Call nowThe beach: a perfect escape from the stress of life and the challenges we are forced to face everyday. As fall brings cooler temperatures, it may feel like your chance for a beach getaway will have to wait until the warmer weather returns next spring. Fear not! There are many beaches where the temperature never drops too low for fun in the sun and you don’t even have to leave the country to find them.
Even better, these destinations maintain a fall calendar packed with festivals and other events to keep visitors entertained for the days you don’t want to spend in the sand. The following destinations are five of the best beaches to visit in the fall.
1. Catalina Island, CA
While Catalina’s beautiful shoreline is enough to draw in any tourist, the real appeal of Catalina’s autumn season is the plethora of festivals that the island hosts. During the fall, Catalina Island hosts the Catalina Film Festival, Catalina Wine Mixer, and Jazztax Festival all before the calendar turns to November. If festivals aren’t your thing, you can check out the Catalina Crossing canoe races. Catalina is perfect to keep the summer going with the average October temperature being a pleasant 75 degrees - perfect for strolling up and down the coast or even for a 30 minute road trip to the famous Santa Monica Pier.
2. Huntington Beach, SC
If you are a lover of nature and wildlife, then look no further than Huntington Beach. Visiting Huntington in the fall allows guests to skip out on the large crowds that usually visit the state park in the summer. Believed to be the best birdwatching spot in the south, local bird guides lead tours every Wednesday around the marsh and fresh ponds. On any given day, visitors may see herons, egrets, rails, woodstorks, shorebirds, ducks, bald eagles, and more. The average fall temperature is 77 degrees, providing an ideal temperature for birdwatching.
3. Virginia Beach, VA
One of the biggest attractions during fall in Virginia Beach is the annual Neptune Festival. The Neptune Festival consists of a full week of sand sculpting, sailboat racing, a volleyball tournament, fireworks, and more. Outside of Neptune weekend, Virginia Beach offers a bundle of other fall options such as a pumpkin patch, the Virginia Beach Craft Beer Festival, and haunted houses. Its most famous attraction is the Nightmare Mansion, which is open year-round.
4. The Beaches of 30A Florida (Gulf of Mexico)
It’s impossible to choose the single best beach from Florida’s scenic 30A highway, so why not make a road trip out of it and visit all of them? 30A’s Seaside, Seagrove, Watersound, Grayton, and Rosemary are all within 20 minutes of each other and boast some of the most beautiful sands and blue waters in the world. Outside of the renowned beaches, each town offers its own unique strip of restaurants and boutique shops. While 30A is one of the most crowded sections of Florida in the summer season, visiting in the fall allows tourists to enjoy the perfect beaches without having to share them with the large crowds.
5. South Padre Island, TX
As the temperature drops into the 80s in lower Texas, and large crowds of summer tourists return home, South Padre Island transforms into the ideal beach getaway for the fall. In addition to the wealth of historic sights to visit, South Padre offers fun fall events such as Sand Castle Days, a four-day festival where sculptors from all around the world gather to build the most outrageous sand castles you have ever seen. Off the coast, charter one of the hundreds of fishing boats South Padre offers for its world class fishing.
There is no reason to lock the boogie boards and beach chairs away because the summer months have ended! These coast-to-coast destinations provide something for everyone; whether it’s relaxing on the beach or exploring a local festival. Wherever you decide to go, plan and book your trip with great deals at Guest ReservationsTM.