Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Los Angeles
On the Southern California coast. Santa Monica, Zuma, and Redondo beaches line the bay to the west; the Orange County surf — Huntington, Newport, Seal — is southeast.
Sacramento
In California's Central Valley. Folsom Lake sits immediately east, Lake Berryessa to the west, and Clear Lake northwest.
San Diego
At the southern end of the California coast. Pacific, Ocean, and Imperial beaches are in the city; Oceanside and the San Clemente surf run north.
San Francisco
On the California coast at the Golden Gate. Half Moon Bay and the Santa Cruz beaches are south down Highway 1.
Colorado
Colorado Springs
Below Pikes Peak in central Colorado. Lake Pueblo sits south on the Arkansas River; the Eleven Mile and Spinney reservoirs of South Park are northwest.
Denver
On the South Platte at the foot of the Front Range. Cherry Creek Reservoir sits in the southeast metro and Chatfield in the southwest; Eleven Mile and Spinney are an hour-plus southwest in South Park.
Fort Collins
On the Cache la Poudre in northern Colorado. Horsetooth Reservoir is immediately west against the foothills; Boyd Lake is south at Loveland.
Connecticut
Delaware
Dover
In central Delaware. Delaware Bay shoreline access (Slaughter Beach, Bowers Beach, Mispillion area) sits east; Atlantic surf and inlet access (Cape Henlopen, Indian River Inlet) sits south.
Newark
In northern Delaware near the C&D Canal. The upper Chesapeake Bay (Cecil County, MD — Elk Neck area) is west; Delaware Bay shoreline access is south.
Wilmington
In northern Delaware on the Christina River near the Delaware River and Bay. The C&D Canal is south; Delaware Bay shoreline access (Slaughter Beach, Bowers Beach) is southeast; Atlantic surf access sits further south at Cape Henlopen and Indian River Inlet.
Florida
Fort Myers
On Florida's southwest coast. Sanibel Island, Fort Myers Beach, and Naples line the Gulf to the south and west.
Jacksonville
On Florida's First Coast. Jacksonville Beach is immediately east; St. Augustine Beach is south.
Miami
On Florida's southeast coast. Haulover and Bill Baggs (Cape Florida) are the close-in surf and jetty access; Lake Okeechobee — the bass capital — is northwest.
Orlando
In central Florida. The Atlantic surf at Cocoa Beach is east; Lake Tohopekaliga sits south and Lake George north — both big-bass water.
Pensacola
On the Florida Panhandle. The sugar-sand Gulf beaches — Pensacola, Navarre, Destin — run east along the barrier islands.
Tampa
On Florida's central Gulf coast. Clearwater and St. Pete beaches sit immediately west on the barrier islands.
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Louisiana
Maryland
Annapolis
On the Severn River at the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Sandy Point State Park is a few miles north; the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (US-50/301) crosses east of the city to public access on the Eastern Shore.
Baltimore
On the Patapsco River at the upper Chesapeake Bay. Public access on the upper Bay sits east, north (toward the head of the Bay), and south toward Anne Arundel County.
Bel Air
In Harford County, MD, near the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Susquehanna River and Conowingo Dam tailrace access sits north; the Havre de Grace shoreline is east.
Bethesda
In Montgomery County, MD, just north of the Potomac River. The C&O Canal segments of the Potomac are immediately south; the Catoctin trout streams are northwest; the Chesapeake Bay's western shore is east.
Columbia
In Howard County, MD, between Baltimore and Washington DC. The upper Chesapeake Bay sits east; the Patuxent River drainage runs through the county; in-county reservoirs (Triadelphia, Rocky Gorge) are managed by WSSC.
Cumberland
In far western MD where the North Branch Potomac runs through the city. The Savage River tailwater sits south; Deep Creek Lake is west in Garrett County.
Easton
On the Eastern Shore of MD on the Tred Avon River near the Choptank. Choptank tidal access sits east; Tilghman Island launches are west; Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge sits south in Dorchester County.
Frederick
Inland MD west of the Catoctin Mountains. The upper Potomac River main stem is south; Catoctin and Patapsco Valley access are east; the Chesapeake Bay's western shore is east via I-70 / US-50.
Gaithersburg
In Montgomery County, MD. The upper Potomac main stem is west; the Patuxent drainage is east; the Chesapeake Bay's western shore is east via I-270 / I-495 / US-50.
