Washington, D.C
Top 10 Beaches Within Driving Distance of DC

No, Waikiki is not on this checklist. We’re taking a look at one of the best seashores inside a straightforward(ish) drive of the D.C. metro space.
One of the best public seashores close to D.C., Maryland and Virginia have delicate sand, waterparks, amusement parks, water sports activities, films on the seaside — there’s one thing for each traveler. Get able to vacuum the sand out of your automotive!
So as of estimated distance, from closet to farthest:
Bethany Seashore, Delaware
Bethany Seashore markets itself as a “quiet resort,” providing a extra serene choice away from the party-hardy bustle of another spots. There is a restricted variety of bars, however a lot to do in the best way of water sports activities, a farmers’ market, a water park, pirate mini-golf, a boardwalk and films on the seaside. Catch free reside music on the Boardwalk Bandstand on weekend nights. You will discover one thing to do in Bethany proper up till the top of summer time when the city famously bids goodbye to the season with a jazz funeral. DISTANCE: about 125 miles from downtown D.C.
Rehoboth Seashore, Delaware
You may discover just about every little thing you want from a seaside city in Rehoboth Seashore, Delaware. We’re speaking go-karts, mini-golf, hang-gliding, boardwalk video games and rides for teenagers — plus frozen custard, clearly. Rehoboth can be dwelling to some improbable farm-to-table eating places, so if boardwalk delicacies is not your factor, you continue to positively might be fairly comfortable right here. Close by Dewey Seashore provides a barely quieter ambiance from busier, extra crowded cousin Rehoboth. DISTANCE: about 120 miles from downtown D.C.
Ocean Metropolis, Maryland
Ocean Metropolis, Maryland, is a vacation spot that youngsters (or your personal inside youngster) will love. Go for water slides, boardwalk rides and haunted homes, or head to the water to parasail, kayak, surf or, you realize, simply swim. You may as well catch free live shows and films many nights throughout summer time. Like Bethany and Rehoboth, Ocean Metropolis is among the many closest seaside locations for D.C.-area residents. DISTANCE: about 145 miles from downtown D.C.
Fenwick Island, Delaware
Located roughly midway between Bethany Seashore and Ocean Metropolis close to the Delaware/Maryland border, Fenwick Island provides laidback household enjoyable through the Thunder Lagoon Waterpark and the distinctive DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum. DISTANCE: about 132 miles from downtown D.C.
Sea Isle Metropolis, New Jersey
Sandwiched between extra densely populated Ocean Metropolis, New Jersey, and Avalon, Sea Isle Metropolis is a Jersey Shore gem. The island city has a pleasant mixture of laidback vibes, household enjoyable and nice bars — like favourite Ocean Drive — to celebration with associates. The city’s tagline, featured prominently on the water tower whenever you arrive, is “Smile, You are in Sea Isle.” There is a 1.5-mile promenade fronting the white sand seashores of the Atlantic coast. You may discover loads of boating and fishing alternatives within the again bay, and Atlantic Metropolis and The Wildwoods are a brief drive away through the Backyard State Parkway. Sea Isle Metropolis does not have many lodges, so reserving a summer time rental is essential. DISTANCE: about 180 miles from downtown D.C.
Wildwood and Cape Could, New Jersey
We’re placing Cape Could and Wildwood, New Jersey, collectively as a result of it is simple to do each in a single weekend. On the southernmost level of New Jersey’s barrier islands, Cape Could is known for its eye-popping Victorian mansions and B&Bs (and the historic excursions that go together with them). Its neighbor to the north, Wildwood, provides a extra typical shore expertise on a bigger scale than its Delaware counterparts, with a distinct form of retro through its Fifties-era motels. You may additionally discover the requisite boardwalk, tons of rides and two water parks. Simply “watch the tram automotive, please.” DISTANCE: about 185 miles from downtown D.C.
Ocean Metropolis, New Jersey
That different Ocean Metropolis (the one in New Jersey) provides loads of family-friendly enjoyable, with a boardwalk that — though typically crowded — includes a ton of rides and all of the outdated faves in terms of shore meals, together with pizza and fried Oreos. What else might you need? DISTANCE: about 192 miles from downtown D.C.
Virginia Seashore, Virginia
Except for outside actions from fishing to kayaking to dolphin watching, Virginia Seashore additionally provides a boardwalk stuffed with rides and eating places, loads of festivals, bars, golf equipment and breweries, plus the Virginia Aquarium and the Army Aviation Museum. Lodging embody every little thing from high-rise lodges to close by campgrounds. DISTANCE: about 210 miles from downtown D.C.
