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The 12 Best Beach Towels for Summer

Quick-absorbing, super soft and stylish beach towels to toss in your tote for a day at the beach.

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By Evan Malachosky

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When the weather warms, number one on the tote-packing list needs to be a proper beach towel. It’s time to upgrade from your sandy, ratty rag to something more distinctive, refined, adult. A traditional loop-back construction, tough terry option or Indian hand-loomed gets all the sand protection you’ll need, along with the proper aesthetic.

I can’t just take any towel to the beach?

Beach towels are designed to withstand sand, both dry impossible to avoid and wet and difficult to remove. Your usual bath towel, while probably pretty nice, is best kept close to your shower. The high pile and thick, cotton construction make for an unsavory combination under the sweltering sun.

Plus, most beach towels are significantly bigger than your standard bath towel. That’s because while, yes, you’ll use your beach towel to dry off and stay warm, it’s also designed to be laid out and laid on. By picking a beach towel over your other dryer offer, you’re guaranteeing there will be enough room for (most of) you to lay down on.

Pick a towel with some art on it.

Your bath towels are a private purchase, something only a select few people see. But on a crowded beach, everyone will notice your towel. Pick something unique, odd or all-out artful. There are so many options out there, so steer clear of simple canopy stripes or lazy paisley.

More Summer Essentials

Sustainably sourced, thoughtfully designed and, most importantly, super comfy, this towel is sure to be your new favorite at home or at the beach. It even features a handy little loop for hanging.

Dimensions: 40 by 70 inches

Adorned with a sort of paint by numbers art piece, Carne Bollente’s half-cotton, half-polyester beach towel dries fast and features a soft, French terry top.

Dimensions: 51.25 by 25.5 inches

Fit for kids and adults, L.L. Bean’s Seaside Beach Towel is covered with an all-over alligator print, made in Turkey from medium weight cotton and yarn-dyed so it’ll never lose its vivid colors.

Dimensions: 36 by 68 inches

Outerknown makes a bunch of beach-y stuff, including apparel and accessories. The Beach Towel, as it’s simply called, comes in two different designs — Arigato Valley (pictured here) and Deep Sea Poncho Stripe — but they’re both the same size. Best of all, both are made from a majority ECOTEC, which is cotton spun from knitting factory waste.

Dimensions: 70 by 39 inches

You’d probably be best off only taking this towel to the pool (or the tennis court), but if you’re a person that spends the entirety of their day at the beach in the water, it could work for you there, too. Palmes’ Tennis Society Towel is smaller than your average beach towel, but just as absorbent, and it can withstand sand and the wind.

Dimensions: 39 by 19.5 inches

Baina’s checkerboard pool towel has a woven trim that helps prevent fraying and snags. But that doesn’t make it too tough; it’s made in Portugal from super-soft organic cotton.

Dimensions: 67 by 35 inches

Patagonia’s double-sided beach towel comes with one velour and one terry face, meaning there’s one super soft side you can lay down on and another for drying off with. The pattern’s a simple, classic stripe, but it’s different enough to stand out in a sea of canopy stripes.

Dimensions: 36 by 64 inches

Hidden on this navy blue towel is a tonal palm tree print. It’s refined, a far cry from the gaudy towels you can grab on the boardwalk. It’s also much nicer. Instead of coarse, tight cotton, OAS opts for long-fiber cotton with a super soft hand-feel.

Dimensions: 39 by 59 inches

A soaked towel can be hard to dry. No matter how you drape it, parts remain wet. Cleverly Laundry’s swim towel comes with a hidden locker loop to prevent this. Plus, it’s made from 100 percent cotton with a cool, circular pattern.

Dimensions: 62 by 37 inches

Lateral Objects’ cheeky beach towels come with big, statement-making graphics: an exclamation point, a question mark or an upward arrow. Buy all three to complete the set or just two, like the exclamation point and question mark, for a proper pair. No matter how many you get, you’re guaranteed to like them: They’re made from soft cotton and feature a velour side for laying down on and a terry side for drying off.

Dimensions: 70 by 40 inches

This luxe beach towel is made in Italy using a mix of cotton and polyester, which makes it fast drying but also durable yet soft to the touch. Plus, it’s totally machine washable.

Dimensions: 35 by 60 inches

Need a better beach towel? Trust a surf shop. After all, it’s what they do: outfit those destined for the shoreline. Mollusk’s is preshrunk and made in the USA and features a Garden of Eden design by artist Nathaniel Russell.

Dimensions: 59 by 29.5 inches

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