Kiawah Island Beach
Kiawah Island, SC
Kiawah is a private, gated resort island west of Charleston, and Beachwalker County Park is the only way in without a homeowner's pass or a resort reservation. Ten miles of wide, hard-packed sand make it an easy beach to bike or walk for miles in either direction.
Ten miles of hard-packed, bikeable sand is hard to match anywhere near Charleston, though Beachwalker Park is the only public way in and its lot does fill on a summer weekend.
How we score beachesThe hard-packed sand near low tide is firm enough to bike the whole stretch. Rent from a shop near the park entrance rather than hauling your own down from the lot.
Beachwalker Park charges by season, from $5 in winter up to $20 on summer weekends. Walk-ins and cyclists get in free.
A boardwalk crosses the dunes from the park's lot straight to the sand, flat enough for strollers. The beach itself is hard-packed enough near the water to be manageable for wheelchairs at low tide.
Dogs must be leashed most of the year, but are allowed off leash, with the owner in control and a leash on hand, from October 16 through February 28.
Water climbs into the low 80s by August, alongside the same hurricane season, June through November, that affects the rest of the Lowcountry. Winter's off-leash dog season and thinner crowds make it a different, quieter beach entirely.
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.