NEW YORK, May 21, 2001 — For those of us looking to re-live those endless summers of our youth, soak in the soothing sounds of waves slipping through a sandy shore, or breathe in the fresh sea air, there is nothing more energizing than a trip to the sea side. "We're all beach crazy," says GORP.com editor Rich Beattie. "With sandy stretches on two coasts, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, and around countless bodies of water throughout the country, most of America has the same affliction."

Beaches are one of the most popular travel activities, according to the Travel Industry Association of America, and starting Memorial Day weekend, it's estimated that 50 million travelers will hit the beaches in the next three months. But in these days of SPF 30, people are looking for more than just a chance to work on that bronzed-god glow, America's best beaches also serve up some of the nation's best hiking and biking, as well as the world's best swimming and kayaking.

GORP.com's Top Ten American Beaches Include:

1. Best Sand Playground: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan - World-class dunes and bluffs line the lakeshore, making for outrageous hiking with great views of the lake and its sugar-white beaches.

2. Best Water Playground: Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina - These waters have become an East Coast mecca for modern-day ocean adventurers - windsurfers and kayakers.

3. Best Camping: Clubhouse Beach, Everglades National Park, Florida - Only 24 campers are allowed at one time out onto the coastal shell beach, so along with some great camping, expect to find solitude. Bring binoculars, as it's a birder's paradise - just don't forget the bug spray.

4. Best Swimming: Perdido Key, Florida/Alabama border - A 247-acre barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico's Florida/Alabama border, this body-surfer paradise offers wide, white, sandy beaches, rolling sand dunes, and wildlife like the osprey, dolphin, and loggerhead turtle.

5. Best Solitude: Matagorda Island State Park, Texas - Just 100 people at a time are allowed onto this 38-mile-long barrier island, accessible only by ferry, charter, or private boat, so beaches on the 7,325-acre refuge offer just two things: peace and quiet

6. Best Biking: Santa Monica Beach to Torrance Beach, California - The 19-mile South Bay Bike Trail from Santa Monica to Torrance takes you through some of the most entertaining beach towns anywhere.

7. Best Wildlife Spotting: Point Lobos State Reserve, California - This is an exceptionally rare and beautiful preserve where explorers can spot whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, and sea otters. Bobcats and mountain lions make their home in the hills, but you're more likely to come across black-tailed deer and badgers.

8. Best Hiking: Olympic Coastal Strip, Olympic National Park, Washington - Hiking the Olympic Coastal Strip section of is no stroll down the beach. Muddy headlands, slippery driftwood, changing tides, and waist-deep streams make for a challenging trip even in the best of conditions. It is, however, one of America's most satisfying beach hikes.

9. Best Sunrise: Sand Beach, Acadia National Park, Maine - On the eastern edge of Mt. Desert Island is Acadia's only sand beach in the park's almost 48,000 acres of granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes and ponds, and ocean shoreline. Dawn's rosy fingers easing over the horizon is well worth the drive.

10. Best Sunset: Polihale Beach, Kauai, Hawaii - The stunning Hawaiian sunset viewed from Polihale Beach on the western coast of Kauai could be called otherworldly. Stop by the Polihale heiau (sacred site), and view one of the points Island lore claims the souls of the dead depart into the setting sun.

GORP.com (http://www.gorp.com) is the largest and most trafficked Web site dedicated to outdoor recreation and adventure travel. With nearly 250,000 pages of content, GORP offers a complete package of authoritative, award-winning content; a large, active community of outdoor enthusiasts; and a full-range of e-commerce offerings drawing nearly 30 million page views per month. Started in 1995, GORP offers a full-service active travel-booking feature with thousands of trips, accessible via the Web or telephone. GORP has been cited by Yahoo!, US News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and many others, as the leader in this category and a "Best of the Web" site. AOL Keyword: GORP

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