How To Set Up The Perfect Beach Spot In Under 5 Minutes

Despite being in high spring, much of the country is beginning to feel the first touches of summer. All along the Northeast, temperatures are already sweltering as the late spring weather is quickly transitioning into summer. California is experiencing its first heat wave of the year, with temperatures in our southern beach cities reaching a toasty 80 degrees.

While this makes for an unpleasant day working outside, it makes for excellent beach weather. Many Americans are making their first seaside forays this weekend after months spent pining for sand and salt.

While this excitement is understandable, that shouldn’t mean you simply run out the door with a towel and swimsuit and no plans. With temperatures already spiking, a day spent on the open dunes can quickly become painful without the right equipment and layout.

1. Location, Location, Location

Picking the right spot for your beach trip is a deceptively important step in ensuring the day goes smoothly. The three major factors that should be considered when scouting your campsite are comfort, aesthetics, and logistics.

Comfortable beach locations usually have some level of existing protection from the sun. This can include natural elements like trees, boulders, or cliffs, or artificial ones like buildings, lifeguard stations, or piers. Depending on how you feel about crowds, comfort can also include proximity to other beachgoers and access to open space for games and activities.

Aesthetics are often neglected when picking a spot, but nothing spoils the mood like your view being blocked by tents and umbrellas. A good spot guarantees an unobstructed sightline to the ocean or lake, and bonus points go to piers, jetties, and other quintessential shoreline structures that complete the picture.

No matter how light you pack, a long trek through hot sand can be a grueling experience in the hot sun. If you need to lug a lot of equipment around, having easy access to your car can save a lot of sweat that is better spent playing a game of beach volleyball. Outside of transportation, a spot that has easy access to seaside shops and restaurants can give you a welcome reprieve from the unforgiving elements and help you fuel up for the next activity.

The perfect beach spot will provide you with plenty of comfort, gorgeous views, and easy access, but these are rare commodities. You must often sacrifice one or two of these factors to varying degrees depending on the location and crowd size. Thankfully, your equipment can provide you with many of the creature comforts you’d find in the ideal space

2. Setting The Stage

Nothing beats the feeling of your feet sinking into the sand at the start of your beach day, but as time wears on, it becomes a curse as much as it is a blessing. As the famous movie quote goes, “I don’t like sand, it’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.”

While sand can make for a comfortable seat, it does have a tendency to end up in places you’d least appreciate, including in your food, hair, and mouth. The best way to maximize its benefits and minimize its deficiencies is to lay out your blankets and towels to create a ground cover that lets you walk, sit, and lie out on your spot while minimizing direct contact.

Organize your beach chairs and coolers to create an outer perimeter, with your umbrellas or The Happy Hut canopy tent for a “roof” that shields you from the sun. This has the additional benefit of limiting entry and exit points for the room you’ve created, which helps keep sand away from the inner areas.

3. Keeping Cover

While nobody wants a gloomy day at the beach, too much time in the sun can be punishing. For the fairer-skinned among us, sunburns can cause serious lasting damage (and make for an uncomfortable return to the office), and anyone can easily get overheated if left to bake in the sand.

Getting adequate protection from the sun starts with applying a liberal layer of sunscreen, then finding shade. Cabanas and umbrellas have already been mentioned, but if you’re flying solo or don’t want to be lugging heavy equipment up and down the beach, some more compact solutions are more appropriate.

SUNFLOW’s signature sun shade is an elegant and lightweight means of sheltering yourself that can be attached to any of the SUNFLOW beach chairs. The shade’s fabric is UPF 50+, which allows it to protect even sensitive skin. The foldable design means you can easily adjust it to move with the sun and then tuck it neatly against the chair's backrest when it’s time to pack up and leave.

4. Easy Access

Beach days are about relaxation and leisure, and an effective setup emphasises these concepts through execution. The right equipment, combined with a layout that emphasizes ease of access, will maximize relaxation and allow your group to quickly bounce between activities.

When it comes to sunbathing, there is no greater tool than the humble beach towel. The SUNFLOW beach towel is both stylish and comfortable, providing you with a warm, fluffy refuge in between dips in the ocean.

If you need a little space from the sand while lounging, our Shore Thing beach chair provides a lightweight seating option that offers maximum comfort. The backrest has three reclining positions, letting you adjust from lying back and soaking up the sun to sitting up straight when it’s time to unpack lunch.

Refreshments are essential on a hot day, and positioning your coolers to maximize access will allow everyone to partake with minimal effort. The SUNFLOW drink holder lets you keep your hands free while providing easy access to your drink, and can be adjusted to hold everything from a 12-oz can to a 36-oz water bottle. Like the sun shade, it can clip onto any of the SUNFLOW beach chairs, and folds down for easy packing at the end of the day.

When it comes to beach trips, a little planning goes a long way. With the right equipment, location, and setup, you can guarantee your first day back to the shoreline will be successful.