Long Island has bigger waves the farther east you go, and with Montauk being the farthest point east, Ditch Plains is seen as one of the best surf destinations on the East Coast. Add this beach excursion to your next trip to New York!

Cove Beach is one of the Cape May beaches and is a beach-lovers’ paradise. It is a popular destination for families and if you like to swim, surf, skimboard or kayak. Volleyball nets are available at 2 different locations.

It is also known for bird watching, beach combing, and fishing. A lighthouse can be seen from the beach, and there is a nightly flag-lowering ceremony. There are beautiful rentals in the area, but would also be a good day trip from Philadelphia.

One of the most family-friendly getaways and best beaches in America found only a short drive from Kennebunkport, Maine. Goose Rocks Beach is three-miles of soft sand. It is protected in a crescent beach shape, where you will find the surf is gentle and the sun is warm in summer months. The beach is named for Goose Rocks barrier reef that is offshore, and is visible at low tide, and is a buffer for beach from the big waves from the Atlantic.

It would be a short drive from both Boston, MA and Portland, ME to Goose Rocks Beach.

In Manchester-by-the-Sea, you will find this quaint sleepy harbor, and main street. An hour outside Boston, it’s perfect for a day trip. The perfect combination of sand and water make this beach a perfect beach to visit. It is a very relaxing place, great for walking and collecting shells, jumping in the waves, or just sitting in the soft sand to watch the surf.

Singing Beach is a 30 minute drive from Boston.

Oak Street Beach is in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. From the beach you have access to running and bike paths, views of the skyscrapers, and Chicago’s Michigan Avenue for restaurants and bars. You may find a volleyball match as well.

The beach runs 10 blocks of Lake Michigan coastline,with a variety of fun activities to enjoy.

North Manitou Island is the 15,000-acre island located in Lake Michigan and surrounded by fresh water on every side. The island is only accessible by boat, and other popular activities include hunting, hiking, and swimming.

The Manitou Islands are a part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Most of the area is available for hiking, camping and exploration.. Manitou Island Transit provides regular ferry service to both islands for campers and day trips to South Manitou.

It would be an easy trip from Ann Arbor, Toledo, and Detroit to visit North Manitou Island.

Found on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, it has some of the most beautiful views of Tahoe’s water and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 2,500-foot beach is a haven for scuba divers, swimmers, jet skiers and sunbathers.

Sand Harbor is in the Nevada State Park and has a large sandy beach, picnic benches and barbecues, and a nature trail.

Lake Tahoe and Reno are a short trip to Sand Harbor Beach.

There are four sections in this beach area - Coronado City Beach, Tidelands Park, Glorietta Bay Park, and Centennial Park. It is a 1.5 mile long, sandy beach.

This beach area is good for swimming, surfing, and paddle boarding, and walks along the water. Tidelands Park and Glorietta Bay Park have playgrounds, picnic tables, and grassy areas. Volleyball courts, and fire rings are found in all four areas.

Coronado Beach is in San Diego, but a short drive to Mexico and 90 minutes from Anaheim.

Known as Surf City USA, Huntington State Beach is the home to the Surfer’s Hall of Fame, the International Surfing Museum, and hosts the U.S. Open of Surfing - the world’s largest annual surf competition. The large, sandy beach offers volleyball courts and basketball courts, fire rings, and a paved beach side trail.

Huntington is a popular place for surf fishing. The beach is the home of “California Least Terns,” an endangered species and is a nesting sanctuary of the “Snowy Plover,” a threatened species. Once-endangered “California Brown Pelicans” can often be seen flying along the shoreline.

Just outside of Anaheim and Los Angeles, Huntington Beach would be a great day trip if vacationing in this area.

El Matador Beach is one of three beaches in Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach. It's very popular, the closest to Malibu, and has a parking lot on the bluff with picnic tables that look out over the Pacific Ocean. A trail can be found along the bluff with stairs that take you the rest of the way to the beach. The large waves make this a popular destination for body boarding and body surfing year round.

Beautiful sea stacks are on the beach and in the surf. You can hike the beach to caves and arches in the rocks. The largest cave faces the ocean at the bottom of a huge flat rock that is connected to the base of the bluff.

The beach is in Malibu, but also close to Anaheim and Los Angeles,.

Located along Little River, Van Damme Beach is part of the 1,830-acre Van Damme State Park on the Mediocino Coast. The beach has a semi-protected cove, and kayaks and paddle boards are available. Explore the nearby sea caves, or the ten miles of hiking trails along the canyon of Little River.

Van Damme Beach is a launching spot for diving and kayaking. The rocky points on either side of the beach offer protection from harsh waves which is good for beginning scuba divers.

If you are in the Sonoma or Napa Valley area, Van Damme Beach would be a good day trip.

On the southwest coast of the Olympic Peninsula, Kalaloch Beach is inside Olympic National Park. thousands of marine wildlife can be found in the area as the coastal waters are a safe haven. Large nesting colonies of birds like common murres and tufted puffins need these rocky outposts. Kalaloch is a great place for bird watching. Western gulls, bald eagles, and other coastal birds can be spotted nesting and feeding along the southern coast.

Kalaloch Beach is close to Olympia, WA and a short trip to Victoria, Canada.

Cannon Beach is and experience where you can watch the Pacific crash onto Haystack Rock, which at 235-foot tall, towers on the shoreline. Waterfalls cascade onto the sand at Hug Point. Marine life peeks out at low tide. National Geographic listed Cannon Beach as one of the 100 most beautiful places in the world in 2013. Nearby, visit Hug Pointe to explore the waterfalls and tide pools.

If you are in the Portland, OR area, you are about an hour from this beautiful beach.

A short trip from Charleston, Kiawah Island’s Beachwalker Park, is an hour south. Enjoy 10 miles of sugar-soft sand on the Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy Kiawah Island’s perfectly preserved maritime forests, sand dunes and marshes where whitetail deer, alligators, bobcats, seabirds and sea turtles abound.

Made up of 12 miles of beautiful white sand, Islanders Beach is located on the eastern shore of Hilton Head, SC. The water boasts a gentle underwater slope that makes it extremely swimmer-friendly.

At the beach you will find a playground, picnic pavilion and grill. The beach is wheelchair accessible with a boardwalk bridge and beach matting that leads to the ocean.

Found in Hilton Head, you would be a short drive from Savannah, GA and a little over an hour from Charleston, SC.

Nags Head is one of the Outer Banks' most visited destinations, with 11 miles of sand, it is a great place for swimming, sunbathing, fishing and beach combing. If you need more adventure you can snorkel around shipwrecks in the area, go dolphin watching, or kayak.

Norfolk and Newport News, VA are in driving distance from Nags Head Beach.

Situated near the north end of North Padre Island, Malaquite Beach is made up of 4 miles of white sand. The beach is rarely crowded, and is popular for kayaking and windsurfing.

Events are held at the Malaquite Beach Pavilion, including guided evening stargazing tours and annual turtle releases.

The beach is not far from Corpus Christi, and a 2 hour drive from San Antonio, TX.