Is it common where you live? I just checked Corpus Christi on street view and lots of cars parked on the beach. Is it really normal in the US?

47 comments

  2. It depends on the beach, some allow it, most don’t (at least where I grew up in North Florida). I’ve never done and I never would, it’s simply not worth the risk if the you mess up the timing of the tides.

  3. That is not typical, but certain beaches allow for or encourage it.

    Are you sure there is a parking lot where you are looking, and furthermore are you sure they aren’t actually just in a gravel or dirt lot?

  7. There are certain beaches that are designated for 4×4 vehicles. If you visit the outer banks of NC, specifically Corolla there are houses that are only accessible by 4×4 vehicles. It’s an 11 mile stretch that ends at the VA border. There are other beaches that allow this sort of thing as well, you generally have to buy a day or season pass for access and you drive out, park, fish, spend the day on the beach. It’s a fun time.

  8. The beach where I grew up on Maryland, a specific portion was for driving on only and you had to have a special pass. We always drove on. My parents actually will only buy a 4 wheel drive vehicle for that reason.

  11. Not allowed here. ( most of the Emerald Coast is state or National park land are hatching grounds for birds and sea turtles). Aside from being illegal, it’s just plain stupid. Can’t tell you how many idiot tourists every year park on the sand and end up stuck.

  12. I think there’s just a couple beaches in California that are legal to drive on, so no, I park in the lot.

    Gravel river bars are a different story though, I’ve done that many times.

  13. Oh Lord, no, the erosion problem was bad enough at the beaches I used to live near without aggravating it.

  14. No parking or driving on the beaches near me. Closest would be New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach. At least that’s what I can think of off the top of my head. I think you could park on the beach at Playalinda, but I’m not sure if it’s still allowed.

  15. In Florida there are a few you can drive on. Recent hurricanes and higher ocean level can make high tides a little iffy.

  19. I’ve only been to beaches with parking lots a significant (?) distance from the beach where the only way to get to it is a path nowhere near wide enough for a cat

  23. Depends on the beach and local laws. My city is on a peninsula and has two beaches. The North beach you can park on, west west beach you can’t and there is a parking lot.

  25. I live in South Florida currently and grew up in coastal Southern California. All of the beaches have dedicated parking lots. Essentially the only vehicles I’ve seen on the beach are the life guard trucks or beach service vehicles.

  26. No, we treasure our beaches and even with our car crazy culture wouldn’t dream of parking on them. Motorized vehicles are banned from beaches in Michigan.

  28. No, thankfully I don’t think I’ve ever seen beach driving/parking in California — apart from rescue or law enforcement vehicles. I don’t get the appeal elsewhere. I go to the beach to relax, not to worry about getting run over by some yahoo.

  31. Definitely not typical. Some places allow you to drive on the beach but most do not.

    I’d also like to see the street view because some beach parking lots look like sand but they are hard packed dirt parking lots next to the beach. They look a bit like sand because the soil is so sandy.

    A lot of places would get a lot of stuck vehicles if everyone tried to park on the sand. A lot of other places are super protective of the dunes leading up to the beach for environmental and erosion reasons.

  32. That beach in Corpus is unique in that there’s really no other way to access it except drive on it – the National seashore allows it and it’s 70 miles long. I was there this summer. My first thought was that it seemed crazy to drive on a protected beach, but there’s so much pollution in the form of “tar balls” washing up on the beach that the cars suddenly didn’t seem so bad.

  33. Some beaches do allow you to park on the beach (Daytona Beach in florida for example), but most beaches have a lot to park in.

  34. Unless you drive something with 4wd and the right tires you’d get stuck almost immediately. I’ve seen people try to do a U-turn across beach sand a handful of times and they rarely make it more than a couple feet.

  35. In San Diego, there’s no parking on the beaches (in fact, many of the beaches have knee-high walls in front of them), but if you go to Fiesta Island, you park on the sand. To be fair, I’m not sure there are any parking lots on Fiesta Island.

  36. The beaches I’ve been to FL have a place to park away from the beach because they don’t want people messing up the dunes or seagrass because they prevent erosion

  37. Depends where you live. You can get a permit to drive on the beach in Delaware mainly for fishing. Also places like Daytona Beach in FL. But it’s not very common.

  38. It’s not normal tho it might be allowed in certain areas. You won’t see it anywhere on the Calif coast, for instance.

  40. Some beaches allow it, in my experience most don’t, but it just depends. I have never parked on the beach.

  41. Depends on where. I have lived in Florida all my life and only found out a few years ago that some beaches on the Florida Atlantic coast park on the beach. But I live on the gulf coast near Siesta Key and all of the beaches around here have parking lots. I found it absurd that people park ON the beach.

  42. I grew up on the Cape and I don’t think I’ve ever seen vehicles on the beach other than ORVs (off-road vehicles) or other special use vehicles

    Edit: obv this is specific to Massachusetts, so other state’s mmv

  44. I’ve been to the beach in six states plus Puerto Rico. I’ve never seen anyone parked on the beach itself. I’ve only ever seen that in old photos.

  47. I’ve only seen parking on the beach at Daytona back in 1984.

    I usually go to the Jersey Shore, where most people walk to the beach from their lodgings.

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