Best American Boardwalks

[disneylanddork50]

Found this on Yahoo. I think this is really pretty accurate. What do you think?

>>Jake

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-23216035;_ylc=X3oDMTF1MThzY3NvBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDMjcxOTQ4MQRzZWMDZnAtdG9kYXltb2QEc2xrA2JvYXJkd2Fsa3MtMjAwOC03LTEy

 

The hot sun on your face, ice cream dripping on your hands, the sound of music mingling with the crash of waves . . . they're all part of a summer day spent strolling the boardwalk. Visit one of our editors' top American boardwalks and you'll see why their amusements, live entertainment, people-watching, and nostalgia make them tops for pure, unadulterated summer fun.

 

 

 

1. Atlantic City

 

 

If you love Las Vegas for its casinos and the Jersey shore for its boardwalks, you’ll delight in both in Atlantic City, home of the nation’s oldest (dating back to 1870) and longest (5.75 miles including the portion that extends to nearby Ventnor City) boardwalk. If you can pull yourself away from the attending casinos' slot machines, you’ll be rewarded with mini-golf, beach bars, amusement rides at historic Steel Pier, and free summer concerts. Forget what you’ve heard about AC’s sketchy rep, as the town and boardwalk have experienced a renaissance in recent years, with new upscale casinos and shopping being added to the mix. One of the best ways to take it all in is by Rolling Chair, a canopied contraption built for two (and pedaled by someone else), with salt water taffy in hand.

 

 

 

2. Coney Island

Today’s most-celebrated amusement parks owe their existence to the pioneering rides and spectacles that turned New York's Coney Island into America’s premier playground in the early 20th century. Saunter along the stroller-friendly Riegelmann Boardwalk, which runs 2.7 miles from Coney Island to Brighton Beach, and you’ll see classic attractions like the colossal Wonder Wheel, the now-defunct Parachute Jump (aka Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower), and the rickety, wooden-railed Cyclone roller coaster, opened in 1926 and now operated by Astroland amusement park. While Astroland is slated for a glitzy, multi-billion dollar redevelopment that will inevitably destroy much of its historic and faded charm, the neighboring boardwalk – romanticized in The Drifters’ 1964 chart-topper "Under the Boardwalk" – will continue to age gracefully.

 

 

 

3. Kemah

The staid South is hardly where you'd expect to find a sprawling beach area teeming with a carnival atmosphere, but that’s just what you’ll find on Kemah Boardwalk, on Galveston Bay, in Texas. Whether you're in town to catch a Texaribbean cruise, or just for the fun of it, Kemah’s amusement park rides, marina, beach, and family-friendly activities should factor high on your local agenda. Bunk down at the Boardwalk Inn, a beautiful boutique property with water views and proximity to the concerts, restaurants, and shopping that bring visitors back year after year. You'll be thrilled you did, since, with rides like the Boardwalk Bullet (a terrifying wooden roller coaster that debuted last year) and new attractions like a 4-D Theater (featuring SpongeBob SquarePants), Kemah Boardwalk is poised to give the old Eastern Seaboard classics a run for their money.

 

 

 

4. Mission Beach

For summer fun in San Diego, head to Mission Beach where a popular beach strip is paralleled by a 2-mile-long cement boardwalk that stretches from the Mission Bay channel to the north end of Pacific Beach. The boardwalk is constantly jam-packed with with joggers, cyclists, skaters, and strollers, thanks to SoCal's near-perfect weather, and, after participating in a requisite beach-volleyball game, you should take a ride on the Giant Dipper, the old-school roller coaster in Belmont Park, before grabbing a bite at one of the boardwalk’s restaurants. You can amuse yourself with the games and crafts here until the sun sets, but be sure to stick around for the nightly fireworks display.

 

 

 

5. Ocean City, MD

One of the East Coast’s most iconic boardwalks always delivers fun family entertainment come summer. Dating back to 1902, the boardwalk in Ocean City, Md., is packed with restaurants, shops, amusements, nightlife, and hotels. Constructed of 100-year old oak, the 2.5-mile stretch is chock-full of historic rides like Trimper’s Carousel, the country’s oldest continuously operating carousel (it's been running since 1912). For some traditional carnival-caliber amusements, check out the Sling Shot ride that will catapult and bounce you around inside its chambers. And no day on the boardwalk is complete without slurping down an ice-cream cone – get your favorite flavor from one of Ocean City's many boardwalk vendors.

