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I live in Northern NJ and thinking about moving to the DC area. The only thing that concerns me is the distance to the beaches. During the summer season, I like to go pretty often, at least once a week, and it takes me about 1 hr or less so with DC being much farther from the ocean, I am thinking if that's gon be an issue. How long does it take to get to the nearest, decent beaches with traffic? Is it doable to go that often?
Depends on what you want from your beach. Do you want family stuff or beach parties? If you just want a beach to quickly park your feet in the sand.. I would suggest hopping on rt 50 and going to Sandy Point Beach. You're not going to find giant waves, however you will at least get to enjoy a quiet beach with nearby restaurants and a view of the Chesapeake.
Now if you want the full experience, most of locals take long weekend breaks in either Virginia Beach or Ocean City Maryland.
Depends on what you want from your beach. Do you want family stuff or beach parties? If you just want a beach to quickly park your feet in the sand.. I would suggest hopping on rt 50 and going to Sandy Point Beach. You're not going to find giant waves, however you will at least get to enjoy a quiet beach with nearby restaurants and a view of the Chesapeake.
Now if you want the full experience, most of locals take long weekend breaks in either Virginia Beach or Ocean City Maryland.
dont need family stuff or anything, jus like to swim and lay on a beach
is there any waves there?
Former South Jersey-er here, and not even THAT big of a beach guy, but I do get a little depressed by how much further the beach is from DC. I live right in the city, and with summer beach traffic, it would be tough for me to get to any beach in under 3 hours. It's not like we're in Omaha, so you could definitely do it weekly, but it's definitely more of an undertaking than things are back in NJ. You'll probably want to spend the night, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to do it more than once a week.
Sandy Point beach is pretty close, and it's nice, but it's a very different experience than the Jersey shore. It's a state park on the Chesapeake Day, not the Atlantic. I actually like it there, but it doesn't feel like "the shore" to me. It might scratch that itch for you, but my guess is that it won't.
OCMD and Virginia Beach VA seem to be the most popular options, with Rehobeth in 3rd place (at least in my circles.) The Outer Banks in NC have a pretty good following, too. Personally, I still go to Ocean City NJ, which really isn't that much farther. Honestly, I'm surprised the Jersey shore isn't popular with more DC people.
There is also a beach at Lake Anna which is about 70 miles south of DC down 95. It's the nicest lake beach I've ever been to and very clean. The downfall is that traffic on 95 on the weekends is an absolute nightmare.
Honestly, it will feel like a huge chore to go to a beach on the Atlantic from DC. Three hours each way is quite a haul, and everyone has the same idea, so there is often traffic. There is also Chesapeake Beach in Calvert County, which is on the bay, but it might not have a real ocean beach feel. If I were you, if you really like the beach, I would consider areas that are closer to it.
forget about socal beaches, none of the top 10 beaches in the USA are in socal, theyr'e all too polluted. The best beaches are in Florida and Hawaii
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