Photos: the most beautiful beaches in the United States

It's summer time and everyone is looking for a place to cool off. To get you in the mood, we've gathered pictures of the most beautiful and fun beaches in the United States. Let's discover these stunning shorelines of the coastal states and great lakes.

This Outer Banks barrier island community is famous for its beautiful beaches, sea turtle nesting, pirate stories, shipwrecks, and more!

Photo: James Hose Jr / Unsplash

Golf courses, sea turtles, migratory birds, and plenty of activities await you on Alabama's white sand beaches overlooking the Gulf Coast. It's a great place for young and old.

Photo: Steven Van Elk / Unsplash

With more than 33,000 miles of coastline, Alaska has beaches of all types and colors. Among them is its famous black sand beach, formed from fragments of volcanic lava. If you don't want to place your towel on "volcanic sand", rest assured, there are plenty of other beaches in Alaska for you to enjoy.

An iconic beach vacation at Ocean City - you can't go wrong! With its beautiful sand and boardwalk, combined with signature Maryland cuisine (such as crabs), it is simply superb.

Photo: Kat Keeling / Unsplash

Between galleries, festivals, and other cultural activities in this trendy destination, the famous Orange County is also known for its nature and beaches. It has miles and miles of protected areas where surfers, swimmers, hikers, and cyclists come together to practice their activities.

Close to Savannah, this southern beach located in a small coastal community is ideal for all kinds of getaways. Whether it's visiting the still-functional 18th-century lighthouse, sunbathing all day on the beach, or visiting a piece of American history at Fort Screven, you'll have a fantastic day, guaranteed.

Cape May is a National Historic Landmark with some 600 restored Victorian homes. It's a great place to relax, with natural animal habitats, Northeastern cuisine, sparkling beaches, and outdoor activities.

Photo: Ryan Stone / Unsplash

This is one of the largest coastal parks in the state. Open to the public, it attracts nearly a million visitors a year for camping, fishing, and hiking.

Photo: Clay Banks / Unsplash

A pillar of American seaside culture, Miami Beach offers us flashy swimsuits, Art Deco architecture, and astonishing cuisine. Coupled with trendy nightlife, it's a destination that has it all.

Photo: Juan Pablo Mascanfroni / Unsplash

With its restaurants, breweries, and abundant nature, Dunbar Beach is the perfect place to get out and enjoy summer on the south shore of Lake Michigan.

Photo: Rohan Gangopadhyay / Unsplash

Nestled in Acadia National Park, this beach is one of the few in the world with sand made from cold water shells. Seventy percent of its sand consists of broken shells of mussels, sea urchins, and periwinkles. With the ocean water only reaching 13 degrees, it is quite cold for a swim but still very beautiful and popular.

Delaware's most popular beach, rated the cleanest in the United States by the National Resource Defense Council, has a lot to offer. Among other things, Rehoboth Beach has an iconic waterfront with many restaurants, shops, hotels, and other attractions.

Photo: Joel Demott / Unsplash

North Shore Beach, famous for its impressive waves, is ideal for surfing. Besides other other activities, such as snorkeling, diving, shopping, and hiking, this place is also perfect to relax and dream away.

Its 25 miles of white sand along the Gulf Coast are a great place to build sandcastles and relax in the sun. You're just a short distance from New Orleans in case you miss the hustle and bustle.

After extensive recovery from Hurricane Sandy, the iconic promenade of this beach has returned as an attraction for New Yorkers and tourists from all over the country.

The sublime Oak Street Beach lies on the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan, located on the famous Lake Shore Drive in the heart of Chicago. Popular and busy in summer, this beach is popular with tourists and residents alike, providing a brief escape from the hustle and bustle of the city center.

Photo: Benjamin R. / Unsplash

Misquamicut Beach is one of the largest beaches in the state, featuring hotels, cottage rentals, and beachfront lodging. Tourists can find restaurants and shopping along the main road Atlantic Avenue.

Besides its resort and award-winning golf course, this magical island off the coast of South Carolina offers much more. Located near historic Charleston, it has restaurants, shops, an animal sanctuary, and, of course, beaches.

Photo: Johannes Beilharz / Unsplash

This park, located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, has spectacular views and many activities for tourists. Among the charms of this 19-hectare park are its pier and its Grand Haven Lighthouse.

Photo: Morgane Perraud / Unsplash

This small coastal town has a picturesque downtown and a long, sandy shoreline. It's a seasonal refuge for puffins - impressive black seabirds - while also offering breathtaking ocean views with coves, ponds, and sea caves.

This beach on the shore of Lake Superior is black but the sand is not made of volcanic lava. Instead, it owes its remarkable color to chips of taconite (a sedimentary rock containing iron) dumped into the lake by the former miners. Though it may seem a bit odd, the sand is not dangerous for visitors and you can spend a great day there. At the same time, this peculiar beach shows how much we have impacted nature.

Photo: Brandon Cormier / Unsplash

With barely 20 kilometers of coastline, New Hampshire doesn't have an endless variety of beaches, but the ones it does have are fantastic! Hampton Beach was voted the third cleanest beach in the country by the National Resources Defense Council.

Photo: Stephanie Krist / Unsplash

Near the Galveston Historic Pleasure Pier, Crystal Beach enjoys cool Gulf breezes, beautiful sandy beaches, and fun for the whole family. Galveston County beaches are a popular escape from the Texas heat during hot summers.

Photo: Vashti Collins / Unsplash

A large public beach for families and fishermen, this state park has an elevated boardwalk for a pleasant walk among the flora and fauna. It's the longest in Ohio and attracts more than two million visitors a year.

Photo: Ally Griffin / Unsplash

For those who want to spend a quiet afternoon at the beach, this is the perfect place! Just a few miles south of the other major tourist destination, Virginia Beach, this remote beach offers a bit of peace on the East Coast. The area also has plenty to offer, including kayaking, hiking, and fishing in the marshes of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park.

North Beach in Racine, Wisconsin offers 80,000 square meters of beautiful sandy shoreline on Lake Michigan. It's the perfect place to enjoy good weather while it lasts!

With a wide variety of restaurants, bars, and cafes, visitors have plenty of opportunities to lounge on the sandy beach while enjoying the atmosphere of downtown Seattle, just 25 minutes away. Alki Beach, located on the salt waters of Puget Sound, is a popular summer destination on the Washington coast.

Along these 1,294 hectares of coastline, you can find numerous leisure activities and places to relax. The peninsula is known for its extraordinary sunsets over Great Lake Erie.

Photo: Megs Harrison / Unsplash

This  850-acre oceanfront is a conservation site and a spectacular beach on the Massachusetts coast. Conservation efforts have helped bring back the near-extinct piping plover to Crane Beach. To visit, you will have to book entry in advance.

Photo: Jack Ward / Unsplash