Some beaches are better for being busy – Coney Island, for example, with its retro amusement park rides, or Miami Beach for parties and people-watching. When you want to escape, though, there are few things better than a secluded sweep of sand clear of crowds, or a tiny, empty beach reached after a hike, swim or boat ride. We’ve created a list of our top 25 secret beaches in the US, from award-winning stretches of soft sand to quiet coves that can only be reached via the water.
A beach in New York City – and a quiet one at that? It sounds implausible but Fort Tilden is typically uncrowded due to its relatively remote location and the fact it isn’t easily reached via public transport. It’s worth a journey, though. The former military site, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, overlooks New York Harbor and the beach is backed by dunes, freshwater ponds, maritime forest and historic structures.
Archaeological sites are rarely more scenic than Lapakahi State Historical Park on the island of Hawaii’s North Kohala coast. The ancient fishing settlement is set against a backdrop of palm trees, shimmering blue waters and fringed by this striking black-and-white pebble beach. There’s a series of trails with information panels explaining the significance of structures such as canoe storage houses, religious shrines and an ancient burial site, revealing the life of the fishing community that occupied the land, then named Koai'e, in the 1300s.
Mississippi’s blazingly white Gulf Coast is known as ‘The Secret Coast’, though – for those who come here for casinos, fishing and seafood by the sand – the word is already out. Not so much when it comes to Ship Island, a barrier island reachable only via ferry and part of Gulf Island National Seashore. Its swim beach, strewn with pastel-hued shells, stretches along the Gulf side, backed by fragrant shrubs and with views of 1850s-built Fort Massachusetts.
In shades of grey from slate to soot via elephant and ash, the long, broad beach at Captain Cook State Recreation Area is striking in its appearance. The stretch of mud and sand is dotted with giant boulders and stretches from the mouth of the Swanson River to the northwestern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. The region is famously remote, and the beaches here are particularly quiet. It’s a glorious location for a hike, with views of mountains and the chance to spot beluga whales off the shore.
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You need sunglasses to look at the bright white beaches of Alabama’s Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The sand is similarly striking when you leave the crowds to head into Gulf State Park, a marshy, wildlife-rich area with lakes, waterways and trails that weave between forest and the coast. It has 3.5 miles (5.6km) of beaches, with Romar Beach – densely packed with alabaster sand – among the most idyllic.
Another Southern state that isn’t so famed for beaches, Louisiana has a small but particularly lovely array of coastal beauties – many of them relatively unexplored. Grand Isle, at the end of the state’s epic Highway 1, remains something of a local secret, known for fishing, bird spotting and hiking trails that weave around oak trees and past salt marshes. Its long, sandy, shell-scattered beach runs from white to pale gold, though it’s always lovely. The state park has been closed due to hurricane damage, but the town’s beach access has reopened.
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This lake isn’t actually filled with whisky. But that’s the only potential disappointment for visitors here. Tucked away in the already relatively quiet Shasta County in northern California, it’s not the sort of beach you’re likely to just stumble upon. Because of that, you’ll often be sharing the sand-and-pebble stretch with few other people. Backed by pine trees and licked by refreshingly chilly, limpid water, it’s an idyllic spot for a swim and a picnic.
Skip the crowds and head to this secluded gem on Chesapeake Bay. There’s a small fee to access the beach and a short, sometimes rocky trail that runs down to the sand – it's exactly why this glorious stretch is so quiet. It’s hidden by a bamboo cove and backed by cliffs where you can often find fossils including shark teeth. Once you’ve found it, you might just want to stay a while; thankfully, there are beach cottages close to the sand.
Georgia’s Golden Isles are certainly well named, with gilded sand and dawn skies that cast soft orange light on the water. Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, the southernmost of the string of barrier islands, is particularly lovely and almost always blissfully quiet. It is, as the name suggests, strewn with bleached logs and backed by oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. Pods of dolphins occasionally leap close to the shore, adding to the charm.
Seawall Beach is one of Maine’s best-kept secrets, reached via a three-mile (4.8km) hike over Morse Mountain. Pause at the summit for views that sweep over coastal forest, salt marshes and the pale sand that drifts along the Atlantic coast, then hike down to the secluded and often empty beach. The dunes are nesting sites for endangered species including piping plovers, while the beach is part of Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, used for coastal research and education by Bates College.
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Few humans live on Cumberland Island, a salt-sprayed barrier island off Georgia’s southeastern coast. Those that do are far outnumbered by the 200-odd wild horses who graze on dune grass and snooze on sandy beaches like the ethereally beautiful Stafford Beach. The beach and its campsite are reached via a 3.5-mile (5.6km) hike, which means fewer people to share the white, dune-backed sand and ocean views. The island is also a nesting site for loggerhead turtles, and its 10,000 acres of wilderness have been designated a protected national seashore.
Perdido Key was named by a Spanish explorer as the ‘lost island’ and, while today it does attract people seeking solitude and the chance to spot rare birds, it’s nevertheless a relatively quiet sanctuary amid Florida’s busier Gulf Coast resorts. Formerly used as a military base, Perdido State Park – near Pensacola – has around two miles (3.2km) of white sand and is home to species including the rare beach mouse and, from spring to August, nesting loggerhead turtles.
Reached via a bumpy road and with parking for just a few cars, Bound Brook Island Beach isn’t so easy to get to, which is why it’s ranked as one of America’s top secret beaches. It’s on the Cape Cod peninsula and is one of very few sandy stretches where you can beat the crowds even in peak summer months. Stroll on sand bars, peer into tide pools or just enjoy having the soft sand, rolling dunes and sweeping views of the bay pretty much all to yourself.
