More Great Beaches
In a recent issue, Stephanie Citron shares the sand, sun, and stories of “America’s 10 Best Beaches,” but none of us wanted to stop at 10. Here are 12 more of our faves:
1. Blowing Rocks Preserve, Hobe Sound, Florida
On this craggy Anastasia limestone shoreline (the largest on the U.S. Atlantic Coast), waves crashing against the rocks during high tide force water plumes to shoot as high as 50 feet in the air.
Ocean breaking on rocky shore at Blowing Rocks Preserve in Florida (Perry Correll)
2. Bruneau Dunes State Park, Mountain Home, Idaho
Looming over several freshwater lakes is the largest single-structure sand dune in North America, believed to have been formed by sand left behind from a flood 15,000 years ago.
The sand dunes and lake at the Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park at sunrise (Sam Strickler)
3. Calvert Cliffs State Park, Lusby, Maryland
Marine fossils, dating from the Miocene Epoch (5-24 million years ago) wash ashore all day long.
Beach and cliffs on the Chesapeake Bay at Calvert Cliffs State Park, Maryland. (Jon Bilous)
4. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Kanab, Utah
While not technically a beach (it doesn’t front an ocean or lake), the beautiful pink sand (from eroded Navajo sandstone, dating to the Middle Jurassic period) makes this park a worthy stop.
Sun has barely set and near-full moon illuminates dune and mountain cliffs of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park near Kanab, Utah. (Warren Price Photography)
5. Glass Beach, Whitethorn, California
A beach completely covered in sea glass, in a multitude of shapes and colors.
Pyramid of polished sea glass. Glass Beach is a beach in MacKerricher State Park, California. (IrinaK)
6. Grayton Beach State Park, Grayton Beach, Florida
A dazzling white sand beach sandwiched between the Gulf of Mexico and Western Lake, a rare freshwater coastal dune lake surrounded by a coastal forest of twisted-trunk magnolias and indigenous scrub.
Beach along the Gulf of Mexico (James Stuart Griffith)
7. Indiana Dunes Lakeshore, Indiana
Beyond the beautiful sand beaches along the southern tip of Lake Michigan you’ll find spectacular dunes.
Indiana sand dunes on Lake Michigan’s shoreline (Delmas Lehman)
8. Kaihalulu Beach, Maui, Hawaii
Secluded red sand beach gets its color from the crumbling cindercone cliffs presiding over the beach and the bay. Warning: The trail to this beach is hazardous and should only be attempted by skilled hikers.
Red Sand, or Kaihalulu Beach, Maui (Pierre Leclerc)
9. Medano Creek, Mosca, Colorado
Rent specially designed boards to sand sled down the Great Sand Dunes — the tallest in North America. May-July brings tubing to the freshwater creek reformed each year from snowmelts off the surrounding Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Sunrise at Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado (M. Bailey)
10. Moonstone Beach Cambria, California
Natural gemstones wash up in the surf, including the namesake moonstones (the chalcedony variety) and semi-precious pebbles of practically every color.
A spectacular sunset at the Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California. (Jens Peermann)
11. Sand Beach, Acadia National Park, Maine
On this pink sand beach tucked between pink granite cliffs, you’ll find high-saline seawater, where the salt level measures a half-cup per gallon.
View from above Sand beach in Acadia National Park, Maine (Colin D. Young)
12. Black Sands Beach, California
A slate-gray sand beach that appears black when wet.
Evening light along California’s Lost Coast and Black Sand Beach (James Mattil)
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