Everyone loves a great, relaxing day at the beach. Watching the waves crash into the shore, the kiddos frantically searching for unique seashells, and catching some rays while working on your tan are the hallmarks of an epic beach day. But there is another activity some beachgoers love to partake in while sloshing around in the ocean, and that is consuming a nice cold one on the sand.
If you visit nearly any beach in America, you’re likely to find a group with a cooler containing their favorite drink and some red Solo cups to go with it. While most of America’s beachfronts have strict “no alcohol” rules, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any beaches in the U.S. that will allow you to take in a refreshing buzz.
In fact, we did some digging and found that some of America’s best beaches will let you consume alcohol on the sand, as long as you follow the rules. To compile this list, we combed through numerous sources that rank the best alcohol-friendly beaches. Then, we analyzed the regulations in each location to see what’s allowed and not allowed to figure out how to best enjoy your time there while sipping your favorite beverage, responsibly, of course.
Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts
Cape Cod National Seashore is one of the most beautiful stretches of shoreline in America. Created in 1961, the Seashore encompasses more than 43,000 acres on scenic Cape Cod. The scenery of this pristine Seashore is breathtaking, from the diverse wildlife to the sandy beach, where you can watch the Atlantic Ocean’s waves rush in. There’s also history at the Seashore. This is the site of Marconi Station, which was home to the first public two-way transatlantic radio transmission, and the beachfront is framed by Doane Rock, a glacial erect that’s between 12,000 and 18,000 years old.
With all of the beautiful scenery and history, you will definitely want to spend a day at Cape Cod National Seashore. And in fact, you can do so with a beer in your hand. That is possible to do, but the Seashore has a lot of overlapping rules that you may need to know first before cracking open a cold one. For starters, each town whose boundaries overlap the Seashore has its own alcohol regulations. For example, Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet prohibits alcohol consumption during the summer (May 20 through October 1), and the town of Falmouth doesn’t allow drinking on the beach at all.