Coast-to-coast-to-coast: Summer at America's National Sea (and Lake)shores

Your idea of a U.S. National Park might look like Yosemite: peaks of gray granite surrounded by a deep green forested valley. Or it might bring to mind Yellowstone, with its geysers and bison.

But, tucked along America’s ocean shores and Great Lakes is another kind of National Park: The National Seashores and Lakeshores.

These 13 parks occupy a special niche in the National Park System—a place where the country has set aside beaches and their immediate surrounds for the enjoyment and benefit of people. They can be found along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, and Pacific.

Either lightly developed or totally undeveloped, these places protect beaches in their most natural state. They make great places to roll out a towel and umbrella, venture out on hiking trails, or try to spot wildlife and catch fish.

So, if the beach calls to you this summer, consider something a little wilder and a little further away from the crowds. Here are three standouts.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Empire, Mich.

A beach as it is seen from high up on a sand dune. A blue lake abuts the beach. — Looking down to Lake Michigan from Sleeping Bear Dunes- which rise more than 400 feet above.

Breathtaking views. Heartbreaking lore. That potent combination makes Sleeping Bear Dunes one of the great gems of the Great Lakes.

Standing some 450 feet above Lake Michigan in Michigan’s northwest Lower Peninsula, the sand dunes of this National Lakeshore are iconic, reproduced in canvas paintings, postcards and coffee table books.

Sleeping Bear includes 35 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and two Manitou Islands for 111 square miles of total parkland.

It takes the name Sleeping Bear from a legend told by the Ojibwe people, who are native to the area.

As the story goes, a mother black bear and her two cubs were fleeing a forest fire and decided to swim across Lake Michigan to escape it. On the way, the cubs drowned. The mother bear, heartbroken, waited for her cubs to join her in Michigan. During her vigil, she fell asleep along the shore, where the dunes covered her body. To honor her loss, the Creator raised two islands in the lake—the Manitous—to represent her cubs.

The islands are visible from the top of the dunes and are popular with local anglers for the salmon and trout found in the waters nearby.

Another popular activity in the park is descending—and then scaling—the dunes at the Pierce Stocking Drive, overlook No. 9. If you want to try your hand at the climb, beware.

The trip down is quick as the shore and azure waters of Lake Michigan rush up at you.

But, the climb back up over shifting sands is intense, lasting anywhere from about 15 minutes to multiple hours, depending on your fitness. Bring water and heed the warning signs about park ranger rescues, which can be difficult and cost a visitor more than $1,000.

Padre Island National Seashore

Corpus Christi, Texas

Looking out toward a sunrise from a beach. — Sunrise at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas.

You’ve probably heard of South Padre Island, Texas. A redneck riviera/spring break haven, the wildlife there is mostly clad in bikinis and fishing shirts, soundtracked by Morgan Wallen.

You may not have heard of its northern neighbor, Padre Island. This 113-mile long Lone Star island features wildlife as varied as whitetailed deer and sea turtles, soundtracked by the songs of Eastern meadowlarks.

Though the two are closeby, they’re a world apart.

Padre Island National Seashore is the world’s longest undeveloped barrier island, a flat and windy beach, grassland and marsh complex stretching along the south Texas coast.

Accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicle, the island is a respite amongst the cities and offshore oil rigs that crowd this part of the Gulf of Mexico.

Camping on the island *can* be magical. Rangers counsel visitors to drive down the beach until they can’t see their closest neighbor and pitch a tent.

This beachside solitude is a great way to unwind with a book or wait for the night sky to fill with stars. Fair warning: the island can be notoriously windy. So, stake your tent well and stow anything that could take flight.

Speaking of flight, Padre Island is famous amongst birders. Close to half of all migratory bird species in North America pass through the park yearly, making a pair of binoculars or spotting scope a must for all visitors, especially those trying for birding’s holy grail: a Big Year. Pay special attention to piping plovers, the little shoreside birds darting just out of reach of waves as they scan the shore for food.

For good and ill, the seashore is in close proximity to the rest of Texas. Visitors will delight in the seafood options found in Corpus Christi on the way or from the park. They may despair at the sight of oil rigs just offshore and heavy machinery tied to the energy industry trampling over the beach habitat of sea turtles and nesting birds. Texas is a big tent.

Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes Station, Calif.

Scenic, bluff-backed beach dotted with elephant seals, including a large male with a dangling nose and scarred chest in the foreground, and many mother-pup pairs behind him. — An elephant seal harem at Drakes Beach, at Point Reyes National Seashore.

To call Point Reyes a seashore is to call Shohei Ohtani a baseball player, the Eiffel Tower a building in Paris, or Starry Night a painting. True in the most literal sense. A million miles off the mark without adding adjectives.

This stretch of Northern California sand, sandstone cliffs, and headlands is simply stunning.

Monterey cypress trees bend elegantly toward the Pacific and its life-giving marine layer fog. Herds of stately Tule elk bugle eerily on the grassy slopes of the headlands. The beach itself is a dramatic slice of sand positioned between towering bluffs and crashing surf.

A little over ten miles north of San Francisco on a straight line, the trip up to Point Reyes from the city takes about an hour. Once you’re there, the 71,000+ acre park abounds with hiking trails, backpacking routes and plenty of views. Situated between Tomales Bay and the Pacific, the National Seashore protects a vast array of plant and animal species as well as picturesque California shoreline.

If there’s one sight you shouldn’t miss, it’s the Tule elk. Saved from extinction in the 20th century, the elk maintain a healthy population of around 400 individuals at Point Reyes. A fenced herd can be seen at Tomales Point, but try to spot the wild herds at Drake’s or Limantour beaches.

Drake’s Beach is situated along a bay, so the surf is calmer. That makes it a unique habitat where visitors can see Tule elk and elephant seals in relatively close proximity.

While you should definitely see the beaches alongside the Pacific: take warning. Riptides, large waves, and “sneaker” waves are found here. “Sneaker” describes a wave that breaks much further up the beach than normal waves and sucks people and beach toys out to the ocean without much notice. They can be fatal. Always keep a weather eye on the Pacific to scan for them. Hopefully your vigilance will pay off with a grey whale sighting, too!

While there, seek out the world-class oysters pulled from the cold waters of Drakes Bay and pair them with produce from the working farms that make Point Reyes one the nation’s only agricultural national parks.

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The National Seashores and Lakeshores are true treasures of America’s National Parks system. Make a plan to visit one this summer and ponder America’s Best Idea while you catch some rays.