Best beaches? New York City vs Chicago vs San Francisco vs Boston (state, better)
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Chicago has 33 beaches that line the 26 miles of open waterfront along Lake Michigan. Water temps are normally in the 70's or so from July 4th through September.
They're all sorts of sizes and have different activities.
* Cafes
* Restaurants
* Tennis courts
* Consession stands
* Boardwalks
* Beach volleyball
* Multiple beach houses
* Playgrounds
* kayaks and catamaran launching
* An 18 miles long trail linking the beaches
New York has the nicest usable beaches and best entertainment, though you need to get away from the city by a good margin.
San Francisco has the most scenic beaches by far, but they aren't usually filled with beach like activity and too cold and windy to be enjoyable most of the year.
Chicago has the most beaches next to the actual city that are usable, fun and extremely accessible, I don't think they are gorgeous or anything though and doesn't replicate the ocean.
Boston has a few, but I think it is should come up on the bottom for beaches. It probably has the best harbor/fishing seaside vibe though.
In that case, NYC by far. Long Island alone has some of the best beaches in the country. Rocky Beaches on the north shore, white and sandy on the south shore. Plus Fire Island and the other barrier beaches.
Even in the city, NYC has some underrated beaches.
Breezy Point in Queens is very nice beach & beach community, similar to some towns out on Long Island, although the catch is that access is limited to neighborhood residents/co-op members.
Midland Beach on Staten Island is a nice beach too, and the neighborhood has roots as a victorian era beach resort.
I personally think Coney Island is actually a pretty nice beach when it's not overrun by people; nice boardwalk, aquarium, great rides, and wide sandy beach. Although the neighborhood may be an acquired taste!
I like City Island too, but it's a little out of the way (for me at least), and it loses a point for being on the sound instead of the open ocean.
If including the Cape and the Islands, Boston can give NYC a run for its money for sure. However they're not quite as close as LI is to NYC. As Grapico mentioned, Boston is more of a fishing/seaside town vibe rather than glorious beaches. At least in the metro area.
So if we're just keeping it to the metro, I'd probably say NYC followed by Chicago.
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