The Rise of the Coolcation: 12 Breathtaking Beaches Worth the Chill

Traveling to cooler beach destinations has become so popular that it’s earned a name: coolcation. While southern Europe and tropical coastal regions across the globe have plenty to offer, they often come with soaring temperatures, high humidity, and even wildfires, such as those in Greece and Spain that led to mass evacuations. Many are also suffering from overtourism. That’s led many travelers to pivot from the hotspots, instead searching for more tranquil spots with milder weather for enjoying outdoor activities. 

Coastal areas in Scandinavia, Ireland, the UK, Canada, and more northern locales in the U.S. bring opportunities to spend time on beautiful beaches and enjoy a wide range of activities, without being elbow-to-elbow with others or enduring sizzling heat. It can also be an opportunity to enjoy another top trend: culture-first beach destinations (combining time on the sand with cultural attractions). While it’s not always the case, lesser-known, cooler beach spots can also provide a better value compared to high-cost resorts in warmer locations. 

If a coolcation sounds like something you’d like to try, your first question is probably where to go. Living in an area of the world subject to long, hot, and humid summers, I’ve been enjoying coolcations long before they were “cool.” These are some of my favorites for escaping the heat. 

Cape Cod typically enjoys mildly warm temperatures in the summer, averaging about 79 degrees. Along the Atlantic side, the water is around 72 to 73 degrees, making it surprisingly comfortable for swimming. Stay at the northern tip in or near Provincetown for easy access to the Cape Cod National Seashore and its 40 miles of sandy beach. Herring Cove is ideal for swimming with gentler surf, and it’s also renowned for its spectacular sunsets. 

You’ll find a wide range of activities and attractions on and offshore, including some of New England’s best whale watching and multiple lighthouses. If you’re up for a scenic walk, the approximately 1.75-mile Hatches Harbor Trail will bring you along soft sand and through marshland to the remote Race Point Light. The artsy town itself is great for people watching and exploring galleries, with plenty of shopping and dining venues from seafood shacks to high-end restaurants. 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore offers freshwater beaches that enjoy comfortable temperatures even during the peak of summer, typically in the low 70s. Stay in the small town of Munising on the southern shore of Lake Superior for easy access to beaches like Miners, just 15 minutes away. The roughly mile-long span is ideal for swimming, launching kayaks, and relaxing with a view of the cliffs. You’ll find shallow, warmer waters at Sand Point, just outside of town, and many others a short drive away. Plus, there are numerous hiking trails, more than a dozen waterfalls, and five lighthouses to explore.

The Mendocino Coast is renowned for its dramatic scenery, with frequent foggy mornings and mild summer temperatures ranging from the mid-60s to the low 70s. It’s generally considered to stretch from Gualala in the south to Fort Bragg, with some of the most iconic towns including Mendocino and Elk. For an especially tranquil “coolcation,” Elk is particularly ideal with several upscale inns, B&Bs, and private vacation rentals. While there are fewer than 300 residents, you can even dine at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant, the ocean-view Harbor House. 

Greenwood State Beach, the main beach, is just across from The Elk Store. Travelers come from across the globe to patronize this historic venue, which includes a deli where you can pick up delicious sandwiches for your picnic lunches, along with “Made in Mendocino” specialty foods and other local goods. The driftwood-strewn beach is perfect for picnicking, tidepooling, beachcombing, whale watching, and photography, with sea stacks just offshore.

Cannon Beach is one of the most famous in Oregon, located along the state’s northern coast. It can easily be recognized by its towering sea stack known as Haystack Rock, which draws many tufted puffins that breed and nest there between April and July. At low tide, it’s the perfect spot to search through the tidepools, with all sorts of colorful creatures to look for, from hermit crabs and sea urchins to starfish. If you’re here around the official start of summer in June, you can also marvel at the incredible sandcastles created for the annual Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest. It will be busy, but with nearly four miles of sandy coastline here, it’s easy to find a tranquil spot. 

Shi Shi Beach is located in Olympic National Park along the northern Washington Coast, where misty mornings often transition to bright days in the summer. This is remote wilderness, but you’ll find a handful of accommodations within a relatively short drive, like Hobuck Beach Resort with cabins and campsites right on the ocean. Both are part of the Makah Indian Reservation, requiring a $20 permit per vehicle. It can be purchased at the resort, Makah Marina, museum, and multiple other vendor locations throughout the area. 

When you’re ready for a trek, a roughly three-mile hike will bring you to one of the most spectacular, unspoiled stretches of coastline in the country. Shi Shi offers plenty of ways to fill your Instagram feed with remarkable arches and sea stacks in an area known as the “Point of Arches.” It’s a great place to watch for wildlife like bald eagles and whales, along with the occasional bear. You won’t have to worry about crowds or getting too sweaty out here, with the average high in the summer around 60 degrees.

