Top Family-Friendly Beaches in the World
Located near the San Diego Bay, Coronado Beach - also known as Central Beach and Coronado Central Beach - is a large and flat beach with light brown sand and sparse vegetation. Coronado Beach starts near the historic Hotel del Coronado and spans north along Ocean Boulevard all the way north to a park named Sunset Park. This popular beach is one of the main beaches of the resort-city of Coronado (which is also nicknamed as "Crown City"). Coronado Beach has been named one of the Top 100 beaches in the United States by Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach. The approximately one-and-a-half miles long beach has a wonderful backdrop of oceanfront residential buildings. The sand in Coronado Beach has a substance named mica, which occasionally causes it to shine. Visitors can encounter this shining sand around the water near Coronado Beach during calm water conditions. The shoreline around this beach also has remnants of a sunken ship named SS Monte Carlo, which was shipwrecked here in the 1930s.
Located in the city of Virginia Beach, Resort Beach is a large and long beach with light brown sand. Some smaller parts of Resort Beach are named after local nearby roads – these parts include 15th Street Beach, 17th Street Beach, 24th Street Beach, and 28th Street Beach. In addition, the southernmost portion of Resort Beach is also known as Grommet Island Park Beach.
Located along Florida’s central coastline, Clearwater Beach is an immensely popular beach that has soft white sand. This wide beach is situated in Pinellas County and spans over two-and-a-half miles. Clearwater Beach’s reputation as one of the United States’ premier beach destinations is not simply a tall claim - the beach has received many accolades from travel websites and media publications. The beach has been named the 5th Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world's foremost beach expert who is known as "Mr. Beach" - and was also featured by Tripadvisor’s Travellers Choice awards in 2016, 2018, and 2019. USA Today also listed Clearwater Beach as the "best beach town in Florida" in 2013. A 1,000 feet-long concrete pier named Pier 60 is also present in Clearwater Beach
The Gold Coast is a home to many beaches, and is great for almost all water sports. For those who prefer land activities, this coast offers hiking, volleyball, biking, and a plethora of attractions and museums. Feeling even more adventurous? Go skydiving! The Gold Coast has something to offer everyone.
Nestled between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach in Southern California, Crystal Cove State Park Beaches is known for its natural seashore and plentiful activities. To get to this beach, you can enjoy the scenic drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, where you’ll find the Los Trancos Parking Lot that charges $5 per hour, or $15 per day.
Located in the southern end of the city of Santa Rosa Beach, Seaside Beach is a small beach with white sand and nearby sparse vegetation.
Located in southern Florida, Bowman’s Beach is a large beach with white sand and is the most popular beach on Santibel Island. Bowman’s Beach is a part of a larger recreational park named Bowman’s Beach Park.
Bowman’s Beach was listed by the Condé Nast Traveller magazine as one of the 24 Best Beaches in the United States in 2022. In 2018, Bowman’s Beach was also listed as one of the 50 best beaches in the world by the travel organization Flight Network, and it is a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.
Located near the mouth of the Annisquam River, Wingaersheek Beach – also known locally as Winga and earlier also known as Coffins Beach – is a popular and half-mile-long beach with white sand and multiple large rocks in the city of Gloucester. This beach was listed as one of the “6 Great East Coast Beaches” by Outside magazine and it was also listed as one of the “Best Beaches in Massachusetts – 100 Awesome Beaches in Boston and Beyond” by Boston magazine in 2016. It is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.
Carmel Beach is renowned by both locals and tourists as one of the most spectacular beaches in the world - and for good reason. The beach is an oasis with a backdrop of white sand and turquoise water, and is overlooked by beautiful, grassy hills. The world-class scenic pathway is filled with old, green trees and looks onto the beach. Watching the sunset on the beach is a local tradition - add to the natural romance with a bottle of wine, as alcohol is permitted on specific days of the week. With the gorgeous scenery of Carmel City Beach, you'll be sure to have an unforgettable beach day!
