Just for summer: 51 great beaches

 

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Nashville Shores water park on Percy Priest Lake has a new Kowabunga Beach, complete with four-story treehouse and "sprayground." Customers also can brave the waves in Breaker Bay wave pool, ride the Big Scream water slide and float down Castaway Creek, Tennessee's widest lazy river. 615-889-7050; nashvilleshores.com

— Recommended by Cindy Dupree, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development

Texas

Only a 15-minute drive from Corpus Christi's tourist-packed beach is Padre Island National Seashore, a 70-mile stretch of clean white sand and clear blue water. When you're swimming, you can see the bottom — a rarity where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Lone Star State. This relatively uncrowded and serene area is a great place for families and nature lovers. Besides swimming, you can fish, camp, boat and barbecue. And it's OK to park right on the sand. Just watch for nesting turtles and that pesky high tide. nps.gov/pais/index.htm

— Recommended by Ken Hoffman, columnist, Houston Chronicle

Utah

The season is short at Bear Lake Rendezvous Beach in northern Utah. But from Memorial Day to Labor Day, folks pack the expansive beach and nearby campground to enjoy boating, sandcastle building, volleyball and picnics. The water temperatures may be on the cool side, but the area provides a respite from the heat in the valley. Campers can enjoy shade provided by cottonwood, willow and birch trees. Boat and cabin rentals also are available. stateparks.utah.gov/parks/bear-lake/rendezvous

— Recommended by Tom Wharton, outdoors writer, The Salt Lake Tribune

Vermont

Carved by glaciers and hugged by Mount Hor and Mount Pisgah, 5-mile-long Lake Willoughby in Westmore boasts crystal-clear, usually chilly waters that reach more than 300 feet deep. The North Beach is frequented by families and lots of Canadian vacationers; the South Beach is accessed by a short trail and is clothing-optional. Cabins and camps line the east coast; state forest abuts the south and west. 800-884-8001; travelthekingdom.com

— Recommended by Jen Butson, Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing

Virginia

Sandwiched between the high-rises of Virginia Beach and the burgeoning vacation towns of the Outer Banks is a 10-mile-long expanse of beach unknown even to most Virginians. False Cape State Park and adjacent Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge occupy a narrow barrier spit — the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Back Bay to the west. Both offer a wild beach experience that is rare on the East Coast. www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/fal.shtml

— Recommended by Andy Thompson, outdoors columnist, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Washington

Reaching Olympic National Park's Second Beach, located just south of La Push (yes, the La Push of werewolf infamy), requires less than a mile walk along a worn cedar path before emerging onto driftwood-strewn sands facing dramatic sea stacks. First Beach can get crowded, Third Beach requires a more arduous 1.2-mile hike, but Second Beach is just right, especially when the sun's "golden locks" descend below the Pacific. www.nps.gov/olym

— Recommended by Crai S. Bower, Seattle-based outdoor writer

West Virginia