• Introduction
• Best Family Beaches
• Best Natural Wonder Beaches
• Best Scene Beaches
• Best Romantic Beaches
• Best Secluded Beaches
• Best Beach Cities and Towns
• Best Vintage Beaches
• Best Beach Eats and Bars
• Best Beach Tunes and Movies

Best Scene Beaches

Sun- and star-seekers alike haunt these high-profile sands.

Fire Island, NY
Sand Color Cedarwood 
Length 2 miles
Average Summer Water Temp 69
Location 60 miles E of NYC
It’s telling that so many hardened New Yorkers describe Fire Island as magical. The placid barrier island teems with lush gardens, timid deer, and the rarest creatures of all: high-powered Gothamites relaxing. Cars are restricted, so beachgoers use old-fashioned wagons to tote luggage and groceries around the 32-mile-long island. Boardwalks wind through the sunken forest to areas like The Pines and Cherry Grove (both dominated by a gay crowd), and to the more mixed northern and southern tips.

If you love this beach, try Montauk’s Ditch Plains Beach for its chic end-of-the-world vibe.
 
South Beach, FL
Sand Color Flour-white 
Length 1 mile
Average Summer Water Temp 78
In SoBe, bikini-clad hipsters mingle with half-naked rollerbladers at celebrity-packed parties that spill onto the sand from the many swanky beach-facing hotels. South Beach remains the place for the bronzed and beautiful. But the beach is only part of the appeal, thanks to non-stop action offered up at the restaurants, hotels, and bars lining Ocean Drive’s Art Deco strip.

If you love this beach, try Fort Lauderdale’s Central Beach for a similar, though admittedly less glam, scene.

Main Beach, East Hampton, NY
Sand Color Sea Oat
Length 300 feet
Average Summer Water Temp 71
Location 105 miles E of New York City
The Hamptons are known for A-list parties and well-heeled residents. But you don’t have to be famous to access the same waters that Martha and Diddy swim in. The crisp Atlantic surf and rolling dunes are pristine backdrops for star-watching. 

If you love this beach, try Mecox Beach in Bridgehampton.

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