Glen Burnie
In Anne Arundel County, MD, between Baltimore and Annapolis. Sandy Point State Park, Fort Smallwood Park, and Downs Park sit east on the upper Chesapeake Bay.
Hagerstown
In western MD on the upper Potomac River drainage. The main-stem upper Potomac (Williamsport area) is south; Antietam Creek, Conococheague Creek, and Greenbrier State Park sit in the immediate radius.
Rockville
In Montgomery County, MD, between the upper Potomac River main stem (west) and the Patuxent River drainage (east). The tidal Potomac under PRFC jurisdiction begins south at the DC line.
Salisbury
On the lower Eastern Shore of MD on the Wicomico River. Assateague Island Atlantic surf is east; lower-Bay launches at Crisfield are southwest; Pocomoke River access sits south.
Silver Spring
In Montgomery County, MD, immediately north of Washington DC. The tidal Potomac (PRFC) is south; the Patuxent drainage is east; Sandy Point on the Chesapeake Bay is the closest open-Bay access east.
Towson
In Baltimore County, MD, north of the city. The upper Chesapeake Bay shoreline (Rocky Point, North Point) is east; Loch Raven Reservoir is within the county.
Waldorf
In Charles County, MD, southeast of Washington DC. The tidal Potomac (PRFC jurisdiction) is west; lower-Bay access points (Point Lookout, Solomons Island) sit south and southeast.
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Billings
On the Yellowstone River in south-central Montana. The Bighorn River tailwater below Yellowtail Dam sits south near Fort Smith.
Bozeman
In Montana's Gallatin Valley. The Gallatin River runs down its canyon to the south, the Madison is west, and the Yellowstone is east toward Livingston — all blue-ribbon trout water.
Helena
Montana's capital, near the Missouri headwaters. Canyon Ferry Lake is just east; the blue-ribbon Missouri tailwater below Holter Dam runs north toward Craig.
Missoula
At the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot in western Montana. The Blackfoot River runs east toward Bonner; Flathead Lake is north.
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
Charlotte
In the North Carolina Piedmont. Lake Norman — the state’s largest man-made lake — sits just north on the Catawba.
Raleigh
In the North Carolina Triangle. Falls Lake sits north and Jordan Lake southwest, both Corps reservoirs.
Wilmington
On the North Carolina coast at the Cape Fear. Wrightsville, Carolina, and Kure beaches line the surf to the south and east.
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Austin
On the Colorado River in Central Texas. Lake Travis sits immediately west in the Highland Lakes chain.
Corpus Christi
On the South Texas Gulf coast. Mustang Island, Port Aransas, and the Padre Island National Seashore line the barrier islands east and south.
Dallas
In North Texas. Lake Texoma straddles the Red River to the north; Lake Fork — famed bass water — is east.
Houston
On the upper Texas Gulf coast. Galveston and Surfside beaches sit southeast; Lake Conroe is north and Sam Rayburn northeast.
San Antonio
In South-Central Texas. Lake Travis and the Highland Lakes are north toward Austin; the Gulf surf at Mustang Island and Port Aransas is southeast.
Virginia
Alexandria
On the Virginia bank of the tidal Potomac River, governed by the Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC). Mason Neck and other Northern Virginia tidal-Potomac access points sit south.
Arlington
In Northern Virginia on the tidal Potomac River (PRFC jurisdiction). The Chesapeake Bay's western shore is east; tidal-Potomac access points continue south through Fairfax and Prince William Counties.
Fredericksburg
On the Rappahannock River in Virginia. Tidal-Rappahannock access is east; the tidal Potomac (PRFC jurisdiction) is north; the upper-Rappahannock non-tidal water is west.
Norfolk
At the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay (Bay mouth) on the James River estuary. The Chesapeake Bay-Bridge-Tunnel (US-13) crosses the Bay mouth from Norfolk to the Eastern Shore; Atlantic surf access is east at Sandbridge and Virginia Beach.
Richmond
On the James River in central Virginia. The tidal Potomac (PRFC) is north; the lower Chesapeake Bay (Kiptopeke, Cape Charles) is east; the Rappahannock drainage sits in between.
Virginia Beach
On the Atlantic coast of southeastern Virginia. Atlantic surf access at Sandbridge sits south; the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge-Tunnel crosses the Bay mouth north; Bay-mouth Virginia access points are immediately west.