Walkable beach towns?

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by GrimbusNJ

Hm, I'm not actually familiar with what a Chautaqua retreat is.

I think one of the main charms of Ocean Grove to me is that, even if its population swells in summer, it is a real town (well, not an independent town - it is now part of Neptune Township, NJ) with a substantial year-round population. It has an incredible sense of place and a substantial built heritage - AND it's literally next to the downtown of Asbury Park, which makes for a great contrast and makes up for the fact that OG's a dry town.

OG is a part the legacy of the chautauqua movement, which was very popular and famous in the late 1800s-early 1900s.

i grew up near the lakeside chautauqua, so when i first went to AP/OG as a teen, it was nothing new to me! i certainly appreciate them a lot more now as an adult:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st...ry_Chautauquas

[mello]

San Diego County beaches have a higher percentage of days that are in the very swimmable range of 69-72 (when compared to Orange and LA County) and topping out at a rare 74 degree water temp day. In the 120 days of June through Sept we get 60 to 90 days in that range depending on the year. This past summer was incredible pretty warm all summer long and even in to mid October.

Nice pics Leo I wish Pacific Beach had more office space so we could get a little bit of that "Silicon Beach" thing going here with tech companies clustering by the coast. Santa Monica and Venice have quite a bit of square footage within 1.5 miles of the beach.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Love that you went down there as a kid!

But I am a bit surprised, because I'm very used to Québécoise in big numbers throughout midcoast Maine, but not all the way down to basically the Mass border. Was this in the late 80s? That was probably peak trashiness level for Hampton Beach; they've cleaned it up quite a bit now and it feels a lot more like Ogunquit and York Beach.

I was there in August, the strip along the beach is still pretty cheesy. It has its place...filtering away the trashy folks away from quieter beaches like Ogonquit and York. My eyes were blinded by some middle-aged guy with a paunch in a black speedo in McDonalds.

[gtbassett]

I gotta say that I think San Francisco is the most underrated walkable beach town in California. Take the N Judah line down to the beach, walk along Judah to all the shops and restaurants right there. On a nice September day it can get up to the 90s on the beach with picturesque views and great (if not challenging) surf.

Also, Bolinas is awesome and super walkable/bikeable. It's tiny, but it's got a great beach to learn to surf and it's tiny downtown is super cute.

[Larry King]

Originally Posted by gtbassett

I gotta say that I think San Francisco is the most underrated walkable beach town in California. Take the N Judah line down to the beach, walk along Judah to all the shops and restaurants right there. On a nice September day it can get up to the 90s on the beach with picturesque views and great (if not challenging) surf.

Also, Bolinas is awesome and super walkable/bikeable. It's tiny, but it's got a great beach to learn to surf and it's tiny downtown is super cute.

Been to san fran twice and had no idea it had a beach

[gtbassett]

Originally Posted by Larry King

Been to san fran twice and had no idea it had a beach

The entire western half of the city, including the Sunset, Golden Gate Park and parts of the Richmond used to be nothing but sand dunes. Ocean Beach is awesome on a nice fall day.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by lio45

In summer it's acceptable, esp. late summer (though really colder than Florida) but in winter you need a wetsuit, yes.

There's a cold current going down the coast from northern BC and Alaska, so the water is pretty cold compared to one would expect given the latitude basically everywhere in CA.

The climate on land though, in the south of the state, is damn near perfect by general human standards. Dry, sunny, and pleasantly warm/hot.

Yes and that cold water is also the main cause of the 'marine layer' otherwise known as 'June gloom.' Huge bank of low, gray clouds that hug the California coastline for much of June. Usually dissipates around noonish.

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Hold on a minute...you're saying that the water in California is cold? Really? Isn't California supposed to be a warm/hot place that people flock to?

And now you're telling us that the water is cold?

Not sure if you're serious, but there is a difference between "water temperature" and "air temperature".

And if anyone thinks ALL of California is warm/hot ALL year round, then they're in for a rude surprise.

But coastal So Cal is pleasant most of the year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Not sure if you're serious, but there is a difference between "water temperature" and "air temperature".

And if anyone thinks ALL of California is warm/hot ALL year round, then they're in for a rude surprise.

But coastal So Cal is pleasant most of the year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate

Exactly. People forget that there are places in California that average 500 inches of snow a year and get down to -15, which interestingly, is not too far from the place which gets up to 130 in summer.

The reason why the ocean waters in California are relatively cold (72 - 75 degrees in summer) is the same reason why we have great surfing here. The ocean floor is pretty deep almost immediately off shore.. you would be underwater in about 50 feet

[fflint]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Exactly. People forget that there are places in California that average 500 inches of snow a year and get down to -15, which interestingly, is not too far from the place which gets up to 130 in summer.

The reason why the ocean waters in California are relatively cold (72 - 75 degrees in summer) is the same reason why we have great surfing here. The ocean floor is pretty deep almost immediately off shore.. you would be underwater in about 50 feet

Northern California water temps average closer to 60 degrees in summer, because the currents carry water from Alaska our way. This past year, however, we got as warm as the upper 60s.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by fflint

Northern California water temps average closer to 60 degrees in summer, because the currents carry water from Alaska our way. This past year, however, we got as warm as the upper 60s.

true, should have specified So Cal for the water temps

[Leo the Dog]

We had a nice stretch last summer where the water was 75 degrees. Warm water brought up phenomenal fish. There was a moderate El Niño forming, which then dissipated. Now the water in SD is close to normal 59-61.

[TarHeelJ]

Provincetown MA...everybody walks or bikes there.

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Exactly. People forget that there are places in California that average 500 inches of snow a year and get down to -15, which interestingly, is not too far from the place which gets up to 130 in summer.

The reason why the ocean waters in California are relatively cold (72 - 75 degrees in summer) is the same reason why we have great surfing here. The ocean floor is pretty deep almost immediately off shore.. you would be underwater in about 50 feet

Originally Posted by fflint

Northern California water temps average closer to 60 degrees in summer, because the currents carry water from Alaska our way. This past year, however, we got as warm as the upper 60s.

Agreed with fflint. I thought that the Aleutian-originating California Current had more to do with our cold waters (I'd say more like 66-70 in SaMo Bay, on average) than the depth.

[Kenchiku desu]

Laguna Beach is my home town. Sometimes, the cold water is made colder when there is upwelling from the deep water close offshore. La Jolla sometimes has the same phenomenon.

I would add the following walkable beach towns:
- Newport, RI, USA
- Marblehead, MA, USA
- Coogee-Tamarama-Bondi and Manly, NSW, Australia
- Matanzas and Miramar, Havana, Cuba
- Miraflores, Peru
- Pondicherry, India
- Kamakura, Japan
- Dinard, France
- Barcelona and Cadaques, Spain

[dc_denizen]

limited experience, but Sitges, Spain is the most perfect (and walkable) beach town I've ever visited. In the US, Coastal LA from Malibu down to Palos Verdes wins by a mile in terms of walkability and variety. Carlsbad to Cabrillo in SD would be a runner up.