The surfing isn’t half bad, either, especially along Shackleford Banks and Cape Point. Swimming, surf fishing, and beachcombing for shells are three ways to while away a lazy Cape Lookout day. And advance planning is necessary, because other than the five ferry landings, the islands are completely wild. The main advantage of Cape Lookout over its much more visited northern neighbor (Cape Hatteras) is the remoteness, a solitude born of a lack of bridges to the mainland: A boat is the only way to reach these unsullied North Carolina barrier island beaches. Photograph by Miguel Naranjo Cape Lookout National Seashore: Shackleford Banks Only six visitors at a time can visit “Love Beach” via approved tour operators such as Punta Mita Adventures. Playa del Amor, Marietas Islands, Mexico: A swim through an opening nearly invisible from the sea reveals what locals call the “hidden beach,” encircled by an impressive rock ring forming a natural oculus for the sun and sky. The park’s most isolated beach, located at Reef Bay, requires a 2.23-mile hike along a trail of the same name. The 1-mile Ram Head Trail leads to an unusual (and normally empty) blue cobblestone beach. The beach at Brown Bay looks out across Sir Francis Drake Channel to the British Virgin Islands. Those who crave more seclusion can hoof it to isolated strands on the south shore of St. Farther east, gorgeous Maho Bay is home to a luxury tented camp on a sliver of private land between two park sections. Cinnamon has a beachfront campground and cottages, and a water-sports shack where various boards and boats are rented. Trunk Bay boasts a snack bar and an offshore snorkel trail through coral gardens. John Island, a chain of pearly white strands that includes Hawksnest Bay, Trunk Bay, and Cinnamon Bay. Turquoise water, talcum-powder-fine sand, palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze: What’s not to love about the beaches in this Caribbean national park? The more renowned beaches are on the north shore of St. Virgin Islands National Park: Hawksnest Bay, Trunk Bay, and Cinnamon Bay The nearest other camping is in Nickerson State Park near Orleans. The only camping within the national seashore is self-contained vehicle camping at Race Point tents and camping trailers are not allowed. The long stretch of sand between Race Point and Head of the Meadow is open to off-road vehicles with a park permit. They range from the placid bayside sands of Duck Harbor to untamed Atlantic strands like Nauset to historical shores like Marconi Beach, where, in 1903, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi sent the first successful transatlantic wireless radio message between the United States and Britain. The national seashore portion includes 40 miles of strand, much of it backed by rolling dunes, with 15 different beaches, some town managed and others under the auspices of the Park Service. The cape is still that way today, a wild thing on the eastern edge of Massachusetts that continues to rebuff civilization. To naturalist Henry David Thoreau, who made four visits to Cape Cod between 18, the cape was a coastal version of Walden Pond, a place to discover and escape back into nature. Cape Cod National Seashore: Duck Harbor, Nauset, Marconi Beach The seashore is also one of the best places along the mid-Atlantic to board surf, with consistent surf throughout the year and fairly warm water in summer thanks to the Gulf Stream. Surf fishing has long been popular along the Assateague coast crabbing and clamming are possible in the shallow bays on the island’s leeward side. The Maryland side also sports several beachfront campsites, but you may have to share your secluded camp with the island’s wild horses. Only a small part of Assateague’s beaches are accessible by paved road, which means that sunseekers must either hike to their favorite patch of sand or obtain an over-sand vehicle permit from the park service and cruise down the 12 miles of beach on the Maryland side, where driving is allowed. Sprawling across a barrier island shared by Maryland and Virginia, this national seashore boasts 37 miles of white-sand strand within easy driving distance of several of the eastern seaboard’s largest cities. Assateague Island National Seashore: Atlantic Coast, Maryland and Virginia They tread a delicate balancing act between recreation and conservation of fragile shoreline ecosystems that nourish billions of creatures. From the coconut palm-fringed bays of the Virgin Islands to the chilly wind- and wave-carved Olympic Peninsula coast, some of America’s best beaches are protected within the confines of the park system.
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