What are the best Beaches/Beach Cities along the US Atlantic coast (comparison, people)
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Eh.. I never understand why the New England beaches are so highly ranked consistently by contributors.
The water is cold and the sand is so rocky and unpleasant. Sure it has some quaint architecture. But the actual on the beach experience is not that enjoyable.
Florida is the key takeaway, obviously.
I really rank the Jersey Shore highly. After Florida it is second to being the most accessible beaches on the East Coast in terms of population proximity. And the Jersey shore is quite nice.. With good sand and water.. And it has many pleasant beach towns lining it.
I think it gets a bad rap from Atlantic City (which I do not care for)... but somewhere like Ocean City, Avalon, Asbury, Stone Harbor, Belmawr, Avon, Cape May, Long Branch, Sandy Hook are all gorgeous and quaint beach towns.
my vote went to the First Coast, but a quick tie up here... OBX beaches cover from the VA stateline to Ocracoke Island. Next up is the Crystal Coast, an option that is missed, from Atlantic Beach in Morehead City down to Topsail Beach, and then you get the Wilmington beaches from Figure Eight Island down around Bald Head Island and to Calabash and the SC state line. It's not an option, but I would vote for the Crystal Coast if I could. Great beaches, warm water mostly year-round, Very scenic, with nice, quiet little beach towns...
Eh.. I never understand why the New England beaches are so highly ranked consistently by contributors.
The water is cold and the sand is so rocky and unpleasant. Sure it has some quaint architecture. But the actual on the beach experience is not that enjoyable.
Florida is the key takeaway, obviously.
I really rank the Jersey Shore highly. After Florida, it is second to being the most accessible beaches on the East Coast in terms of population proximity. And the Jersey shore is quite nice.. With good sand and water.. And it has many pleasant beach towns lining it.
I think it gets a bad rap from Atlantic City (which I do not care for)... but somewhere like Ocean City, Avalon, Asbury, Stone Harbor, Belmawr, Avon, Cape May, Long Branch, Sandy Hook are all gorgeous and quaint beach towns.
The reason:
The whitest sand ive ever seen was on Mayflower Beach down the cape. The reason you may perceive NE beaches to be rocky is because theres a lack of the barrier island effect. Most white sandy beaches in NE are glacial deposits. Way different formations. Sayng all beaches are rocky are a go-to answer in the same way one would brush off NJ beaches for all being trashy.. when maybe what, two or three are? Neither are true and both come down to one's lack of research.
Like Yes, NE has rocky beaches. Yes, the water is cold.. that's fair game; only a part of the Cape has warm waters where cold Atlantic waters dont touch it. But when MA alone has more sandy beach coastline then NJ... you cant say the entirity of NE has poor quality, rocky beaches? That literally makes no sense.
NE has white sandy beaches, varied coastline and cliffs. You get it all in a small land area...
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 04-06-2021 at 04:51 PM..
my vote went to the First Coast, but a quick tie up here... OBX beaches cover from the VA stateline to Ocracoke Island. Next up is the Crystal Coast, an option that is missed, from Atlantic Beach in Morehead City down to Topsail Beach, and then you get the Wilmington beaches from Figure Eight Island down around Bald Head Island and to Calabash and the SC state line. It's not an option, but I would vote for the Crystal Coast if I could. Great beaches, warm water mostly year-round, Very scenic, with nice, quiet little beach towns...
Georgia doesn't have any beaches. One beach does not make a beach state.
Georgia has 100 miles of coast, which is more than several of the other states on here. The Georgia islands have some pristine beaches and some of the best year round weather in the country.
I think NC OB is my favourite overall. Just a stunning and unique landscape. Of course Florida beaches are more practical for year round swimming and imo Maine is the most attractive to look at from dry land.
The reason:
The whitest sand ive ever seen was on Mayflower Beach down the cape. The reason you may perceive NE beaches to be rocky is because theres a lack of the barrier island effect. Most white sandy beaches in NE are glacial deposits. Way different formations. Sayng all beaches are rocky are a go-to answer in the same way one would brush off NJ beaches for all being trashy.. when maybe what, two or three are? Neither are true and both come down to one's lack of research.
Like Yes, NE has rocky beaches. Yes, the water is cold.. that's fair game; only a part of the Cape has warm waters where cold Atlantic waters dont touch it. But when MA alone has more sandy beach coastline then NJ... you cant say the entirity of NE has poor quality, rocky beaches? That literally makes no sense.