Long Beach is a 10-mile stretch along the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. It’s not a place to enjoy swimming, but it is famous for surfing, albeit with a wetsuit, as the water is a chilly 55 degrees in the summer. Many enjoy long strolls, tidepooling, and watching for humpback and gray whales that can often be seen just offshore. There are also outstanding opportunities for hiking and biking, including the 15.5-mile trail that winds through the rainforest, connecting Long Beach to picturesque Tofino. It’s the closest town to the beach, about a 15- to 20-minute drive away, offering all the shopping and dining venues you might need.

In Newfoundland, the easternmost province of Canada, you’ll find many sandy beaches, including Shallow Bay, located in Gros Morne National Park on the west coast. It boasts more than three miles of powdery white sands, dunes, and pale turquoise waters, looking as if it should be in the Caribbean. You might be surprised to learn that it’s comfortable for swimming in the summer with the shallow waters warming to pleasant temperatures, a rare occurrence in the North Atlantic. The usual beach activities are popular too, including sandcastle building and sunbathing. You’ll also have easy access to many other adventures, from miles and miles of scenic hiking trails to the famous Western Brook Pond boat tour that will take you through the landlocked fjord.

The seaside community of Cow Head offers restaurants for enjoying fresh seafood and a handful of accommodation options. If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, there are many others in nearby Rocky Harbour and Norris Point.

Cape Breton Island is one of the most picturesque places you’ll ever see, with lush emerald mountains, lighthouses, picturesque harbors, and postcard-perfect beaches like Ingonish. Located just off what’s often referred to as one of the world’s most scenic drives, the 185-mile-long Cabot Trail, it’s a unique stretch where the sand washes away in the winter and returns with the tides in the spring. You can swim in the warmer freshwater lake, the cooler saltwater, or both. The area boasts abundant wildlife, including puffins, bald eagles, seals, dolphins, and whales. In between all the outdoor fun, there are many venues for enjoying lobster and other seafood, most likely caught that very morning and often complemented by live traditional Celtic music.

If you’re looking for a destination that offers spectacular Caribbean-like beaches (albeit quite a bit cooler) and intriguing ancient sites, there are few better places than Orkney. Known as the “Mainland,” it’s the largest island in the Orkney archipelago and boasts multiple Neolithic-era sites. That includes the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, and the Stone Age village of Skara Brae, widely regarded as the most complete from the period in all of Europe, with walls and furnishings still visible. It lies adjacent to a beautiful beach along the Bay of Skaill that seems as if it stretches endlessly when the tide is out. 

The island is also home to whisky distilleries. Highland Park in Kirkwall is one of the most popular for touring and tasting. The town also makes a great base, with a variety of shops, pubs, restaurants, and hotels.

The smallest of the three Aran Islands off the Galway Coast, Inisheer Island offers the chance to experience old-world Ireland, with locals speaking Irish as their first language, although English is spoken too. When disembarking the ferry, the first thing you’ll see is a stunning white sandy beach to your left, with brilliant turquoise water where Sandy, the resident dolphin, can often be spotted right from shore. Up on the hill are the ruins of a castle, while a famous shipwreck can be reached with a relatively short hike, or by horse-and-carriage on a tour.

Exploring on foot is really a must if you can, with the narrow roads winding through a maze of stone walls. Afterward, you can head to one of a handful of local pubs like Tigh Ned’s for a perfectly poured pint of Guinness.

Beaches and the Arctic might not seem like the most enticing combination, but in the Lofoten Islands, you’ll find some of the most breathtaking stretches of white sand on the planet. They’re framed by cobalt blue waters, often with dramatic mountain peaks rising above. Under the Midnight Sun, from late May through mid-July, you’ll have continuous daylight for enjoying all your outdoor adventures. The “golden hour” (around midnight) is perfect for gathering around beach bonfires while watching glorious colors fill the sky. 

Beyond the sand, the archipelago is popular for hiking with numerous trails throughout. When it comes to where to stay, book a rorbuer (a traditional red fisherman’s cabin). Many have been transformed into vacation rentals, complete with jaw-dropping sea and mountain views.

Cornwall is a peninsula in southwest England with some of the country’s most spectacular sandy beaches. Its dramatic coastline boasts roughly 200 of them, framed by a mix of powerful Atlantic waves for surfing and calm waters for a refreshing dip. St. Ives on the north coast of West Cornwall provides an idyllic base, home to four beaches that are within walking distance of the city center. Porthemor offers a long span of golden sand for strolling and beachcombing, but you’ll find opportunities for everything from paddleboarding to surfing. Plus, there are multiple award-winning eateries for dining on fresh seafood with a beautiful sea view.