Top 10 American boardwalks

updated 12:49 p.m. ET Oct. 7, 2008

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 10 American boardwalks and you'll see why their amusements, live entertainment, people-watching, and nostalgia make them tops for pure, unadulterated summer fun.

Atlantic City
If you love 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.

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.

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.

Editors' note:  The Kemah Boardwalk will not reopen until spring 2009, as the city concentrates on repairing its infrastructure following the devastating effects of Hurricane Ike in September 2008. For updates, please visit www.kemah.net.

Mission Beach

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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.

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, Maryland, 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.

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