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View Poll Results: New England Coast vs Pacific Northwest Coast
New England Coast (Maine/NH/Mass/RI/Conn) 48 42.48%
Pacific Northwest Coast (Oregon/WA/BC Canada) 65 57.52%
Voters: 113. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 06-24-2013, 01:48 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caphillsea77 View Post
I miss those lobster rolls .
Some of the best, right? The first thing we do when we enter York is get some!
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Old 06-24-2013, 03:01 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,210 posts, read 60,920,437 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415 View Post
I said it's not swimmable in every other season but summer. I love Maine! I go to York quite often but I much prefer Short Sands beach - I like dry sand.
Many towns will cut holes through the ice for folks to 'polar bear' swim.



Makes for a nice sight when folks are swimming near to ice shacks where other folks are fishing.

But at least none of them have far to walk from their vehicles.
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Old 06-24-2013, 03:16 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
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Truth be told, the only really good beaches in the continental United states are in Southern CA, South Padre island TX and Florida. There are a few decent beaches in the other gulf states and lower Atlantic seaboard. The Northern Atlantic seaboard states are not too great, and the Pacific NW beaches are nice in parts of Oregon, but WAY too cold to enjoy beach activities even in July. The sound in WA is basically a big salt water lake with no beaches, that's been almost completely fished out at this point.
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Old 06-24-2013, 03:35 PM
 
Location: Pacific NW
6,413 posts, read 12,085,628 times
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Good is subjective. As is "too cold" or "too warm." Next time I'm at the coast, I'll go down to the beach and tell all those people enjoying beach activities that someone said it was too cold for them to enjoy the beach. I'm sure they'll be glad to hear it.

And yes, there are plenty of beaches on the sound. Here's a Seattle article regarding the "best beaches" for families. And as you can see from that, it's only addressing the eastern shore of the sound.

Essentially, what there is to "enjoy" about a beach differs from person to person and region to region. Your criteria might not be (and most likely is not) mine. I don't think a beach that everyone and their mother is there, that the sand is too hot to walk across barefoot, is an enjoyable beach. And I don't want to swim in the ocean. But sure, they're almost all beautifully scenic. Some more than others. But activities? Give me a NW or NE beach.
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Old 06-24-2013, 04:52 PM
 
Location: PNW
2,011 posts, read 3,434,718 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redfish1 View Post
Truth be told, the only really good beaches in the continental United states are in Southern CA, South Padre island TX and Florida. There are a few decent beaches in the other gulf states and lower Atlantic seaboard. The Northern Atlantic seaboard states are not too great, and the Pacific NW beaches are nice in parts of Oregon, but WAY too cold to enjoy beach activities even in July. The sound in WA is basically a big salt water lake with no beaches, that's been almost completely fished out at this point.
Beaches aren't all about tanning and surfing. Maybe for you though. I enjoy walking down a peaceful beach. Enjoying the sights, the sounds. Eating delicious seafood as I watch the waves and talk with friends and family. You can ride dune buggies on the beaches or Washington and Oregon. Ride horses and go boating on the coast! BC has some of the best scuba diving waters of North america, crystal clear. Just because the Beaches aren't packed, or the water isn't ideal for swimming doesn't mean the beaches aren't good! The beaches here are filled with beautiful sights and sounds, and plenty of activities to enjoy.
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Old 06-24-2013, 05:49 PM
 
Location: So California
8,704 posts, read 11,041,227 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DevanXL View Post
Beaches aren't all about tanning and surfing. Maybe for you though. I enjoy walking down a peaceful beach. Enjoying the sights, the sounds. Eating delicious seafood as I watch the waves and talk with friends and family. You can ride dune buggies on the beaches or Washington and Oregon. Ride horses and go boating on the coast! BC has some of the best scuba diving waters of North america, crystal clear. Just because the Beaches aren't packed, or the water isn't ideal for swimming doesn't mean the beaches aren't good! The beaches here are filled with beautiful sights and sounds, and plenty of activities to enjoy.

Exactly, Ive tried badly to explain this, but you did a good job.
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Old 06-25-2013, 10:32 AM
 
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,720 posts, read 23,621,080 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redfish1 View Post
Truth be told, the only really good beaches in the continental United states are in Southern CA, South Padre island TX and Florida. There are a few decent beaches in the other gulf states and lower Atlantic seaboard. The Northern Atlantic seaboard states are not too great, and the Pacific NW beaches are nice in parts of Oregon, but WAY too cold to enjoy beach activities even in July. The sound in WA is basically a big salt water lake with no beaches, that's been almost completely fished out at this point.
Not true at all. Bring it down if you will but it's very narrow minded, uninformed, and cynical to say only 3 parts of the continental US have really good beaches, get real! One who can only consider those areas of the continental US to have good beaches must be pretty damn hard to please and is certainly not a very good authority on what constitutes a good beach.

The beaches along Cape Cod National Seashore, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island, Southern RI shore are better than great, and quite beautiful. I don't care where they are compared to, there are nice summer water temps, nice sand, clean water, and scenic beauty. Block Island has some of the nicest and most pristine beaches I've seen (and I've seen a lot of beaches all over the US), along with the New England nautical charm and character.

