Tag: North Beach

Squeeze in the Sunshine: Best Beaches for a Late-Summer Getaway

If you didn’t have enough beach time this summer or want to make that last grab at fun in the sun, head to the beach. They’re less crowded and not so hot this time of year, but they remain the ultimate slice of summer. Here are some late-summer beach trips to consider:

Cabin at Mays Landing Campground
Cabin at Mays Landing Campground

Atlantic City, New Jersey: Back in the day, and we mean way back, from the late 1800s to the roaring ‘20s, Atlantic City was the beach. Come September, the beach is less crowded and offers gentle daytime temperatures ranging between the high 60s and low 70s with ocean breezes. The water temperature is a lovely 72 degrees – perfect for the activities you can enjoy here including surfing, kayaking and fishing. Take a break from the beach and stroll the iconic Boardwalk for shopping, eating, and salt water taffy opportunities. Book a glamping cottage or cabin at Mays Landing Campground to enjoy AC Beach!

Bar Harbor, Maine: Book a stay in a glamping cabin at Mt. Desert Narrows or Narrows Too to enjoy September in the charming coastal town of Bar Harbor and take advantage of several beaches here. Sand Beach, located within Acadia National Park, is a great little beach set between the mountains and the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy swimming and the views but stay for the sunset and the night sky show as this is a great spot for stargazing. Another beach to check out within Acadia is Echo Lake Beach – again, a small beach that is great for swimming, picnicking, and spectacular scenery in the form of the soaring cliffs of Beach Mountain.

Coronado, California: On a peninsula in the San Diego Bay sits Coronado, a beautiful resort town home to the historic Hotel Del Coronado and several beaches. Coronado Central Beach has glimmering golden sand, the Hotel Del as a backdrop, and is a great beach for swimming, boogie boarding, walking, and tide pooling. North Beach is dog friendly so if you’re traveling with your furry bestie, this is the place to get that last bit of summer sun in. Swimming, walking the beach and, of course, a good game of frisbee or fetch are best done here. Silver Strand State Beach offers two beaches as it’s split – spend some time on the oceanside stretch of beach and then head over to the strip of beach along San Diego Bay. Activities here include shelling, fishing (with permit), kayaking, and swimming. Book a glamping cabin or cottage at Thousand Trails Pio Pico to check out Coronado beaches.

Rockaway Beach, Oregon: Rent a glamping cottage, cabin, or ultra-cool yurt at Thousand Trails Pacific City and experience one of Oregon’s best beaches at nearby Rockaway Beach. Of course, Cloverdale has plenty of beaches to enjoy so close to home, but we thought a day trip to Rockaway might be fun. Rockaway offers seven miles of sandy beach with several access points along the way. This beach is great for rock hounding and tide pooling. Swimming is an option in September but the water temps are around 62 degrees, so wetsuits are a good idea. While you’re here, grab an original Pronto Pup – considered the original corn dog since 1941. Rockaway Pronto Pup is open on weekends year-round. In Cloverdale, beaches to explore include Green Acres Beach (for a horseback ride along the beach experience, visit beach-rides.com) or Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area with its soaring sand dune and oceanside stretch of beach.

Cabin at Thousand Trails Pacific City
Cabin at Thousand Trails Pacific City

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5 Things to Do in Los Angeles

Whether you go for the glitz and glamour vibe of Hollywood, the laid-back beach scene, or the varied attractions of LA, a visit to this southern California destination is a good choice if you want a mix of everything. Instead of highlighting 5 things to do, we’ll highlight five ways to visit to get that perfect mix. First stop, a glamping accommodation at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon, which is less than 60 miles from LA proper and full of beautiful views. Choose a glamping cabin or cottage at this great resort set in the high desert and get set for an LA Adventure, par excellence.

  1. Hollywood: Highlights include the Hollywood Walk of Fame which encompasses 15 city blocks and displays over 2700 stars honoring some of the greatest of all time, including newcomers Michael B. Jordan and Courteney Cox. Start your self-guided walking tour at Grauman’s Chinese Theater and check out the celebrity handprints and footprints in front of the theater. The Hollywood Theater, located in the historic Max Factor Building has the most extensive collection of Hollywood memorabilia in the world! From costumes to cars to props and personal artifacts, it’s all here. For movie-themed fun, visit Universal Studios Hollywood and take a tour to get a glimpse of what it’s like behind the scenes. And, of course, the not-to-miss is the newly opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures dedicated to the history, science, and cultural impact of the film industry.

  2. LA Highlights: LA proper has a tremendous amount of offerings when it comes to attractions – from museums to the famed Griffith Observatory to the Angels Flight® Railway. Open seven days a week, the Original Farmers Market has been selling fresh produce since 1934 but that’s not all visitors can find here. There are all kinds of food offerings from baked goods to meat, seafood, and poultry. How about a walk on the prehistoric side? Visit the La Brea Tar Pits, a sticky, tarry urban paleontological site that has fossilized bones of Ice Age animals preserved in the tar as well as prehistoric plants. Right next door is the LA County Museum of Art, worth a visit even if you just stop by to see the outdoor public art installation, Urban Light. Want to ride a funicular? Check out the Angels Flight® Railway – a 118-year-old funicular, or cable railway, that treats passengers to a ride up, or down, one of the city’s steepest streets. For some of the best views of the city and the famed Hollywood sign, visit Griffith Park Observatory which has, in addition to the planetarium, daily shows and exhibits.

