"Put A Little Sand On The Tires"

After Reviewing Our Posts Covering The Race of Gentlemen

and the Bonneville Salt Flats, we were reminded most people don't get the opportunity to take their Hot Rod or other Classic to these locations to drive or race. But there are numerous beaches that allow you to drive from one end to the other.

Is There A Drivable Beach Near You??
Driving on the beach is a long-standing tradition in many areas of the United States, including Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, portions of the New Jersey shore, North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Georgia’s islands, certain areas in Florida, North and South Padre Islands and other areas in Texas, and several areas in Oregon and Washington, including the Long Beach Peninsula shoreline. 

In many of these areas, access to the beaches for swimming, surfing, fishing or just a day at the beach would be very difficult, if not impossible without allowing beach driving. But not all of these beaches are great choices for a Hot Rod or Classic, therefore you'll need to do some homework to avoid those with soft drifting sand, so choose wisely.

Here's the list we compiled including links to additional information:

• Daytona Beach, FL (including New Smyrna Beach)-Probably the most well known with wide travel lanes packed as hard as most streets.

Padre Island National Seashore, TX - Fifty-five miles of the beach at Padre Island National Seashore are accessible strictly via four-wheel-drive vehicle; 8.5 miles are available for standard passenger vehicles.  

Tip from the Park Service-If you do get stuck, use your shovel to dig yourself out or place your planks or carpet in front of or in back of your tires and try to drive out. Use seaweed or buckets of seawater to wet the sand to increase traction. The National Park Service does not tow vehicles and the cost for a private wrecker to come down island may cost from several hundred to several thousand dollars.

 We read numerous short posts on the topic of tow trucks "parked, like vultures, along various short stretches of impassible sand. $500 bucks for 2 minutes of work...and they don't take credit cards." So bring some cash too, because "a rising tide waits for no one".

Outer Banks and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC - While beach driving is permitted, there are various regulations regarding when, where and sometimes the requirement for ORV and 4WD. 

New Jersey - Home to The Race of Gentlemen surprisingly has 40 drivable beaches and most are so pristine, you'd never know you were in NJ (yes NJ falsely still has bad rap). Almost every beach has different rules. We found a comprehensive list on the NJ Beach Buggy Association website.

We're sure we've missed some locations worth sharing with our members, readers and followers, so we hope you will add them using the comments section.

So pack your gear, take a shovel, put a few planks in the trunk (in case you get stuck) and go "put a little sand on the tires".