The Top 10 Most Toxic Beaches in America Are Deceptively Pretty and Popular

Linda Mar Beach has long been famous as the site of the “most scenic Taco Bell in the world.” Located directly on the sand, steps from the waves, this outpost of the fast food chain is a favorite with tourists who saw the viral TikTok videos or read the articles and were consumed by the need to drink a Baja Blast margarita while watching the waves roll in.

No shade to the newcomers, though—the place is popular with locals, too, who have been grabbing their post-surf burritos here since 1972, the same year California voters passed a proposition to protect their coastline from excessive development. The restaurant (then an A&W) was grandfathered in and has persevered despite threats from rising tides that creep underneath it and onto the parking lot during heavy storms.

Linda Mar has much to offer beyond its viral Taco Bell, however. So much, in fact, that it attracts over a million visitors a year.

Flanked by rugged Northern California cliffs and curving for almost a mile along a gentle surf break, Linda Mar is one of the top beginner surf spots in the Bay Area. It’s even the venue for the adorable World Dog Surfing Championships. At Linda Mar, you’ll see surf camps in full swing, kids playing in the creek that empties into the ocean, and families everywhere enjoying a beach day.

But there’s something else you can’t see. For 12 years, toxic bacteria levels in the water have been so high that they exceed the human health threshold many times over. Last year, volunteers with Surfrider’s Blue Water Task Force found that water samples taken at the mouth of San Pedro Creek exceeded the state health standard 72% of the time, averaging about 30 to 40 times above the safety threshold.

While the source of the pollution remained a mystery for years, recent studies have pinpointed it as human waste, likely leaking from old sewage pipes made of wood pulp and tar. The City of Pacifica has replaced some of its sewer mains and offered $2,000 to homeowners who replace their failing sewage laterals; nonetheless, the problem persists. Surfrider has joined with a coalition of nonprofits to advocate for an effective solution.

In the meantime, there are ways to enjoy this popular beach without endangering your health. As the data from the Surfrider report demonstrates, the contaminated water samples were taken where the San Pedro Creek drains into the ocean, carrying with it leaking sewage and polluted stormwater runoff. Avoiding the area near the creek and sticking to the beach north of the Taco Bell is a safer bet. In fact, experts say you should generally avoid the water anywhere a creek meets the ocean, as these areas tend to have higher bacteria counts.

And as any surfer will tell you, staying away from the water after heavy rains is always a good idea—72 hours is ideal. If all else fails, be sure to rinse off with clean, fresh water after getting out of the ocean.

It has all the elements of an ideal beach—Rainbow-colored umbrellas dot the sand. Waves lap at the posts of a historic wooden pier. Vacationers stroll along the coastal promenade. Everyone gets down to live music during the Friday farmers market.

Despite its hidden-away location, Avila Beach is popular with tourists, locals, and students at nearby Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. It’s especially beloved by families with young kids, who play in the shallow waters of the estuary at the north end of the beach.

But it’s precisely at that spot, where the San Luis Creek flows into the Pacific, that 47% of water samples taken over the course of 2025 showed fecal contamination exceeding safety standards. In fact, Surfrider has found consistently high bacteria levels here for over a decade. The creek, which passes through downtown San Luis Obispo and agricultural areas, can collect everything from fertilizer and animal waste to runoff from leaking septic systems on its journey to the sea.

There’s no need to cancel your Avila Beach trip, however. While the creek and the ocean area where it lets out have high bacteria levels, this doesn’t mean the whole beach does. Avila’s location on a sheltered cove offers plenty of other safe spots to enjoy the ocean.

Moloa’a Beach so resembles the kind of tropical paradise where you’d want to get shipwrecked that it formed the backdrop for the classic 1960s TV series Gilligan’s Island. The show, which follows the adventures of a group of island castaways, exploded in popularity with after-school reruns in the ‘70s and ‘80s, cementing it as a bona fide piece of Americana.

Today, visitors say not much appears to have changed since the pilot episode. Moloa’a is still a picturesque beach on a remote turquoise bay, known for snorkeling, sunrises, and occasional humpback whale sightings.