  3. Beach Life: There are several “beach” towns to be found here which makes perfect sense since the Pacific Ocean is the backdrop to fun in the sun. Consider visiting as many as you can including Malibu, Venice, Santa Monica, and Laguna Beach; each offer their own vibe. From a Malibu perspective, there are several beaches to enjoy: Zuma Beach which is great for walking in the surf; North Beach at Leo Carrillo State Park is dog-friendly and if you walk the beach toward the park’s South Beach you can see some interesting caves and tide pools; for stargazing of the Hollywood kind and checking out the cool beach homes, visit either Broach Beach or Malibu Colony Beach; and for surfing or just watching the surfers, head to Malibu Surfrider Beach. Venice Beach has a boardwalk where artists sell their works as well as shops and eateries to enjoy while Santa Monica Beach has three miles of beach plus the iconic Santa Monica Pier with shops and restaurants, plus a Ferris wheel and roller coaster!
Marina Del Rey, California
Marina Del Rey, California
  1. Outdoor Life: Thanks to the sunny California weather, there’s a lot of fun stuff to do outdoors. You can stand-up paddleboard with the sea lions at Marina Del Rey; bike along Venice Beach; hike with scenic views (consider the Charlie Turner Trail in Griffith Park or Runyon Canyon, which is popular with the stars who love to hike); enjoy a private boat tour or rent your own canoe or kayak for a leisurely water ride along the canals of Venice; or stroll through the many public gardens which include Descanso Gardens featuring more than 600 varieties of camelias or the Storrier Stearns Japanese Gardens which features a Japanese tea house set among the traditional Japanese gardens.

  2. The Wild Side: Hollywood Forever Cemetery is the final resting place of stars from all ages, including Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone of The Ramones and Rudolph Valentino, America’s first movie heartthrob and mobster Bugsy Siegel. Guided tours are available for $25. Fans of storybook architecture will enjoy a ride past the Spadina House in Beverly Hills or the cluster of “Snow White Cottages” in Los Feliz to view these very unique homes. There’s also the giant Chicken Boy statue on Figueroa Street and the giant donut atop Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood for some great Instagram shots. For something different, take in one of the shows at The Bob Baker Marionette Theater, which is one of the longest running puppetry theaters in the U.S. All the marionettes are hand crafted and there are a variety of shows on the schedule.

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Last Call for the Beach

Even if you live in a climate that tends toward warmer fall and winter temperatures, there’s nothing like a beach in the summer. Before the weather changes, make it a point to hit the beach to get in a healthy dose of summer sun and summer fun.

Take in a tiny home at Tuxbury Tiny House Village in South Hampton, New Hampshire, and you’ll have several beaches upon which to soak up the last days of summer. There are five New Hampshire state beaches (Wallis Sands, Jenness, Hampton, North Beach, and North Hampton). Hampton is probably the most popular with its boardwalk, but Wallis sands offers views of the Isles of Shoals and Jenness is quieter. If these aren’t enough, head over to the nearby beaches in Massachusetts and take in a few more. There’s Plum Island Beach in Newbury that has the added bonus of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, home to over 800 species of birds, plants, and animals. Salisbury Beach State Reservation is a beach contained within a 521-acre park with swimming, fishing, and boating opportunities in addition to the 3.8-mile beach.

Long Beach, Washington, is billed as the world’s longest beach, or so reads the archway that welcomes visitors to this Pacific Coast beach. It is most likely the longest contiguous beach in the US, running 28 miles.  It may very well be one of the US beaches with the most things to do besides just being beachy.  There are many things to see here beside water and sand. There’s a chainsaw art whale sculpture, a half mile boardwalk, bald eagle and golden eagle sightings, and shells and sand dollars. To dos include kite flying, horseback riding, surfing, surf fishing, and catching a glorious sunset or two. Rent a yurt at Long Beach RV & Camping Resort and spend your days at the beach and your nights at camp with us.

Glamping tents at Marina Dunes in Marina, CA

Go glamping and enjoy the beach at all once with a stay at Marina Dunes on California’s Monterey Peninsula. Head down the coast (about 37 miles) and explore Big Sur and the iconic Pfeiffer Beach, known for its purple sand. The beach’s purple streaks come from the manganese garnet deposits that wash down from the surrounding hills. Another highlight of Pfeiffer Beach are the natural arches – of which Keyhole Rock is one of the most photographed. Pfeiffer Beach is best enjoyed from the sand and the ocean waters are known for their strong tides and heavy waves. Nearer to camp is Monterey State Beach or Fort Ord Beach, with its sea lions, seals, and shorebirds.

Although the state is at its hottest during the summer months, the beaches in Florida tend to be less crowded during this season and with an ocean to cool off in, what’s a little heat? An ideal place to soak up some Florida beach time is with a stay at a colorful cottage at Fiesta Key on Long Key or a sweet tiny home at Sunshine Key Tiny House Village on Big Pine Key. Both resorts are fabulous beach locations and have plenty of amenities onsite to enjoy beachside. An added bonus at Sunshine Key is that they have partnered with Keys Boat Tours, a Blue Star Operator, that not only rents kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, but also runs fishing charters and snorkeling tours opportunities from the resort. Another great beach on Big Pine Key is the beach at Bahia Honda State Park. Smathers Beach on Key West is another highly popular beach and Cannon Beach, found in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, located on Key Largo, has remnants of an early Spanish shipwreck just offshore.

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