Kitty Hawk and Kill Satan Hills, North Carolina
The attractive seashores of the Outer Banks are definitely worth the drive (and the OBX sticker you clearly need on your automotive). They are not fairly what you’d name shut to D.C., however Kitty Hawk Seashore and Kill Satan Hills are the best to get to since they’re close to the Wright Memorial Bridge. Swim, surf, constitution a ship or go fishing off the Avalon Pier. There are additionally historic websites dedicated to the misplaced colony on Roanoke (at close by Manteo) and the Wright Brothers’ first flight, and you will find loads of lodging choices on the seaside or inside strolling distance. The principle downside is these seashores are very developed. On the plus facet, you may see wild ponies or dolphins at close by Corolla, which additionally permits driving on the seaside. DISTANCE: about 270 miles from downtown D.C.
Cape Hatteras Nationwide Seashore, North Carolina
Sandy dunes speak in confidence to 70 miles of largely undeveloped seashores at Cape Hatteras Nationwide Seashore. The open-ocean waves are nice for browsing or boogie boarding, or you possibly can go to historic lighthouses. Drive to the southern finish and also you’ll discover Ocracoke Seashore, which Dr. Seashore declared probably the greatest within the nation. Seashore driving and bonfires are allowed right here with a correct allow. DISTANCE: about 290 miles from downtown D.C. to Hatteras Island Customer Middle

Washington, D.C
Sakkari looks like herself again; beats No. 2 Navarro in Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maria Sakkari hit the sweet spot of her career in 2022 and 2023, finishing as year-end No. 6 in the PIF WTA Rankings.
This year, though, has been something of a slog. The 29-year-old from Greece has a losing record and her ranking has drifted down to No. 90.
Maybe it’s the heat and humidity, or something else in the atmosphere, but whatever it is Sakkari seems to thrive in the nation’s capital. In her only previous visit, two years ago, she rolled all the way to the final, beating Leylah Fernandez, Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula in the process.
On Wednesday night, No. 2 seed Emma Navarro was added to her list of victims. Sakkari scored a 7-5, 7-6 (1) win over Navarro to advance to the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Sakkari, who received a wild card into the main draw, has now won three of four career matches against the 24-year-old American.
She’ll play the winner of Thursday’s highly anticipated match between Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu on Friday.
Navarro is ranked 79 spots higher than Sakkari, but she could never get it going.
Energized and bouncing around like it was 2022, Sakkari saved all three of the break points against her. And while she converted only one — in the last game of the first set — it was enough.
Sakkari served well, winning 60 of 85, and had seven aces — two in the tiebreak.
Even before her heyday, Sakkari could hang with the best. In 2021, she posted a WTA Tour-high nine wins against Top 10 players.
This year, it’s been difficult; before beating Navarro, Sakkari had lost 11 of 13 matches to seeded players in 2025.
Now, she’s looking for a slice of history, trying to emulate the feats of Paula Badosa (2024) and Nadia Petrova (20112), who won the title here as wild cards.
Washington, D.C
DC Council-commissioned report raises questions about stadium proposal

A report commissioned by the D.C. Council raised some red flags about the Washington Commanders stadium deal on the table, though it’s unclear if any of them are too serious to overcome.
The Council commissioned three reports ahead of public hearings July 29. The report from business management consultant The Robert Bobb Group dated July 15 — the deadline Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Commanders set for the Council to act before the team can resume shopping around for a new location. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson shared the report on X late Friday.
It brought up several questions about the proposal to develop the RFK Stadium campus.
There’s uncertainty about who will be responsible for maintenance. The report recommends D.C. set a cap on how much will be covered by a maintenance fund and ensure the Commanders cover any overruns.
The report found construction delays could reduce tax revenue. If the stadium is going to open by 2030 as the team wants groundbreaking needs to happen next year.
Another concern about tax revenue is that riverfront development might not happen quickly enough. The report recommends a provision for the team to return control of some land to D.C. if it stays undeveloped for too long.
The report also raises concerns about transportation and parking and cites a lack of a comprehensive public safety plan. News4 reports there have been discussions about adding a new D.C. Fire and EMS station.
Earlier Friday, News4 asked Mendelson about the pressure on the Council to quickly approve the deal.
“The bottom line is, I want to emphasize, we’ve had this for less than seven weeks,” he said. “And instead of ‘how can we all work together, answer questions, see if we can make the deal better,’ there’s been this almost daily mantra of ‘the Council needs to act quickly, act without a hearing, act without any analyses, act without any due diligence.’ And that has not been helpful.”
