Waters and coasts

42 bays, rivers, lakes and stretches of coast, grouped by where they are, with how many of their spots are worth the trip today.

Chesapeake Bay & tributaries

The defining tidal estuary of the mid-Atlantic — striper, perch, blue cat, and snakehead country.

Chesapeake Bay

The defining estuary of the mid-Atlantic — striper country.

43 of 48 spots worth the trip

Best now at Elms Beach Park100

Tidal Potomac

DC to Point Lookout — PRFC jurisdiction.

6 of 8 spots worth the trip

Best now at Chapel Point100

Upper Chesapeake

Susquehanna inflow, Bay Bridge, shallow flats.

3 of 6 spots worth the trip

Best now at Conowingo Dam Tailrace98

Patuxent River

Jug Bay through Solomons.

6 of 6 spots worth the trip

Best now at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum100

Mid Chesapeake

Kent Island, Eastern Shore, Choptank country.

4 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Romancoke Pier100

Lower Maryland Chesapeake

Patuxent confluence, Solomons, Point Lookout.

5 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Solomons Island Fishing Pier97

Lower Virginia Chesapeake

Eastern Shore, CBBT approaches, cobia country.

1 of 2 spots worth the trip

Best now at Cape Charles Town Pier90

Atlantic Coast

Surf, inlets, and barrier-island beaches from New England down through the Carolinas to Florida.

Delaware Bay

Lewes to Slaughter Beach.

9 of 10 spots worth the trip

Best now at Slaughter Beach100

Jersey Shore

New Jersey's Atlantic beaches from Sandy Hook through Barnegat.

4 of 8 spots worth the trip

Best now at Belmar80

Long Island

The ocean beaches of Long Island, New York, from Jones Beach to Montauk.

3 of 8 spots worth the trip

Best now at Ditch Plains Beach80

Maryland Atlantic

Assateague, Ocean City inlet.

6 of 6 spots worth the trip

Best now at Public Landing Beach100

Delaware Atlantic

Cape Henlopen, Indian River Inlet, Fenwick.

2 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Fenwick Island92

Grand Strand

South Carolina's Myrtle Beach coast and the Waccamaw Neck.

5 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Myrtle Beach100

Southeast Florida

The Gold Coast Atlantic beaches from Palm Beach through Miami.

5 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Haulover Beach Park98

First Coast

Northeast Florida's Atlantic shore — Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and the Volusia beaches.

5 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at St. Augustine Beach100

Virginia Atlantic

Chincoteague to Rudee Inlet.

4 of 4 spots worth the trip

Best now at Sandbridge Beach100

Cape Cod

The outer beaches and bay shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

1 of 4 spots worth the trip

Best now at Cape Cod Canal91

Crystal Coast

North Carolina's central coast around Bogue Banks and Cape Lookout.

4 of 4 spots worth the trip

Best now at Atlantic Beach90

Space Coast

Florida's Brevard County Atlantic shore — Cocoa Beach to Sebastian Inlet.

2 of 4 spots worth the trip

Best now at Cocoa Beach100

Connecticut Shoreline

Long Island Sound beaches and state parks along the Connecticut coast.

3 of 3 spots worth the trip

Best now at Calf Pasture Beach92

Outer Banks

North Carolina's barrier-island chain from Nags Head to Ocracoke.

3 of 3 spots worth the trip

Best now at Cape Hatteras National Seashore80

Cape Fear Coast

The beaches around Wilmington, North Carolina — Wrightsville to Kure.

3 of 3 spots worth the trip

Best now at Wrightsville Beach94

Gulf Coast

The Gulf of Mexico shore — the Florida Panhandle, the Mississippi and Alabama coasts, and the Texas beaches.

Southwest Florida Gulf Coast

Florida's Gulf shore from Tampa Bay south through Naples.

7 of 7 spots worth the trip

Best now at St. Pete Beach100

Upper Texas Coast

The Galveston and Bolivar shore plus the Brazoria and Jefferson beaches.

6 of 7 spots worth the trip

Best now at Galveston Seawall94

Emerald Coast

Florida's Panhandle Gulf coast from Pensacola to Apalachicola.

6 of 6 spots worth the trip

Best now at Pensacola Beach100

Coastal Bend

The Corpus Christi coast — Mustang and Padre Island through the Coastal Bend.

2 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Padre Island National Seashore98

Alabama Gulf Coast

Alabama's Gulf shore — Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Dauphin Island.

4 of 4 spots worth the trip

Best now at Gulf Shores Public Beach98

Mississippi Gulf Coast

The Mississippi Sound beaches from Bay St. Louis to Biloxi.

4 of 4 spots worth the trip

Best now at Biloxi Beach100

Pacific Coast

The West Coast surf from San Diego up through the Pacific Northwest.

San Diego Coast

San Diego County's Pacific beaches from Oceanside to Imperial Beach.

1 of 7 spots worth the trip

Best now at Imperial Beach74

Orange County Coast

Orange County's surf from Seal Beach to San Clemente.

2 of 6 spots worth the trip

Best now at Doheny76

California Central Coast

The Central Coast from Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay through San Luis Obispo County.

4 of 6 spots worth the trip

Best now at Santa Cruz Main Beach100

Oregon Coast

Oregon's Pacific beaches and bays from the North Coast to Gold Beach.

0 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Gold Beach58

Washington Coast

Washington's outer coast from Grays Harbor to La Push.

0 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Ocean Shores32

Los Angeles Coast

The L.A. County shore — Santa Monica, the South Bay, and Malibu.

4 of 4 spots worth the trip

Best now at Redondo Beach92

Great Lakes

Shore access on the inland seas — filter each lake by state.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan shore access across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

5 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Marquette Park Beach100

Lake Erie

Lake Erie shore access across Ohio and Pennsylvania.

2 of 3 spots worth the trip

Best now at Sims Park Beach90

Hawaii

Shore fishing on the Hawaiian islands.

Oahu

Shore fishing around Oahu, from Waikiki to the North Shore.

0 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Waikiki Beach57

Kauai

Shore fishing around Kauai's north and south coasts.

3 of 3 spots worth the trip

Best now at Salt Pond Beach Park100

Non-tidal freshwater

Smallmouth on the upper Potomac, walleye and muskie in Deep Creek, put-and-take trout on the Gunpowder and Savage.

Maryland Trout Streams

Gunpowder, Savage, Patapsco — cold water.

3 of 6 spots worth the trip

Best now at Gunpowder Falls100

Upper Potomac

Above Great Falls — smallmouth water.

4 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at North Branch Potomac River79

Maryland Reservoirs

Watershed lakes near Baltimore and the DC suburbs.

2 of 5 spots worth the trip

Best now at Prettyboy Reservoir76

Deep Creek Lake

Maryland's largest freshwater lake.

1 of 1 spot worth the trip

Best now at Deep Creek Lake73