There’s no denying the beauty of a fiery orange sun dipping below NYC’s iconic skyline–and thankfully there’s no shortage of spots around NYC to get a front row sunset seat and bask in the warm, golden glow of the sky. But while we do love a NYC sunset, a sunset at the beach offers some beauty of its own, and apparently the best beach in the U.S. for picture perfect sunsets lies not too far from NYC!
A new study by hospitality marketing agency, Gourmet Marketing, set out to uncover which U.S. beaches offer the best seat to a picture perfect sunset. They started out by analyzing thousands of TripAdvisor traveler reviews regarding beaches around the U.S. and then found the percentage of which of those reviews mentioned sunsets.
And, well, the travelers have spoken, and they named New Jersey’s Sunset Beach, located on the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, as the best beach in the U.S. for a picture perfect sunset! But honestly with a name like that, we’re certainly not surprised. And, if you ask us, sometimes we’re just willing to swap out honking horns for crashing waves to be the soundtrack to our sunset viewing.
According to TripAdvisor, 38.1% of reviews regarding NJ’s Sunset Beach mentioned sunsets specifically–to put things into perspective, 30.2% of reviews regarding Mayflower Beach in Massachusetts, which came in second place, mention the sunset.
Sunset Beach is located in Lower Township, at the very end of Sunset Boulevard. So while it’s often mistaken as part of Cape May Point, it’s actually not. Beyond your typical beach activities–you know, tanning, splashing in the waves, playing volleyball in the sand–Sunset Beach also offers mini golf, shopping, a grille (open seasonally), and the wrecked SS Atlantus—a 3,000-ton, 250-foot-long experimental concrete ship that ran aground during a storm in 1926.
There’s no need to mention that the beach is famous for its spectacular sunsets, but what is worth a mention is that beachgoers also love sifting through the sand in search up “Cape May Diamonds”–tiny pieces of quartz crystals that often wash up on the shore first discovered by the Kechemeche Indians. The beach also sees its fair share of whales from May to December, migratory birds in the spring and fall, and monarch butterflies on their way to Mexico from Canada.
And, lucky for us NYC dwellers, Sunset Beach is less than a three hour drive, making it the perfect summer weekend getaway! Gourmet Marketing writes:
Located on the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, it’s the kind of spot that gives you goosebumps as the sky turns orange behind the haunting remains of the SS Atlantus shipwreck. More than a third of all reviewers wax poetic about the sunset here, making it the clear winner. It’s less ‘tourist trap,’ more ‘hidden gem with cinematic vibes.’
The top ten best beaches in the U.S. for a picture perfect sunset are as follows:
1. Sunset Beach, New Jersey
2. Mayflower Beach, Massachusetts
3. Herring Cove Beach, Massachusetts
4. First Beach (La Push), Washington
5. Dubois Beach, Connecticut
6. Golden Gardens Park, Washington
7. Front Beach, Mississippi
8. St. Pete Beach, Florida
9. Compo Beach, Connecticut
10. Cape Charles Beach, Virginia
If you’re looking for some more beaches to enjoy a sunset this summer, these are some of our favorite hidden beaches in NYC, plus the best beach in the country is 2.5 hours from NYC!