You have to weave along misty, twisty Bear Creek Road before rattling down bumpy Lighthouse Road to get to Mattole Beach. The journey pays off once you set eyes and then feet on the treacle-coloured, driftwood-strewn sand. It’s part of the 25-mile (40km) Lost Coast, a stretch so wild that plans to continue the Pacific Coast Highway this far were abandoned. There's a campground right by the sand, and staying overnight means you get to spend even more time soaking up the quiet beauty of this special place.
Landlocked Minnesota is surprisingly rich in beautiful beaches, with thousands of lakes, from those as small as ponds to the vast Lake Superior, upon whose shores this unusual beauty can be found. Black Beach, on the lake’s north shore, is indeed black – the result of taconite tailings once dumped into the lake by local miners. It’s especially striking against the sapphire blue of the lake and the orange of the rock formation that sits at one end. Nearby is Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a wilderness that’s laced with quiet coves accessible only by water.
There’s nothing secret about Panama City Beach, the usually bustling Gulf Coast resort. But, just a short distance away, St. Andrews State Park is a haven of white sands and wildlife. A highlight of the natural reserve is the remote Shell Island, a seven-mile (11.3km) long barrier island fringed by the palest sand and pine trees and home to rare birds. Dolphins, sea turtles and tropical fish can often be found in the surrounding waters.
Those who’ve discovered the honey-toned beach at Cape Henlopen State Park, in Delaware’s Delmarva Peninsula, marvel at how delightfully quiet and peaceful it is. Because it’s hard to fathom how a destination so lovely can remain so unspoiled and uncrowded. Backed by dunes and woodland, the six-mile (9.7km) coastline includes two designated swimming beaches with lifeguards during the summer months. Even during peak season, you’ll always find a spot where you’ll be completely alone.
Alaska may not be the first state that springs to mind when it comes to beaches, which is one reason why pockets of its coastline are often crowd-free. The state actually boasts the USA’s longest coastline and it’s as spectacular as the rest of the scenery. Bishop’s Beach, in Homer, is quiet with views of mountain peaks and Kachemak Bay. Sand cranes, which regularly migrate from California, are often spotted stalking around the tide pools.
The secret’s out about Oregon’s dramatically beautiful coastline, yet you can still find some secluded stretches of sand. Close to Cannon Beach, which draws crowds in summer, is quieter Indian Beach. It overlooks the busier area and has clear views of domed Haystack Rock. Part of Ecola State Park, there are plenty of sandy spots for sunbathing and tide pools for peering into. Scour the horizon for grey whales, which often pass close to the shore during their migration between December and April.
Cape Flattery, part of the Makah Reservation and just outside Olympic National Park, sits on the northwestern-most point of the contiguous US. It’s so dramatically lovely, from the water with swirls of navy blue and turquoise to the pine-forested shoreline and sea stacks, that it barely seems real. Hike two miles (3.2km) from the car park (Makah Recreation Pass is required) to reach Shi Shi Beach, a broad, burnished-gold sweep famed for its glorious emptiness and Point of Arches, a string of sea stacks that can be viewed from the sand.
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Ranked America’s best beach by coastal scientist Stephen Leatherman – AKA Dr Beach – in his annual awards, Ocracoke’s Lifeguarded Beach is praised for its cleanliness and safety. It also happens to be beautifully secluded and tucked away on Ocracoke Island, part of North Carolina’s wonderfully wild Outer Banks. The sand is soft, smooth and the colour of shortbread, and you might just have it all to yourself. Also in the region is Carova Beach, a tiny community where herds of wild horses roam the rolling dunes.
Hawaii doesn’t exactly skimp when it comes to beaches, though some are understandably crowded with surfers and sun-seekers. Mākua Beach (sometimes called Tunnels), in Ka'ena Point State Park at the northwestern tip of Oahu, is one of the more secluded and unspoiled stretches of coastline in the state. Backed by mountains and dense patches of forest and with the most beautiful sunsets kissing the sand and the beach’s limestone rock, Pohaku Kula'ila'i, it’s only accessible via a dirt road and a short hike.
Seven islands make up Dry Tortugas National Park, a wildlife haven around 70 miles (113km) off the coast of Key West. The busiest is Garden Key, home to 19th-century military base Fort Jefferson, itself edged by white sand and turquoise water. The beaches here are rarely crowded, though for an even more remote experience take a short boat ride (or walk at low tide) to the dreamily secluded Bush Key, where nesting olive ridley turtles and rare seabirds can often be spotted.
Hawaii’s Nāpali Coast is, understandably, much photographed and admired. Yet, thanks to its remote location in the north of Kauai and the fact it’s inaccessible to cars, the designated wilderness area is miraculously quiet. Backed by spiky, green-cloaked sea cliffs, it can only be explored along the 11-mile (17.7km) Kalalau Trail, which runs between two creamy beaches, Ke’e and Kalalau. They’re equally idyllic, though the latter is often quieter due to its location further along the route.
Yep, that really is the name of this, erm, secret beach, tucked away at the northern tip of Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor. The small cove of Secret Beach can only be visited at low tide and it's a short yet steep hike to reach the burnished sand. That, and the fact it isn’t visible from the road, mean it’s usually quiet if not completely empty. The beach itself is divine, soft underfoot and with views of spruce-topped volcanic sea stacks and natural bridges.