Located on the southern end of Kiawah Island, Kiawah Beachwalker Park - also known simply as Beachwalker Park - is a Charleston County-managed park that has a large beach with soft white-sand. Many kinds of plants are present near the beach in Kiawah Beachwalker Park including yucca plants, pines, live oaks, and palmettos. Kiawah Beachwalker Park is the only park with a public-owned beach access on Kiawah Island. Kiawah Beachwalker Park has been named the 46th Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as "Mr. Beach" – and was also named one of the 10 Best Beaches in the U.S in 2017 by Condé Nast Traveler magazine.
Located on a cape named Cape Cod, Coast Guard Beach is a large and popular beach that has white sand. This beach is situated below oceanfront unstable glacial bluffs and it is also part of a national park named Cape Cod National Seashore. A bay named Nauset Bay is also present near this beach, along with a marsh named Nauset Marsh. The beach gets its name from an old and white Coast Guard building which is present on the bluffs above the beach. The white-colored sand in Coast Guard Beach is formed from quartz – this quartz comes from ancient cliffs that were present near the Cape Cod shoreline thousands of years ago. Over time these cliffs eroded and the quartz deposits from these cliffs were eventually turned into white-sand grains, which in turn were then deposited along the Cape Cod shoreline by streams from the Atlantic Ocean. Coast Guard Beach is a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach. An aquatic inlet named Nauset Inlet is present to the south of this beach.
Located in Honolulu, Waikiki Beach is a beautiful and extremely popular beach with light brown sand and nearby palm trees. This beach is located in the popular touristy neighborhood of Waikiki. The beach’s name in Hawaiian means "spouting water" - the beach received this name because in the past multiple springs and rivers used to flow around this beach – as another fun fact Waikiki Beach was used by Hawaiian nobility for surfing. Waikiki Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the United State and was named the 4th Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as "Mr. Beach.” It is important to note that Waikiki Beach is a part of a larger beach area that stetches for almost two miles that is also called Waikiki Beach – in addition to Waikiki Beach, this larger beach area is composed of seven other beaches including Duke Kahanamoku Beach (also called Kahanamoku Beach and Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Beach Park), Fort DeRussy Beach (also known asFort DeRussy Beach Park, Gray’s Beach (also known as Grays Beach, Halekulani Beach, Kawehewehe, and Grey’s Beach), Royal Hawaiian Beach (also known as Waikiki Beach Center and Royal Moana Beach), Kuhio Beach (also known as "The Ponds", Kuhio Ponds, and Kūhiō Beach), Queen’s Beach (also known as Queen Kapiolani Beach , Queen’s Surf Beach, and Kapiolani Beach Park), and Kaimana Beach (also known as also known as Kaimana Beach Park, Kaimana’s Beach, Waikiki at San Souci Beach, Sans Souci Beach, and San Souci Beach).
Waikiki Beach is constantly threatened by erosion – some of Waikiki Beach’s parts have been significantly reduced in size due to erosion. There are multiple rocky jetties and seawalls near Waikiki Beach – the beach’s southwestern portion particularly has many rocky seawalls near it. Although most of the portions of Waikiki Beach have lifeguards, there are some portions that do not have lifeguard deployment – these portions are located near 2055 Kalia Road, in front a hotel named the Halekulani Hotel, and adjacent to another hotel named Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. In addition to lifeguards,
Located near the Westside area of the city of Santa Cruz, Natural Bridges State Beach is actually the name of a 65-acre state park managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The state park contains a beach area in its southern part. The area is known as ‘Natural Bridges State Beach’ as it used to have natural bridge-like arches in the water near the beach, which were formed out of mudstone cliffs being naturally eroded away into arches by the water. Earlier there used to be three such arches, however, only one remains which is a popular perching spot for birds now. The beach has light brown sand. The Moore Creek flows into the ocean through the beach area, often forming a lagoon on the southern end of the beach. The state park area also has a monarch butterfly sanctuary, coastal scrub, grasslands, and wetlands, which are present around the beach area. Although the beach has a lifeguard tower, an on-duty lifeguard is often not available.
