are ok.

Sagamore Beach, Sagamore Massachsuetts! <BR>You can walk for miles, and the getty's <BR>make it all the more beautiful.

I wouldn't go in the water, or even take of my shoes, at Coney Island even if you paid me too! Too dirty. <BR>

Amelia Island, FL has a gorgeous and not very crowded beach. As for the comment above, there is no paper mill on Amelia Island. The closest is on the next island to the north, and most of the fashionable resorts are on the southern half of the island. The old town of Fernandina Beach on the north end of Amelia is beautiful, too. I recommend the Amelia Island Plantation for lodging.

My two choices are Mission Beach in San Diego, and Gulf Shores, Alabama.

<BR>My vote Nokomis Beach and the next beach down the road where a place called Sharkey`s at The Pier is.No developement there just beautiful beach.( just above Venice,Fla.) Also Lido key.

Another vote for Destin in the Florida Panhandle. There are also some great beaches and great beach towns in between Destin and Panama City Beach along Scenic Highway 30A. You'll love it.

My favorite is Tiger Tail Beach in Marco Island, Florida, but all of Marco Island's beaches are great.

I think the paper mill comment may <BR>have been referring to St. Simons, Island. St. Simons is right next to <BR>Brunswick, Ga which does have a paper <BR>mill and does smell bad. Never <BR>really noticed the smell on St. Simons though.

The Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska.

Been to captiva, all the LI beaches & calif. Seaside-ftwalton-st andrews are the best: azure blue water, leaping dolphins, sugar sand so fine it squeaks & nothing tacky in sight.

Fort Walton Beach, Florida is nice but the best overall is Waikiki Beach in Hawaii