Do you need it to be really warm? If not, head up to Maine/NH and do those beaches, plus some history and sightseeing.

If you've been to Ocean City, NJ, no other beach area can possibly compare. I would just keep going back to OCNJ and give your kids those great memories that they'll get no where else!

(Okay, just kidding, but only a little! Love OCNJ and can't help mentally comparing every other beach to it. No where else is as good to me.)

Bay head Nj nice beaches, cute town close to Point Pleasant for rides.

The bay beaches in Cape Cod are gorgeous. I love Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham. Probably too far for a long weekend trip though.

Hilton Head or Kiawah Island in SC or St.Simons/Sea Island GA

Tybee Beach or Edisto Island

Anonymous wrote:Long Beach Island in NJ or Spring Lake, NJ

+1 for Spring Lake; Sea Girt and Avon are also beautiful.

Long Beach Island in NJ or Spring Lake, NJ

Chatham MA, Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard.

Cape May, NJ
Sea Pines on Hilton Head, SC

What is your budget? Martha's Vineyard and East Hampton have beautiful beaches, but they are high cost for accommodations.

Got just the place for you! Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. It's a bit of a drive and you have to take a short ferry ride over, but we go frequently and it's not at all unusual to see license plates from DC, VA, and MD. It's too far for a long weekend but fine for a week. Nothing over two stories there, no fast food places, lovely and unspoiled (looks like Ireland in many spots). No rides because there is no commercial boardwalk but plenty of activities like scenic bike rides, sailing, fishing, kayaking, etc. The Fred Bensen public beach is great for families (toilets, showers, a snack bar). And best of all, unlike the places you mentioned above, there's a "there" there. The island was settled in the 1600s so there's a lot of history and New England charm.

Stone Harbor and Avalon, NJ are both very nice and family friendly.

Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head.

We usually take a week or long weekend beach trip. We mainly go to OCNJ or OBX and are looking for something new. I do not like OCMD or the Delaware beaches at all. Same goes for Virginia Beach.

Looking for good beach, some rides or activities and a maybe a day or two with a trip besides the beach. I do not like highly commercial high rise places and family friendly is a must.