Hilton Head Beach
Hilton Head Island, SC
Hilton Head's beach runs about twelve miles along the island's ocean side, hard-packed enough at low tide that biking the whole stretch is a genuine local pastime. A dozen or so public parks and accesses feed onto the sand, each with its own personality, from the quieter Islanders Beach Park to the bigger, busier Coligny area.
Twelve miles of bikeable, hard-packed sand is a real local advantage over most of the Lowcountry, though the summer daytime leash rule and paid parking at every park add up on a family day trip.
How we score beachesRent a bike from one of the shops near the beach and ride the hard sand at low tide instead of driving between accesses. It's faster than parking twice, and tide charts are posted at most rental shops.
Public beach park lots charge $3 an hour on weekdays and $5 on weekends from March through September, free the rest of the year.
Most public parks have a boardwalk crossing the dune to the sand, along with restrooms and outdoor showers.
Dogs must be leashed on the beach from 10am to 5pm, April 1 through September 30. Outside those hours, and the rest of the year, they're allowed off leash under voice control.
Water climbs into the low 80s by August, comfortable but during the same hurricane season, June through November, as the rest of the Lowcountry. The hard-packed sand rides best a couple hours either side of low tide, whatever the season.
This isn't one entrance, it's a stretch with a few. Here's where locals actually meet up.
Driessen Beach Park
One of the island's bigger public parks, with the most parking of any access and a shaded picnic area set back from the dune.
Parking: 168 spaces, at the same $3/$5 hourly rate as the rest of the island's public parks.
Local tip: Arrive by mid morning in summer. This is the park most visitors default to, and the lot reflects it.
Get directions →Islanders Beach Park
A smaller, quieter park off Folly Field Road with a fraction of Driessen's crowd and the same amenities in a tighter footprint.
Parking: Only 21 spaces, so it fills earlier in the day despite being less busy once you're on the sand.
Local tip: Good pick for an early swim before the bigger parks fill up, but don't count on a spot much past mid morning.
Get directions →More Atlantic Coast beaches
Coast Guard Beach
Eastham, MA · Atlantic Coast
A National Seashore beach backed by grassy dunes and a tidal marsh, with clean Atlantic surf and one of the Cape's most scenic approaches on foot from the parking area.
Surfside Beach
Nantucket, MA · Atlantic Coast
Open Atlantic swell and a wide sandy shoreline about three miles from Nantucket town, popular with locals for its bodysurfing waves and quieter, less commercial feel.
Jones Beach State Park
Wantagh, NY · Atlantic Coast
A classic Long Island beach with six and a half miles of shoreline, a landmark water tower, boardwalk, and a large outdoor amphitheater that hosts concerts through the summer.