But its serene beauty hides an ugly secret: 100% of the water samples collected here in 2025 showed fecal contamination exceeding safety standards. Like Linda Mar and Avila, Moloa’a Beach lies at the mouth of a creek where stormwater runoff drains pollution into the ocean. It also has a much bigger problem: cesspools.

The Hawaiian Islands have 88,000 cesspools—underground pits that store untreated sewage and wastewater, allowing pollution to seep into the groundwater and make its way to the ocean. It’s the highest number of cesspools per capita in the U.S.; collectively, they release approximately 50 million gallons of wastewater every day.

To make matters worse, climate change is causing Hawaii’s water table to rise along with its sea level, resulting in even more leakage of sewage-contaminated water. While the State has mandated elimination of cesspools by 2050, conversion costs are prohibitively high for many residents of rural Hawaii.

Besides endangering beachgoers, water contaminated by sewage harms coral reefs and coastal ecosystems. This can also mean a decrease in tourism to beaches with dying reefs and few remaining fish.

Lush Ballard Park draws everyone from paddleboarders to boaters to its idyllic location at the confluence of the Eau Gallie River and the Indian River Lagoon. The lagoon has long been home to an abundance of wildlife, including dolphins, manatees, osprey, and egrets.

But if you do go paddleboarding here, try not to fall off: 76% of water samples tested toxic and unsafe for recreation.

Don’t expect to see a manatee, either. Water quality in the Indian River Lagoon has been declining for years, with devastating consequences for Florida’s official marine mammal. Stormwater runoff and leaking septic tanks dump large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus into the lagoon, triggering toxic algae blooms in a process called eutrophication. These massive blooms block sunlight and kill off seagrass—the manatees’ favorite food. The polluted waters in the lagoon have contributed to the deaths of thousands of manatees from starvation.

Surfrider is working to save the local ecosystem by building buffer gardens at Ballard Park to slow runoff into the lagoon, but the problem will persist until it’s addressed at its source. In 2025, a federal court ruled that Florida needs to do more to prevent wastewater pollution in the lagoon and protect the manatees. The State has appealed the ruling.

Lined with palm and ironwood trees and with views of the dramatic Ko’olau Mountains, Punalu’u Beach Park is an oasis on Oahu’s windward side. It’s a popular beach for fishing and spotting endangered honu, or Hawaiian green sea turtles.

Yet social media drone videos apparently meant to show the area’s beauty reveal something else instead: a striking contrast between the sparkling, turquoise waters on either side of the park and the dirty, brown water pouring into the ocean at the mouth of the Punalu’u stream.

Surfrider data confirms that this isn’t just mud or a one-time weather event. All of the water samples collected here tested above the limits for toxic enterococcus bacteria—giving Punalu’u the dubious distinction (along with Moloa’a) of being the most toxic beach in America.

This isn’t surprising in light of the high concentration of cesspools in Punalu’u, which, due to its remoteness, is not hooked up to the central sewage system. But considering that the ocean here is a source of seafood for the local community and a habitat for endangered marine life, it is alarming.

Margaret Pace Park is a miniature green jungle on the edge of urban Miami where you can picnic, play a game of volleyball, or rent a paddleboard to tour the Biscayne Bay. The Bay, which some call Miami’s “blue heart,” is a habitat for over a dozen endangered and threatened species, including manatees, sea turtles, and American crocodiles. It’s the location of Biscayne National Park, a center of tourism in the area.

Despite the Bay’s economic and environmental significance, Surfrider found that 62% of water samples collected here contained dangerous levels of toxic bacteria.

Miami-Dade County has come under fire from federal and state regulators for years for its aging sewage system, which leaks millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Biscayne Bay. Climate change is making the problem worse, with more frequent extreme storms and groundwater rise causing more sewage spills and overflows.

Under a federally mandated consent decree, Miami-Dade is slowly replacing its sewage infrastructure. State legislation also requires it to build deep injection wells as an alternative to pumping treated wastewater miles offshore into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Thea Foss Waterway runs along the edge of downtown Tacoma, opening onto the Puget Sound. While not abundant with natural beauty like some of its counterparts, it’s a popular spot for kayakers, paddleboarders, and the occasional seal or sea lion. An esplanade along the waterfront leads to attractions like famed Tacoma artist Dale Chihuly’s Bridge of Glass and the Museum of Glass.

