It’s summertime and I can’t help it if I’m dreaming of a beach vacation. There’s just something about being near the ocean that is the perfect way to decompress. Exploring these top beaches is enough to have me planning my next trip.
So, spicy peeps, do you have a favorite beach?
We’d love to hear about your favorite beach spot and what makes it so special. If not, maybe this topic will help you find one. 
For those looking for a new backpack to gear up for their next adventure (a beach or otherwise), we’re kicking off the SysAdmin Day festivities early this year with a contest! You could win a Yeti 22L Crossroads Backpack!
13 Spice ups
Yes - the one I’m currently NOT at since I’m landlocked…
I do get to visit Orange Beach, AL at the end of the month for a well deserved beach break. Outside of that I love the Port Aransas stretch of beach on the Gulf of Mexico down in Texas.
3 Spice ups
Dauphin Island, AL. Dog friendly too.
3 Spice ups
At the moment, Coquille Point in Bandon Oregon. It’s not very good for swimming, but a group of harbor seals hang out on the rocks and you sometimes get puffins
3 Spice ups
craigrrr
(CraiGrrr)
5
Negril, Jamaica. Beaches themselves are not much to speak of, sand is rough, water generally pretty choppy. BUT, unobstructed western horizon sunsets and, most importantly, you’re in Negril, Jamaica.
3 Spice ups
Killiney Beach in Dublin is honestly perfect, Great for a sea swim and a view of the sunset
4 Spice ups
San Buenaventura State Beach in Ventura CA is probably the cleanest and nicest one around me. It’s almost always about 30 to 40 degrees cooler than where I live.
4 Spice ups
My favorite “beach” is one that is by a fresh water lake. I personally don’t like being in salt water, so i prefer the ones at a lake in the mountains.
4 Spice ups
Seaside Beach in Astoria OR. Where The Goonies was filmed. Used to be a 2 hour drive when I lived in Portland.
5 Spice ups
Jacksonville Beach, FL. Somewhat biased since I happen to live there.
3 Spice ups
The East End Beach in Portland, Maine.
Used to swim there back in the late 70’s early 80’s before they cleaned it up. Back then it was posted “No Swimming” because of the pollution and trash that used to wash up there. Young and Dumb, what can I say. But lived to talk about it.
3 Spice ups
James404d
(James404d)
12
Pismo Beach is one of my favorites for spots in the US. The clam chowder at Splash Cafe is the best on the West Coast.
Edit: Forgot to mention Siesta Key in Sarasota Florida. The sand there is so soft, it’s like walking on powdered sugar.
Still my favorite beach is in Barbados. I don’t remember exactly where I took this picture, but I know it’s near™ Hastings Beach.
6 Spice ups
ckcoder
(ckcoder)
13
20 years or so ago, my family would trek down the outer banks of North Carolina to get to unpopulated and clean beaches on Ocracoke and Hatteras islands. Something nice about being able to drive out onto the beach and setup camp far from other people. Cast a line to fish, splash in the waves, or just listen to the calming sound of ocean waves breaking without any sounds of civilization.
I’m pretty sure they’ve commercialized since then. So the experiences I remember probably no longer exist.
3 Spice ups
Typically the one I’m at, at the time.
3 Spice ups
I like a beach when it’s far from me and out of sight and mind
4 Spice ups
Currently, no. But I did have a favorite beach as a kid, Ft Myers Beach, FL. It still brings back fond memories 50 years later. While there, we usually went shell hunting on Sanibel Island, which was undeveloped then. Good times, even when the baby octopi came out of the shells and climbed up my arm, scaring the crap out of me.
5 Spice ups
There are a few on Lake Superior that I used to frequent a lot when I was living in a town on that lake. Now I’m just a hair too far south to go there as much. Other than that, not really a huge beach guy.
3 Spice ups
I’ve only been there twice, but this is one is pretty dang nice.
4 Spice ups
There is an Echo Lake Beach in Saskatchewan and we used to joke that this song was written about it but that is just an urban myth.
2 Spice ups
molan
(molan)
20
I am surprised to see mention of Saskatchewan in here. I know several really nice beaches in Saskatchewan (some with layers of purple sand in them), but I know most people don’t think of Beaches and Lakes with Saskatchewan
2 Spice ups