And on the other coast, one would need to be pretty jaded not to appreciate the magnificent views of the sea cliffs, coast mountain range, giant sea stack rocks, and churning Pacific surf crashing to the shore in places like Cannon Beach, Oregon. Also New England and the Pacific Northwest have some of the best waters in the country for boating recreation.

Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 06-25-2013 at 11:27 AM..
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Old 06-25-2013, 12:06 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
1,566 posts, read 2,441,324 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caphillsea77 View Post
Not true at all. Bring it down if you will but it's very narrow minded, uninformed, and cynical to say only 3 parts of the continental US have really good beaches, get real! One who can only consider those areas of the continental US to have good beaches must be pretty damn hard to please and is certainly not a very good authority on what constitutes a good beach.

The beaches along Cape Cod National Seashore, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island, Southern RI shore are better than great, and quite beautiful. I don't care where they are compared to, there are nice summer water temps, nice sand, clean water, and scenic beauty. Block Island has some of the nicest and most pristine beaches I've seen (and I've seen a lot of beaches all over the US), along with the New England nautical charm and character.

And on the other coast, one would need to be pretty jaded not to appreciate the magnificent views of the sea cliffs, coast mountain range, giant sea stack rocks, and churning Pacific surf crashing to the shore in places like Cannon Beach, Oregon. Also New England and the Pacific Northwest have some of the best waters in the country for boating recreation.
I'm sure this will probably just get deleted, but anything above Santa Cruz on the west coast is too cold to walk around in a bathing suit or go in the water without a wet suit. I've lived on the water in both Oregon and Washington. There are plenty of neat spots all along the PNW coastline, but there is no beach culture in either state. I haven't spent as much time on the east coast, but to a much lesser degree The same can be said about the northern beaches out here as well. The gulf states, particularly south Texas, have some pretty decent beaches which is something a lot of people are unaware of, but at the end of the day nothing touches southern CA.
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Old 06-25-2013, 12:17 PM
 
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,720 posts, read 23,621,080 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redfish1 View Post
I'm sure this will probably just get deleted, but anything above Santa Cruz on the west coast is too cold to walk around in a bathing suit or go in the water without a wet suit. I've lived on the water in both Oregon and Washington. There are plenty of neat spots all along the PNW coastline, but there is no beach culture in either state. I haven't spent as much time on the east coast, but to a much lesser degree The same can be said about the northern beaches out here as well. The gulf states, particularly south Texas, have some pretty decent beaches which is something a lot of people are unaware of, but at the end of the day nothing touches southern CA.
OK, fair enough on your view of the Pacific Northwest beaches as they are scenic but not good for water recreation outside of boating. However based on your stated experience you really have no room to be judging New England beaches let alone dissing them and saying the only ones that are great are FL/SoCal/and the Gulf because you are clearly unaware of what's good outside of your own experience. Northern beaches on the Atlantic are indeed great in the summer; the Cape/Islands, and RI in particular for good swimming.

Also this is a New England vs Pacific NW thread, so you can find somewhere else to promote SoCal or South Texas beaches.

Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 06-25-2013 at 12:46 PM..
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Old 06-25-2013, 12:28 PM
 
9,961 posts, read 17,429,426 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redfish1 View Post
I'm sure this will probably just get deleted, but anything above Santa Cruz on the west coast is too cold to walk around in a bathing suit or go in the water without a wet suit. I've lived on the water in both Oregon and Washington. There are plenty of neat spots all along the PNW coastline, but there is no beach culture in either state. I haven't spent as much time on the east coast, but to a much lesser degree The same can be said about the northern beaches out here as well. The gulf states, particularly south Texas, have some pretty decent beaches which is something a lot of people are unaware of, but at the end of the day nothing touches southern CA.
The water in Santa Cruz isn't even really that much warmer than Oregon(I know, I grew up in SC). The weather isn't that warm either though it's much milder than the Oregon Coast(though it's often foggy). You're basically talking about areas south of Santa Barbara... Though people do get in the water in Santa Cruz for bodysurfing during the summer without a wetsuit--some people even go for brief swims. And yes there's plenty of beach culture there, but the water is about as bone-chilling cold as the Northwest.

As far as beach culture in Oregon--no Oregon obviously doesn't have warm water for people to playfully sit in and wade all day long a la South Florida. At the same time what there is to do at the coast isn't simply limited on the Pacific Coast to sitting around in the sun. There's occasionally nice days at the Oregon Coast--not frequent, but I've been there on a random 75-80 degree day and it feels just like the Northern California/Central Coast--but people don't wait around for just those days. People go to the coast to go fishing, crabbing, kite-boarding, surfing, kayaking, have a bbq on the beach, throw a frisbee, build sand castles, and so on and a 60 degree day with haze doesn't stop people. No one is pretending that the weather is often great, but at the same time when the weather is good people take advantage of it. Honestly, I prefer driving east to the Gorge and Cascades in the summer more often than the coast(since it's often much warmer to the east), though I still enjoy the coast for a daytrip...

But in terms of this thread, it's not really about random comparisons to Gulf Coast beaches or how diverse Miami is. This is about New England and the Pacific NW coastlines--which is more than a comparison of how swimmable the beaches are.

Last edited by Deezus; 06-25-2013 at 12:52 PM..
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