Busiest Beaches for Fourth of July

John Munchillo/AP Photo

Headed to the beach to celebrate July 4 today? With the holiday falling mid-week, many have opted out of weekend getaways and instead will take in Independence Day's pleasures - including the beach - closer to home. Plus, record-breaking heat around much of the county means fellow revelers will likely be looking for a body of water to help them cool off.

So which beach is the Fourth of July's busiest? The folks at foursquare crunched the data - in this case, the beaches with the biggest spike in check-ins on July 4 last year compared to the week prior - to come up with this list.

Best Small-Town July 4 Celebrations

Top 10 Cities for Fireworks

While Brooklyn's Coney Island and its famous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was enough to get it to the no. 2 spot, there's a beach in the Midwest that overtook it for no. 1. And while Florida in one of the nation's top spots for beaches all year long, only one Sunshine State stretch of sand made the list this Independence Day.

Oh, and the beaches of California? Not one of the 840-mile coastline cracked the Top 10.

If you're headed to the nation's busiest beaches today, get there early to claim your blanket's space in the sand. Pack up the cooler, sunscreen and badminton set and make nice with your neighbors.

Top beaches for July 4:

  1. North Avenue Beach (Chicago, Ill.)
  2. Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
  3. Asbury Park Boardwalk (Asbury Park, N.J.)
  4. Folly Beach (Folly Beach, S.C.)
  5. Alki Beach Park (Seattle, Wash.)
  6. Jones Beach State Park (Wantagh, N.Y.)
  7. Ala Moana Beach Park (Honolulu, Hawaii)
  8. Siesta Key Beach (Sarasota, Fla.)
  9. Bradford Beach (Milwaukee, Wis.)
  10. Narragansett Beach (Narragansett, R.I.)