Summer time is full of sunshine and warm weather. What better place to spend days like that than with your toes in the sand at the beach? The only thing is there aren’t many beaches nearby.
If you want to drive up the coast a little way, you’ll get to the Delaware beaches like Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany and Lewes. They are all beautiful beaches not too far away. The best one for families is Bethany Beach, in my opinion. It is quiet, small, with not much of a nightlife. There is a great diner called The Penguin, that is a must if you are in Bethany. My family has gone to Bethany Beach several times and it never disappoints.
If you can’t get to Delaware, there are a bunch of man-made beaches in West Virginia. Summersville Lake, Sutton Lake, Jennings Randolph Lake, Tygart Lake, and The Stuart Recreation Area in Elkins. These beaches offer recreational fun like fishing, camping, bocce ball courts, picnic areas, and most importantly sand and sunshine!
I personally love Tygart Lake. It is huge and surrounded by beautiful trees. You can go boating, tubing, skiing, jet skiing. The activities are endless. And, though many of the activities are a bit to old for my kids yet, it also boasts Tygart Adventure Lake with a number of floating inflatables for most ages.
One of the best mom hacks I have loved doing for the beach is bringing a small pop up pool (not blow up) and having a small pool area for your kiddos in the sand by your blankets and towels. That way, every time they get hot or want to play in the water you can have that right next to you. This saved me so many trips down to the water; you would not believe how well this worked for my little one.
Another great hack I’m planning to try soon is using a fitted sheet as a blanket on the sand. You only need a fitted sheet and four items that are heavy enough to keep the corner of the sheet up off the sand. This helps give the kids a place to play sand-free. At the end of your beach day, you can just pick up the sheet and shake off any sand and you’re good to go!
So, whether you are hitting one of the Delaware beaches or a man-made beach nearby, you can use these hacks and have a great beach day.
ANN BURNS is a Morgantown native, raising two young children with her husband, Drake. She writes weekly columns for The Dominion Post. Contact her at Columns@DominionPost.com.
