30-Second Summary: Memorial Day weekend kicks off the beach season, and the coast road fills up with it. Most people drive—which means you have trunk space most beachgoers don't use. Packing your own heavy-duty, wind-tested shade instead of queuing for a resort rental is the single best road-trip decision you can make for the weekend.
Memorial Day weekend is the undisputed start of summer, and the highways heading for the coast show it. Tens of millions of Americans travel for the holiday, and the overwhelming majority of them drive.
That last detail matters more than it sounds. If you're driving, you're not packing to an airline's dimensions. Skip the flimsy suitcase umbrella—you have the trunk space for gear that actually holds.
Here's what to expect at the East Coast's busiest beach destinations, and how to set up for each.
1. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is the quintessential Memorial Day road trip. Over the holiday weekend the city transforms, swelling from a permanent population of around 16,000 to many times that on a peak day. Claiming your spot early isn't optional.
Driving to SC? Our local guide covers the best wind-resistant umbrellas for Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand's hard-packed sand.
2. The Outer Banks, North Carolina
The Outer Banks sees millions of visitors a year, and Memorial Day starts the surge. Late May brings some of the best weather of the season—but because the barrier islands sit fully exposed to the Atlantic, OBX is known for sudden, shifting gusts that make short work of beach-store gear.
Heading to NC? Read our guide to the best beach umbrellas for the Outer Banks.
3. The New Jersey Shore
From Cape May to Asbury Park, Memorial Day is the official awakening of the Jersey Shore—tens of thousands of visitors a day across the boardwalks and beaches. One local quirk worth knowing: many shore towns run spring sand replenishment projects, so in late May the sand is often freshly churned, soft and deep. That's the exact condition in which cheap plastic twist-in anchors do nothing at all.
Going down the shore? Secure your setup with our guide to the best beach umbrellas for the New Jersey Shore.
4. Florida Coasts
Florida dominates the Memorial Day travel charts every year, with Orlando and Miami reliably among the most popular domestic destinations. Whether you're driving down the Gulf Coast or the Atlantic side, the late-May sun is already at full strength.
Taking a Florida road trip? Our guide to the best beach umbrellas in Florida covers sea turtle ordinances and soft, powdery sand.
5. Gulf Shores, Alabama
The Gulf's sugar-white sand is beautiful and unusually fine, which makes anchoring harder than it looks. Memorial Day also brings the first of the season's sudden afternoon Gulf gusts.
Heading to the Gulf? See our guide to the best beach umbrellas for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
6. Cape Cod & the Massachusetts Coast
The northern coast runs cooler and windier than the Atlantic south, with firm, coarse sand and a persistent onshore sea breeze. Memorial Day up here is less about the heat and more about the wind.
Driving to New England? Read our guide to the best wind-resistant beach umbrellas for Cape Cod and the Massachusetts coast.
The Memorial Day Zero-Stress Setup
When you're sharing the beach with a holiday crowd, the last thing you want is a fight with your own gear. Three upgrades to the road trip packing list:
- Skip the resort rentals. Resort umbrellas sell out fast on holiday weekends and cost a daily rate you'll pay again tomorrow. Your trunk is free. (We did the maths in the resort rental trap.)
- Stop the towel stare. On a packed beach, leaving your phone under a towel while you swim isn't relaxing. Seal your keys, phone and cards into the Handy 3-in-1 Pillow & Dry Bag—a waterproof dry bag that inflates into a pillow and clips to you in the water, so your valuables come swimming with you. It is not a life jacket or personal flotation device and must not be used as one.
- Anchor in 10 seconds. Don't be the person chasing an umbrella down a crowded beach. The Handy Umbrella & Anchor System uses a solid steel anchor with a built-in slide hammer that drives two feet into the sand in about 10 seconds—including the soft, freshly replenished sand you'll meet on the Jersey Shore in May. The system has been independently wind tunnel tested and is compliant with ASTM F3681. In testing it was held at increasing speeds up to 30 mph, then at 30 mph for a further 30 minutes, without failing.
- Bring one blanket instead of six towels. A 7ft × 7ft sand-free beach blanket takes up less trunk space than a stack of towels and gives the whole family one surface. Waterproof underside, quick-dry microfiber top, and four corner pockets you fill with sand on site—no stakes to lose.
Not sure what separates a setup that holds from one that doesn't? Our guide to the best beach umbrella for wind compares the four anchor types, and the sand anchor guide explains what actually grips in soft, replenished sand.
Loading the car this week? Run through the beach packing checklist before you go.
About the Author
Written by Agnes, co-founder of Handy Beach Goods and a Florida mom of two. After enough Memorial Day weekends on the packed sands of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts—and one too many runaway umbrellas—she set out to build a beach setup that goes up in seconds and stays where you put it. When she isn't working on new gear, she's loading the family SUV for the next coastal road trip.
Frequently Asked Questions: Memorial Day Beach Travel
How many people travel for Memorial Day weekend?
AAA publishes a travel forecast each May, and the figure has been climbing year on year—recent forecasts have put it above 45 million Americans, with roughly 39 million of those driving rather than flying. Check AAA's current-year forecast before you plan your departure time.
What are the busiest travel days for Memorial Day weekend?
Thursday and Friday afternoons between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM are consistently the worst, as regular commuter traffic overlaps with holiday travellers leaving early. Leaving before noon on Friday, or waiting until Saturday morning, usually saves a couple of hours.
Do I need a wind-resistant beach umbrella for Memorial Day?
Late-spring coastal winds are unpredictable, and on a crowded holiday beach an umbrella that pulls free is a genuine hazard to the people around you. Since you're driving, use the trunk space: pack a heavy-duty umbrella with a deep-driving anchor that has been independently wind tunnel tested and is compliant with ASTM F3681.
