Unless you enjoy holding a bunch of stuff, some method to transport your beach goods is essential. We had started off years ago with a very cheap metal cart typically used for groceries. Despite its small wheels, it actually was quite the workhorse and did fairly well in the sand. But a lot of use left the wheels broken so we’ve tried a few other options over the years.

Our recent tool is a Rio beach cart I bought used from a local listserve. I’m moderately happy with it. It folds up easily to get in/out of the car, and has a good storage structure.

The main component easily fit our canopy, two adult chairs, and beach bag, and we put the cooler in the bottom, and a bag with chips and stuff in a bag that hung on the handle. It moved smoothly on the pavement, but I wouldn’t give rave reviews of its movement in the sand. I didn’t have to go that far and it was fine, but I know this would not be awesome at Ocean City or at expansive soft sand beach.