Comer urges Council to act before August recess
Some of that pressure came from the head of the House Oversight Committee Thursday.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is urging the council to act quickly on the RFK Stadium redevelopment.
U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, wrote a letter to Mendelson urging city leaders to vote on the new stadium before their August recess.
“Congress has already spoken on this matter through the bipartisan H.R. 4984, which was signed by President Biden on January 6, 2025. The law was designed specifically to enable the District to advance expeditiously with this transformational opportunity,” Comer said in the letter.
While the Council has made a preliminary vote on the financing of the deal, Mendelson removed the bulk of the stadium legislation from the upcoming budget vote and has said it’s unlikely the Council will vote on that before September.
President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he might intervene on behalf of the Commanders if the Council fails to approve the stadium deal.
The mayor’s office said it needs more time to review the report before commenting.
News4 also reached out to the Commanders and awaits a response.
The second of the three reports could come next week.
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Washington, D.C
DC police commander suspended, accused of changing crime statistics

A D.C. police commander is under investigation for allegedly making changes to crime statistics in his district.
The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Michael Pulliam was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-May — just a week after Pulliam filed an equal employment opportunity complaint against an assistant chief and the police union accused the department of deliberately falsifying crime data.
The union claims police supervisors in the department manipulate crime data to make it appear violent crime has fallen considerably compared to last year.
Pulliam — the former commander of the 3rd District that patrols Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights — was placed on leave with pay and told he was under investigation for questionable changes to crime data, five law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told News4.
That came about a week after he filed a complaint against Executive Assistant Chief of Police Andre Wright, according to three law enforcement sources familiar with the complaint.
Pulliam denied the allegations against him.
“When our members respond to the scene of a felony offense where there is a victim reporting that a felony occurred, inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on that scene and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense,” Fraternal Order of Police Chairman Gregg Pemberton said. “So, instead of taking a report for a shooting or a stabbing or a carjacking, they will order that officer to take a report for a theft or an injured person to the hospital or a felony assault, which is not the same type of classification.”
The police department’s command staff is focusing on two categories in order to get the numbers to fall, Pemberton said: armed with a dangerous weapon and injured person to the hospital.
“When management officials are directing officers to take reports for felony assault, or if they’re going back into police databases and changing offenses to felony assault, felony assault is not a category of crime that’s listed on the department’s daily crime stats,” Pemberton said. “It’s also not something that’s a requirement of the FBI’s uniform crime reporting program. So, by changing criminal offenses from, for example, ADW bat or ADW gun to felony assault, that would avoid both the MPD and the FBI from reporting that as a part one or a felony offense.”
The union has been gathering evidence for some time now by looking at reports and talking with officers all over the city, Pemberton said.
“What we’ve heard through our members and through members of management that were willing to talk with the union is that this is a directive from the command staff, is that they wanna make sure that these classifications of these reports are adjusted over time to make sure that the overall crime stats stay down,” Pemberton said. “And this is deliberately done.”
As of last Monday when News4 spoke with Pemberton, D.C. crime data shows violent crime was down 28%. Thursday, the department’s website said violent crime is down 25% when compared to the same time last year, and overall crime is down 8%.
“That’s preposterous,” Pemberton said. “There’s absolutely no way crime could be down 28%. Last year they suggested that it went down 34%.”
In April, Pulliam’s wife, Capt. Rachel Pulliam, was transferred by Chief Pamela Smith from the Youth Division to midnights in the 7th District.
Subsequently, according to three sources familiar with the incident and the timing of everything, Wright ordered Cmdr. Pulliam to pack up his wife’s belongings from Youth Division and move them on his own to his wife’s new assignment in 7D.
He viewed the order as retaliatory and a misuse of authority, sources familiar with the complaint said.
About a week later, Cmdr. Pulliam’s police powers were revoked, five law enforcement sources told News4.
Chief Smith told News4 she can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.
As for the claims made by the union, Smith released this statement: “The Metropolitan Police Department is committed to upholding the trust and the confidence of the public. Any irregularity in crime data brought to my attention will be addressed immediately. I do not condone any official reclassifying criminal offenses outside the guidelines set in MPD policy. Any allegation of this behavior will be dealt with through our internal processes, which will ensure those members are held accountable. I have the utmost confidence in the command staff leadership currently in place across the Metropolitan Police Department.”
Wright declined to comment to News4.
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