How to Social Distance at the Beach

So this new crazy way of doing life has me thinking through so many ways we can still have fun creatively. One of those things for our family is going to the beach. I’m not a fear monger, but I also like to keep my family safe. I grew up in a medical family, so I know too much about this virus and what it can do to the body. However, my faith tells me to not live in fear. My personal belief is that I will always choose faith over fear. However, I also feel we need to use wisdom. While your trip to the beach might look a little different, you can still definitely enjoy some time away. So, how can we head to the beach and still be wise? We have some of the best tips right here. Make sure to check out our Top 10 Beach Hacks as well.

1. Research your beaches and pick one that isn’t crowded. I recognize that I live on the east coast, and we do have a more extensive choice of beaches here. However, do your research before you go and find a beach that is typically less crowded. When we would visit Virginia Beach, we knew about a small section of beach farther away from the city where it was so, so less crowded, and we actually had a much better time. There was even a public restroom and small snack area. It might be wise to even research before you book where you are staying, that way you know which beaches are typically less crowded.
2. Go early or late. If you are looking to head to a crowded beach, go at a time of day where it isn’t as crowded. We are a big Ocean City, MD family, and this beach can be very, very crowded in the summer. However, the beach doesn’t even start to get crowded until 10a.m. or laster and almost everyone leaves the beach to go up and eat around 3-4pm. I’ve gone pretty much every year of my life, so I know this for a fact. This is actually perfect for our family because my smallest son takes a nap most days and gets up at 3pm. So make sure to check out the “busy” times for your beach and head down when things are less crowded.
3. Walk the boardwalk during peak beach times. While everyone is at the beach, take your trip to the boardwalk for fries and ice cream. Just make sure to avoid crowded shops, and of course, make sure you are all wearing masks.
4. Book a lower floor. One of the worst closed-in, crowded places at the beach is in the condo elevator. This is one place I would avoid during this time, or if I had to use it, I would take it with just my family, and I would make sure everyone was wearing a mask. Personally, I would spray the air with my thieves essential oil in a spray bottle, but that’s just me!
5. Draw circles around you. If you get there early enough and draw circles at least six feet away from you, beachgoers may get the hint that you don’t want them sitting right up against your family. Draw a circle around your items, but draw several circles all around you at least ten feet away. Trust me, I’m a teacher and many of the people will actually use your circles. Most people like structure and rules, so don’t think you’re imposing. Even so, who cares! More than likely you’re never going to see these people again.
6. Order take in or curbside. While eating seafood out is a family tradition for us, many of our favorite beach restaurants are offering home or curbside service so this really isn’t an issue.
7. Eat on the deck. Call ahead and find out if your favorite beach hangout has their outside deck open and what social distancing guidelines they are following. Just make sure to take your hand sanitizer with you!
8. Talk to your kids before you go. It’s so hard for littles to remember the rules, so make sure they understand before you go to the beach that we aren’t supposed to touch shared surfaces, so just like we can’t go to the park, we may not want to sit on the boardwalk benches, or touch the railing going down to the beach.
9. Enjoy outdoor activities. Outdoor mini golf should be able to be done with social distancing as long as balls and clubs are cleaned before use. Also, any outdoor water sports like jet skiing should be easy to do with normal social distancing measures. Again, call ahead and ask them what their social distancing procedures are before you go so you can plan ahead.
10. Bring your own activities. It’s also a great time to go down onto the beach and throw a football, play volleyball, or other types of outdoor sports. However, you may want to bring some fun indoor activities to do as well for rainy days, since shopping will probably be a no go. Our family loves to play games, so this is easy for us. We love to play Trouble, Yahtzee, Rummy, so we always pack our games when we head to the beach.

This least is by no means exhaustive, but should help you start thinking about your beach trip in advance so that you can still make awesome memories with your family while staying safe. If you have other ideas, please comment below! We’d love to hear your ideas too!