We’re despondent to say that summer’s over and the sounds of ocean waves will have to recede into memory...or will they? The company Bid-on-Equipment has released a study of the best cities for “sun seekers,” a way to stretch summer out and keep it going as long as possible. Just forget the pumpkin spice latte and ignore everyone else putting gourds on porches—you put on your sunscreen and get out there for one last hurrah on your beach blanket!
The first city on the list? Unsurprisingly, Las Vegas keeps hot temperatures (and plenty of entertainment) all year round. It doesn’t have beach access, but you won’t notice while taking advantage of some of the spectacular pools, which import their own sand and make it easy to daydream with a Mai Tai.
Next on the list of summer stretchers is Tucson, AZ. Another beachless city, Tucson, succeeds with its 85 percent sunny days per year (Las Vegas above is only 84 percent: grab that extra percent!) and an average October temperature of a balmy 70.5 degrees. We love its desert museum, which is a zoo, botanical gardens, aquarium and natural history museum all rolled into one.
Virginia Beach, VA is third, with 8.2 miles of beach for every 100k residents. Besides Chesapeake Bay where you can have a warm go at the Atlantic, you can go on craft beer tours and attend the Neptune Festival, held this year Sept. 9–Oct. 1.
Fourth is El Paso, TX, where your swimming will have to take place in a pool, but then you’ll put on your cover-up to experience some of the best international dining in Texas, including upscale TexMex.
Fifth is a tie with two Arizona cities, Phoenix and Mesa. They both have 85 percent sunny days and 1.4 parks per 10k residents, so you can stretch your blanket out somewhere other than the beach. In October, they both had an average temperature of 74.6.
The rest of the top 20 includes:
7. San Diego, CA
8. Sacramento, CA
9. Long Beach, CA
10. Tampa, FL
11. Jacksonville, FL
12. Albuquerque, NM
13. Miami, FL
14. Colorado Spring, CO
15. Bakersfield, CA
16. San Jose, CA
17. Atlanta, GA
18. Los Angeles, CA
19. Fresno, CA
20. Minneapolis, MN