Surfrider volunteers who took samples at the Thea Foss floating dock, where kayakers commonly launch, found that the water quality exceeded human safety standards 29% of the time. It isn’t hard to spot the culprit: two large storm drains that continuously empty into the waterway.

Along with failing sewage systems, stormwater runoff is one of the primary sources of ocean pollution. Runoff contains urban and agricultural pollutants like gasoline, pesticides, and fertilizers. One effective way to combat this problem is to replace chemical-laden lawns or artificial turf with native gardens that soak up and naturally filter runoff, an approach that Surfrider supports through its Ocean Friendly Gardens program.

Down Oahu’s eastern shore from Punalu’u Beach Park, the Hakipu’u Boat Ramp is a popular entry point for snorkeling, boating, and fishing in beautiful Kāne’ohe Bay—the largest sheltered body of water in the islands and the site of Hawaii’s only barrier reef.

But the boat ramp is located near a large stream mouth that dumps polluted water into the Bay; 82% of the samples collected here failed to meet health standards. As with all toxic bacteria hotspots in Hawaii, Hakipu’u is also in an area that relies heavily on cesspools.

The safest way to enjoy Kāne’ohe Bay is to avoid the Hakipu’u Boat Ramp entirely. The closest alternative entry point is the beach at Kualoa Regional Park or the He’eia Kea Boat Harbor.

And when heading to the beach in Hawaii or anywhere else, it’s always a good idea to check closure notifications first.

From Imperial Beach’s 1,500-foot wooden pier, you can see Mexico, downtown San Diego, and the Coronado Islands.

Everything’s on a grand scale here: The beach itself is 3 ½ miles long—the perfect place for the city’s popular Sun & Sea Festival, featuring San Diego’s largest sand castle competition.

The waves at legendary surf break Tijuana Sloughs are some of the biggest in California. Surfers first began flocking to the area in the 1940s to try their hand at what were then the largest waves in the continental U.S.

And unfortunately, the waters are some of the most polluted in the country. The water quality is so bad that officials closed Imperial Beach almost every day of the year in 2025 (325 days total), leading Surfrider to give this beach an 89% toxicity rating.

Millions of gallons of untreated sewage pour into the ocean here from the Tijuana River, the result of failing and overwhelmed sewage systems. The wastewater plume is even visible from space. Old-school surfers who still brave the waves say it’s almost impossible to do without getting sick; kids who used to attend surf camps in their own community have to take a 40-minute bus ride to a safer beach.

The polluted waters are affecting air quality, too, releasing hydrogen sulfide—sometimes called “sewer gas”—at 4,500 times normal levels. Residents have been suffering from health issues for years, including headaches, asthma, and brain fog. Schools here implement indoor “rainy day schedules” not for rainy days, but for excessive hydrogen sulfide levels.

Surfrider and other organizations helped to secure government funding for sewage infrastructure improvements, and wastewater treatment plants on both sides of the border are currently upgrading their facilities to the tune of $800 million. In the meantime, advocates seek more immediate fixes to this entrenched environmental issue.

Not long ago, the waters off of Park View Island in Miami Beach were clear and seemingly clean. People swam and kayaked in the canal, and residents frequently spotted pufferfish and dolphins right off their docks.

Now, the fish keep dying, and the water is murky. Surfrider found that 92% of water samples here exceeded safety limits. Like Margaret Pace Park, Park View Island Canal is located on the Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County, which has been plagued by sewage system problems for decades. In 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded that the pollution was essentially suffocating the Bay through eutrophication, leading to a massive die-off of 27,000 fish in 2020.

As dire as the situation is at Biscayne Bay and the other locations on this list, the Surfrider report also found that the waters at most U.S. beaches are safe. 66% of the locations tested had low bacteria levels, and 11% had medium levels still considered safe by state standards. With federal funding for water quality management and public notification programs at risk, one way to take action for safer beaches is to contact your senator.