While Matthews Beach Park doesn’t have much sand, it does have a small strip right by the water.

One of the longest stretches of sand available in the city—and probably the most idyllic, traditional, sandy beach—is at Golden Gardens Park, especially around the most amenity-rich areas. It can get a little gravely farther along, but not nearly as much as other beaches.

This Kirkland beach has sand lining the water—but watching for rocks is still best practice.

Idylwood Park has a thicker sand strip than many Lake Washington beaches—and a large swimming area.

This is one of the most popular beaches once the weather gets hot in Seattle—and while much of it is grass with banked waterfront, there’s a strip of sand, too.

This park is mostly lined with rocky banks, but a pocket of beach around a small cove is sandy—and usually not too crowded, despite being right by downtown and the waterfront.

While some stretches of Alki can still be treacherous, the main drag of the park by the volleyball courts and the bathhouse is sandy.

Much of the park has banked waterfront, but sand lines the swimming area for an extra-playful vibe.

While the shallows are still rocky, there’s at least a wide swath of sand to lounge on at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah.

If you’re not already in Seatac, you can take the light rail down to find sand at Angle Lake Park.

Yes, it’s all the way down in Maple Valley, but this beach is super sandy—even in the water.

This lakeside beach in Kent has both sandy parts and gravelly parts—plus a lawn above for more sunbathing.