Located in Tomales Bay State Park, Heart’s Desire Beach is a popular beach with light brown sand. There is a grassy area behind this beach and it is also surrounded by forests. We recommend wearing layered clothing while visiting this beach as the weather around this beach is known to change unpredictably and the beach is known to have sudden spells of cold and windy weather.
Located in the city of Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach State Park is a 312-acre state park that has a wide white sand beach which is approximately a mile long. A maritime forest and sand dunes are present near the beach. The beach also has a pier named Myrtle Beach State Park Pier. A creek also flows through the beach into the Atlantic Ocean. Myrtle Beach State Park was the first South Carolina State Park, and has been named the 14th Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as "Mr. Beach." Myrtle Beach State Park has lifeguards in its northern portion between mid-May and mid-September.
Located in the Oregonian city of Cannon Beach, the beautiful Cannon Beach is a large four-mile-long beach with light brown sand. Cannon Beach has been named the 2nd Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as "Mr. Beach." Portions of this popular beach are situated below oceanfront bluffs. This beach has a magnificent backdrop of oceanfront hills and residential houses. Many offshore rock formations are present in the water near Cannon Beach and the most iconic offshore rock formation along the Cannon Beach shoreline is a 235-feet tall intertidal basalt sea stack named Haystack Rock - this rock is the third largest intertidal rock formation in the world. This beach was named as the sixth best beach in the United States by TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards in 2020. In addition, the beach was also listed by the travel division of the American media company U.S. News & World Report as one the 27 best beaches in the United States. Renowned academic Dr. Stephen Leatherman has listed Cannon Beach as the "Best Overall Beach" in Oregon in his book America’s Best Beaches. The city of Cannon Beach was also listed by National Geographic as one of "America’s Best Beach Towns." A creek occasionally flows through the beach into the Pacific Ocean. As an interesting fact, the beach and the city of Cannon Beach are named after a cannon from the 19th century United States Navy schooner Shark - this cannon was discovered near Cannon Beach’s current location in 1898 and it sparked the name change of the city from "Elk Creek" to "Cannon Beach."
Santa Monica Beach, located in the city of Santa Monica, is a highly popular 3.5-mile-long beach with light brown sand. This beach, also known as Santa Monica State Beach, is divided into three main sections: Santa Monica Beach - North Beach (which is also known as Santa Monica - North Beach and Santa Monica North Beach), Santa Monica Beach - Pier Beach (which is also called Santa Monica - Pier Beach and Santa Monica Pier Beach), and Santa Monica Beach - South Beach ( which is also called Santa Monica – South Beach, Santa Monica South Beach, and Ocean Park Beach).
Santa Monica Beach—North Beach is quieter, offering a more peaceful experience, while Pier Beach is at the center and features the iconic Santa Monica Pier. Santa Monica Beach - South Beach, also referred to as Ocean Park Beach, is situated to the south of the pier.
Santa Monica Pier, stretching 1,650 feet, is a well-known landmark and draws millions of visitors annually. It is an iconic pier that was initially opened in 1909 and has been designated as a Santa Monica Historic Landmark - this pier offers a large variety of things to do including a popular amusement park named Pacific Park that has the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel, fun rides for kids (including a 1920s carousel), an arcade, an aquarium at the end of the pier named Heal The Bay Aquarium, and interesting concessions and shops. If you are planning to fish from the Santa Monica Pier or from any part of Santa Monica State Beach, please follow the local fishing regulations that can be found on the website of California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Santa Monica Beach is also frequented by snorkelers and scuba divers, and visitors may spot wildlife such as seals, sea lions, and migrating whales at certain times of the year. If you’re into biking or skating, the Ocean Front Walk (also called the Santa Monica Boardwalk) offers a scenic path with oceanfront views and passes by various restaurants and shops. The North Beach Trail section includes unique artwork inspired by local plant and animal life. A portion of another famous biking trail named the Marvin Braude Bike Trail (also known as The Strand) is also located along Santa Monica State Beach - this popular 22-mile oceanfront biking, jogging, and roller-skating trail mostly runs parallel to the coastline of the Santa Monica Bay.
