Holliday Lake State Park Beach
Appomattox, VA
Holliday Lake State Park's beach sits on a 150 acre lake built by the CCC and WPA during the Depression, inside the Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest. At just over 255 acres total, it's one of the smallest state parks in Virginia, and the beach carries that same low key, off the grid feel.
One of the most peaceful lake beaches in the state park system, though its small size and remote location mean it's more of a destination for campers already staying nearby than a day trip beach.
How we score beachesThis is a quiet park even by state park standards, worth the drive specifically when a crowded lake beach elsewhere sounds unappealing.
A day use fee applies at the gate, and a spot is rarely hard to find given how lightly visited this park stays.
The bathhouse and beach sit just off the main lot, a short, level walk.
Guarded swimming runs Memorial Day through Labor Day, with posted quiet hours overnight for the campground just up the hill from the beach.
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.