NE has white sandy beaches, varied coastline and cliffs. You get it all in a small land area...
I have a question, as someone who hasn't explored the New England and Mid-Atlantic states as much. Where would you guys say, the Atlantic Ocean water starts to feel noticeably warmer(when it comes to water temperature) as you go south from Massachusetts? Like would you say around like New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia that it starts to feel warm for most parts of the year?
That wouldn't surprise me if for all I know Cape Cod Bay had slightly warmer water temperatures, vs. the Atlantic Ocean side of MA. I know for me I'd rather swim at this one lake where my brother's vacation house is in southwest Michigan(not far from Buchanan, MI btw), vs. in Lake Michigan. Where too often, I've noticed the water temperatures there are colder than I prefer. It's a little more tolerable I'll admit if you swim in like August or September, but to me I wish Lake Michigan's water temperature wasn't so cold. Ah well what can you do, since it's within the upper Midwest after all....
I have a question, as someone who hasn't explored the New England and Mid-Atlantic states as much. Where would you guys say, the Atlantic Ocean water starts to feel noticeably warmer(when it comes to water temperature) as you go south from Massachusetts? Like would you say around like New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia that it starts to feel warm for most parts of the year?
That wouldn't surprise me if for all I know Cape Cod Bay had slightly warmer water temperatures, vs. the Atlantic Ocean side of MA. I know for me I'd rather swim at this one lake where my brother's vacation house is in southwest Michigan(not far from Buchanan, MI btw), vs. in Lake Michigan. Where too often, I've noticed the water temperatures there are colder than I prefer. It's a little more tolerable I'll admit if you swim in like August or September, but to me I wish Lake Michigan's water temperature wasn't so cold. Ah well what can you do, since it's within the upper Midwest after all....
It honestly feels like a gradient. I hate FL water in the summer because its just so hot, like bath water. GA is a little better, SC and NC feel warm too.. the outer banks are colder (Still warm). VA Beach and Delmara feel identical. I think right around Long Beach Island NJ and NORTH, is when waters feel a tick colder.. anything north of Cape Cod is another level of polar water.
To best answer your question, I feel it right below the OBX. Wilmington NC for sure. But Virginia Beach feels a bit cool.
It sucks for some parts of the Cape which IMO have some of, if not the best, beach quality in the Northeast.. but the water is just so damn cold lol. The Bay side is colder than the South side of Cape Cod. I sometimes the water in late summer around Falmouth (south) to be warm compared to like Sandy Neck and Mayflower (North).
I have a question, as someone who hasn't explored the New England and Mid-Atlantic states as much. Where would you guys say, the Atlantic Ocean water starts to feel noticeably warmer(when it comes to water temperature) as you go south from Massachusetts? Like would you say around like New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia that it starts to feel warm for most parts of the year?
That wouldn't surprise me if for all I know Cape Cod Bay had slightly warmer water temperatures, vs. the Atlantic Ocean side of MA. I know for me I'd rather swim at this one lake where my brother's vacation house is in southwest Michigan(not far from Buchanan, MI btw), vs. in Lake Michigan. Where too often, I've noticed the water temperatures there are colder than I prefer. It's a little more tolerable I'll admit if you swim in like August or September, but to me I wish Lake Michigan's water temperature wasn't so cold. Ah well what can you do, since it's within the upper Midwest after all....
Cape ocean water is only warm in August(high 60s). the ocean temps then are similar to Santa Monica in August, Virginia Beach in October, Jeckyll Island in November or Cocoa Beach in January.
It starts getting warmer immediately. The South Coast MA beaches are noticably warmer than Cape beaches it gets gradually warmer from there through the mid atlantic. It jumps up around Virginia or NC then gradually gets warmer again through north florida.
The most sudden change of the whole atlantic coast is in central Florida where you go from ocean water with significant seasonal fluctuations to year round warm water. Northeast Florida ocean temps get down into the low 60s and even 50s in the winter. Miami Ocean temps rarely drop below 75 degrees at any point in the year.
Georgia has 100 miles of coast, which is more than several of the other states on here. The Georgia islands have some pristine beaches and some of the best year round weather in the country.
I think NC OB is my favourite overall. Just a stunning and unique landscape. Of course Florida beaches are more practical for year round swimming and imo Maine is the most attractive to look at from dry land.
Georgia has a lot of coast, but much less of it is beach. Public beach accessible by car is even less. South Carolina’s beaches are similar, more plentiful, and easier to access.
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