You don’t have to leave the country to feel like you’re a world away.
The United States is home to a staggering variety of beautiful beaches, but some of them possess a unique and almost otherworldly quality that can make you feel like you have been transported to another continent. These are the hidden gems with dramatic landscapes, unique sand, or a rugged, wild beauty that is a world away from a typical, sunny American beach.
A visit to one of these spots can satisfy your wanderlust for an exotic landscape without the need for a passport.
1. Cannon Beach, Oregon feels like the rugged coast of Scotland.
The dramatic and moody coastline of Cannon Beach, Oregon, with its iconic, 235-foot-tall Haystack Rock sea stack, feels like it was plucked straight from the wild and misty shores of Scotland. The beach is often shrouded in fog, and the cool, gray water of the Pacific crashes against the massive, dark rock formations that dot the shoreline, as shared by Lonely Planet.
It is a place of raw, rugged, and windswept beauty. A walk on this beach, especially on a stormy day, is a dramatic and atmospheric experience that feels a world away from a typical, sunny American beach.
2. St. Petersburg Beach, Florida has the vibe of the Caribbean.
With its fine, powder-soft white sand and its calm, crystal-clear, and stunningly turquoise water, St. Pete Beach and the surrounding barrier islands on Florida’s Gulf Coast feel much more like the Caribbean than they do the continental United States, according to Outside Magazine. The water is incredibly warm and gentle, and the vibe is laid-back and tropical.
You can spend your days relaxing under a tiki hut, searching for sand dollars, and watching for dolphins playing just offshore. It is the closest you can get to a true Caribbean island experience without ever leaving the country.
3. Pfeiffer Beach, California is a truly otherworldly sight.
Tucked away at the end of a narrow, unmarked road in Big Sur, Pfeiffer Beach is home to a truly unique and magical natural phenomenon: patches of purple sand. The manganese garnet that washes down from the cliffs above gives the sand a beautiful and surreal violet hue, especially after it has rained. The beach is also famous for its massive, keyhole-shaped rock arch, islands. com shared.
The combination of the purple sand and the dramatic, rugged rock formations makes this beach feel like it is on another planet entirely. It is a one-of-a-kind and unforgettable sight.
4. Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan looks like the Namibian desert.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan is home to a truly jaw-dropping landscape. The park is famous for its massive, 450-foot-tall sand dunes that tower over the deep blue water of the freshwater lake. The sheer scale of these dunes and the vast, sandy landscape they create is reminiscent of the famous desert dunes that meet the sea on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast.
A hike through this sandy, windswept landscape, with the stunning backdrop of Lake Michigan, is a surreal and incredibly beautiful experience that feels a world away from the Midwest.
5. The Na Pali Coast of Kauai, Hawaii resembles Southeast Asia.
The Na Pali Coast on the island of Kauai is one of the most spectacular and dramatic coastlines on the entire planet. It is a remote and inaccessible stretch of coast that is defined by its massive, sheer, and deeply fluted green cliffs that plunge thousands of feet into the Pacific Ocean. The lush, tropical landscape and the dramatic, almost vertical cliffs are very reminiscent of the famous karst landscapes of Thailand or Vietnam.
The only way to see this incredible coastline is by boat or by hiking a very strenuous trail. It is a truly primordial and jaw-dropping landscape.
6. La Push, Washington has the moody feel of Iceland.
The beaches of the Olympic National Park in Washington, like La Push and Rialto Beach, have a wild, moody, and almost mystical atmosphere. The coastline is littered with a dramatic collection of massive sea stacks and a huge amount of weathered driftwood. The area is often shrouded in a thick, atmospheric fog, and the weather is cool and dramatic.
The combination of the dark, volcanic sand, the dramatic rock formations, and the moody weather is very reminiscent of the famous black sand beaches of Iceland. It is a place of raw and powerful beauty.
7. Cumberland Island, Georgia is a wild and untouched paradise.
A trip to Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia feels like a journey to a remote and forgotten corner of the world. This undeveloped barrier island is famous for the herds of wild horses that roam freely on its pristine, white-sand beaches. The island is also home to a beautiful and gnarled maritime forest of live oak trees.
The sight of wild horses galloping on a wide, empty beach is a truly magical and unforgettable experience. It is a wild and beautiful place that feels a world away from the developed coastline of the rest of the East Coast.
8. The Apostle Islands in Wisconsin look like the coast of Portugal.
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, a collection of 21 islands in Lake Superior, is home to a stunning and surprising geological feature: a beautiful collection of red sandstone sea caves. In the summer, you can explore these intricate and beautiful caves, with their arches and vaulted chambers, by kayak. The beautiful, red-rock cliffs and sea caves are very reminiscent of the famous coastline of the Algarve region in Portugal.
In the winter, the caves are transformed into a magical wonderland of frozen waterfalls and ice formations. It’s a surprisingly Mediterranean-looking landscape in the heart of the Midwest.
9. The Lost Coast of California is a rugged and empty wilderness.
Here in California, we have our own hidden and remote coastline that feels a world away from the busy beaches of the south. The Lost Coast, in a remote and rugged part of Northern California, is the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the entire state. The steep and rugged mountains of the King Range plunge directly into the sea, making the area so difficult to build on that the highway was routed far inland.
A multi-day backpacking trip along the black sand beaches of the Lost Coast Trail is a true wilderness experience, a journey through a landscape so wild and empty that it feels like a different country.