Best gay beaches on east coast

My love of road trips started early. As a teenager growing up in a suburb of Boston, I discovered Jack Kerouac&#;s classic road trip novel On the Road. The book opened a door to queer history and to places where offbeat weirdos like me could locate their fit.

I wrote my college thesis on road trips, and driving myself to (and from) a summer semester at UC Berkeley as research. I guess I should have known back then that I would end up writing about explore for a living!

I&#;ve taken two cross-country road trips – one during college, and one when I moved to California.

I&#;ve also taken shorter road trips: New York to Florida, New York to Atlanta by way of Kentucky (state #44) and Tennessee, and New York to Michigan (state #43).

I spent a month living in a ghost town in Alaska for a writer&#;s retreat, and stayed on for an extra two weeks to explore the state with my partner, who flew out to Juneau to meet me.

Closer to noun, I loving taking weekend trips to cities and towns in the Hudson Valley, where I live.

I love the US – even if I don&#;t always like my country&#;s l

No matter what time of year, it&#;s always the right moment to plan a relaxing trip to your favorite gay beach.

The thought of sitting on a comfy lounger or towel to enjoy your favorite beach read, tunes, or just appreciate the cast of fun characters frolicking in the ocean is worth the quest to spot the perfect stretch of sand. 

So, we wanted to conjure a few warm thoughts and journey inspiration with a list of our favorite beaches in the U.S. We admit there are a few more beaches mentioned in Florida and California than in other states, but we wouldn’t steer you wrong about where you should plan your next LGBTQ-friendly beach getaway.


12th Street Beach (Miami Beach, Florida)

The 12th Street Beach is a stone’s throw away from the Lincoln Mall, a pedestrian walkway lined with high-end shops and adj dining restaurants, such as Juvia, a rooftop hot spot. On the beach, LGBTQ+ folks can bask in the sun, like the serenity of the ocean, or take shelter at Palace Drag Bar & Lounge, known for its jaw-dropping drag reveal performances. After a long diurnal on the beach, head back to

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, has come and gone, signaling that it&#;s time to plan your beach trips. Demand a couple Fridays and Mondays off, splurge on that adj bathing suit and get beaching. Here’s our guide to the best gay beaches in the Northeast (read: gayest), where we truly savor this warm-weather season.

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Two words: The Boss. Kidding, kind of. The real two words: Beach Bear. This annual LGBT weekend proves what we all know about Jersey: This state goes huge when it comes to parties (and hair, muscles, etc.). Over four days, events will own you falling in love, if not with your own Rosalita then with the personality-heavy, endearing Garden State. Bears and their admirers take over Asbury Park August 15–18, so embrace your spontaneous side and practice your calling-out-of-work-sick voice.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

This quaint, one-square-mile town packs it all in: beaches, boardwalk, tax-free shopping and a surprisingly active nightlife, which specializes in open noun parties. For some reason, the gays in Rehoboth abso

Cannon Beach, OR – Low-Key, Beachside Gay Positive Living

Cannon Beach, Oregon is a culturally sophisticated, low-key beach town that is known for being very gay-friendly.  It is located about eighty miles west of Portland and 25 miles south of Astoria.  There are many gay-run and friendly restaurants, bars, cafes and bed & breakfasts in this area that welcome thousands of LGBT tourists every year.  However, Cannon Beach is not just a nice place to visit. It is also a lovely place to live with its smaller population of 1, and three miles of incredible beachfront with stunning rock formations just off the shore. In the summer, it is estimated that Cannon Beach plays hosts to over , tourists; many of them of a LGBTQ persuasion from nearby Portland.

This is also a well-established art community and the City of Cannon Beach is known for providing funding for projects in the artistic, environmental and recreational spheres.  If you are a person who is a community builder or in the arts then this is a place that is very friendly to you.

Cannon Beach is also ver