 

 

 

See 5 More Top Amusement Parks

[Fredlv1]

WHAT???? NO love for Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk? This list is a sham. How could they overlook the best and most active seaside amusement park in the country?

 

Fred of Las Vegas

[Sean Menefee]

Click on the link in the article and you can see SCBB was listed as well.

 

-Sean

[Jcoaster]

No Morey's piers???

[sugart]

Good to show NJ getting some love. Atlantic City and Ocean City both in the top ten, but Wildwood, Seaside Heights and countless others could have easily been included. Of course I may be bias growing up within a half hour all my life.

[YoshiFan]

How did Atlantic City make the list and not Ocean City NJ or Wildwood? Atlantic City's boardwalk is horrible. Tons of junk shops, people begging for money, Steel Pier is an overpriced carnival complete with the game vendors trying to get you to play (more than in a regular park) and food places I'd question to eat at. Ventnor's boardwalk is quiet and nice but the lack of anything makes it boring.

[ParkTrips]

Atlantic City is absolute shit. One of the nastiest towns in America in my experience..

 

I REALLY liked Point Pleasant and Ocean City in Jersey. Much better than Atlantic City and Wildwood.

 

Kemah is 'cute' but very small. I'm a bit confused as to how that made it.

 

Mission Beach is really cool, and Venice was pretty fun too.

[ebl]

"Click on the link in the article and you can see SCBB was listed as well." (TheMenefee)

 

Interesting...I got the same page pictured in your post, but without any text below it. I was sent directly to the Sherman's Travel page, but no links...weird.

 

Eric

[sugart]

How did Atlantic City make the list and not Ocean City NJ or Wildwood? Atlantic City's boardwalk is horrible. Tons of junk shops, people begging for money, Steel Pier is an overpriced carnival complete with the game vendors trying to get you to play (more than in a regular park) and food places I'd question to eat at. Ventnor's boardwalk is quiet and nice but the lack of anything makes it boring.

 

Ocean City did make it. You have to click on 5 more amusement parks near the bottom.

 

AC made it because its the first, and their is history there. I dont go there for the boardwalk ( Wildwood) or the beach (OC), but I can see why its on the list.

[SFAfan#1]

I've still never been to Ocean City, MD and I've lived in MD all my life! I heard it was really nice and some pics show that its a nice place to visit.

[cathyJ]

Whenever I see articles like this pop up on Yahoo, Money Magazine or Forbes I tend to take them with a grain of salt. Why? Because chances are some of these places paid money to be on the list.

 

I am 98% sure its the case when I see those "top 10 places to live", "top 10 places to find a job" or even "the top ten fastest growing places in the US". Whenever a city on these list makes a claim like "...our city is recesson proof..won't happen here !! RED FLAG RED FLAG LOL While some cities and states do better than others during a downturn, ah no city or state big or small can really say they are totally recesson proof.

 

Going back to amusement/theme parks...don't be surprised within the next year or two to see Oklahoma's Frontier City appear on one of these lists as one of America's "Top Amusement Parks"? With Oklahoma City now getting its own NBA basketball team that city's public relations department will now go into full motion to get the word out and pull out all punches to get their city on a "top 10 list" any list.

 

Its all business.

[Medusa1861]

"4. Mission Beach

For summer fun in San Diego, head to Mission Beach where a popular beach strip is paralleled by a 2-mile-long cement boardwalk"

 

I thought that a boardwalk was supposed to be made of boards.. not.. cement.

I've been to all the boardwalks in New Jersey and I must say that Atlantic City is the worst one, But I bet it just had to be #1 because it's the first. I'd say Seaside is probably the nicest... for the non-amusement park people. But Wildwood tops my list. The reason I don't like Wildwood as a boardwalk, is that those trams seem to be everywhere and always pushing you off your path because of other people trying to get out of it's way.