Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • These Haircuts Are Going To Be Huge in 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere next year. Read More Next
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More Next
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    Lost Cakes of the South

    These simple and spectacular Southern cakes deserve a comeback
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See All Home & Garden

    7 Paint Colors We’re Loving for Kitchen Cabinets in 2020

    ‘Tis the season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See All Style & Culture

    50 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime

    Curl up with a classic!
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. travel
  3. 10 U.S. Beaches Where You Can Drive Right Up to the Water

10 U.S. Beaches Where You Can Drive Right Up to the Water

By Bob Curley
Updated June 30, 2020
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: David Tsay

From national parks to beach party hot spots, these are the best places in the U.S. to get some sand in your treads.

Start Slideshow

1 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Daytona Beach, Florida

Credit: Taarnes/Getty

Fun fact: long before there was NASCAR and the Daytona 400, people were driving on the hard-packed sands of Daytona Beach, which hosted its first auto and motorcycles race in 1902. A $20 pass will get you and your car access to the beach during daylight hours via ramps off Highway A1A in Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Ormond Beach, and New Smyrna Beach. Interspersed “no drive” areas mean you can’t set off on a day-long cruise along the beach, but families will love being able to drive right to their sunning spot rather than lugging beach gear across the sand.

1 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

Credit: DenisTangneyJr/Getty

It’s a bit of a process to get an Off Road Vehicle (ORV) pass for Cape Cod National Seashore — you’ll need to get your four-wheel-drive inspected and watch an orientation video, among other things — but it’s well worth the minor hassle for the privilege of driving along miles of unspoiled Atlantic coastline where you’ll encounter whales, surfers, and plenty of wide open spaces. With the right permits you can also turn your beach drive into a fishing and camping adventure.

2 of 10

3 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

Driving may be the most practical way to experience the world's longest continuous peninsula beach, with at least 16 of the 28-mile West Coast beach open to four-wheel-drive vehicles at all times, and even more when it’s open season on digging for razor clams. Locals have a bit of a love-hate relationship with beach driving, so obey the 25 mph speed limit and take it slow to enjoy the views of the sand, surf, kite-flyers and clammers, or park and pull out your beach chairs for a day in the sun.

3 of 10

Advertisement

4 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Oceano Dunes, California

It may come as a surprise that California — known for its car and beach culture — has but one beach where it’s legal to drive. Officially the 'Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area,' this 5.5-mile stretch of coast near Pismo Beach is also a rarity in that you can drive on the towering sand dunes behind the beach as well, an activity that’s usually strictly forbidden elsewhere. Both cars and dune buggies can be driven here (four-wheel drive recommended), and camping and horseback riding also are permitted.

4 of 10

5 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

East Beach, Rhode Island

Credit: gossamerthread/Getty

Even the nation’s smallest state has a big stretch of beach open to off-road vehicles. East Beach is among the most remote places on the Rhode Island coast, a three-mile stretch of barrier beach separated from the mainland by Ninigret Pond and accessible only via the East Beach Sand Trail from the tiny beach town of Quonochontaug. Self-contained campers can be driven on the beach in addition to cars, and there are 20 oceanfront campsites available for overnight stays.

5 of 10

6 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Padre Island, Texas

Only in Texas would all beaches be considered public highways — a quirk of state constitutional law that mandates “free and unrestricted access” to the beach. The longest stretch of beach road is on North Padre Island, where a 60-mile drive south of Corpus Christie on “State Park 22” highway will take you along the Gulf of Mexico and through Padre Island National Seashore, into an undeveloped and downright desolate coastal region inhabited by countless seabirds as well as coyotes and sea turtles.

6 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Silver Lake State Park, Michigan

This Michigan park on Lake Michigan is the only spot east of the Mississippi River where you’re allowed to drive on sand dunes, with 450 of its 2,000 acres of dunes open to off-road vehicles. Don’t have a dune buggy of your own? You can rent one in nearby Mears or join Mac Wood’s Dune Rides, which has been offering “dune scooter” tours to visitors since 1930.

7 of 10

8 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Island Beach State Park, New Jersey

Looking to surfcast on the Jersey Shore? Seeking out the perfect fishing spot is your ticket to getting a pass to take a four-wheel-drive onto Island Beach, and you’ll need to show your fishing gear in order to prove that you have a serious need to get onto the sand. This barrier beach runs between Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean near Tom’s River, with access just south of Seaside Heights.

8 of 10

9 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Outer Banks and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina

Credit: Radius Images/Getty

Long stretches of shoreline between Carova, North Carolina, and the Hatteras Inlet — plus parts of Ocracoke Island — are open to drivers with off-road vehicle permits either seasonally or year-round. During the winter, you can even drive at night on the beaches of the national seashore, where beach bonfires are permitted. The northern end of the Outer Banks is especially remote.

9 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Grayton Beach, Florida

Credit: David Tsay

The sugar-white sands of Grayton Beach are set along Florida’s iconic Highway 30A and adjacent to Grayton Beach State Park. It’s a prime destination for fishing, boating, walking, gazing out into the turquoise waters of the Gulf, and yes—driving on the beach — but there’s a catch. Only 150 beach driving permits – priced at $135 each – are offered each year, and there are strict qualifications that must be met, including possessing a driver’s license, proof of property ownership, proof of current property taxes, proof of Walton County voter registration, and current 4-wheel drive vehicle registration for the state of Florida. Eligible applicants are entered into a lottery, and if they are selected, they can purchase a permit.

10 of 10

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By @EatDrinkCarolinas

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 10 Daytona Beach, Florida
2 of 10 Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts
3 of 10 Long Beach Peninsula, Washington
4 of 10 Oceano Dunes, California
5 of 10 East Beach, Rhode Island
6 of 10 Padre Island, Texas
7 of 10 Silver Lake State Park, Michigan
8 of 10 Island Beach State Park, New Jersey
9 of 10 Outer Banks and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina
10 of 10 Grayton Beach, Florida

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Southern Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Southern Living
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Southern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

View image

10 U.S. Beaches Where You Can Drive Right Up to the Water
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.