There is nothing quite like a fun-filled day at the beach with your family and/or friends.

But let’s face it, all of that lugging of coolers, blankets, folding chairs, umbrellas, beach games, and everything else needed for a full day at the beach can wear you out before the good times even begin!

The solution? Investing in a good beach cart to do the heavy work; leaving you with the energy to enjoy your day of fun in the water, sand, and sun.

Best Beach Carts

	Mac Sports Heavy Duty Beach Wagon	Wheeleez Heavy Duty Beach Cart	Rio Beach Wonder Wheeler Beach Cart
Size:	36"L x 21"W x 25"H	36"L x 21"W x 25"D	27"W x 40"L x 31"D
Weight Capacity:	150 Pounds	220 Pounds	100 Pounds
Features:	Adjustable Handles, 2 cup holders	Extra-large, wide wheels	Folds flat, insulated cooler tote bag

For more of my beach gear recommendations, have a look through these popular Outside Pursuits guide links: Beach Tents, Beach Coolers, Beach Umbrellas.

Quick Answers: The 7 Best Rated Beach Carts For 2021

1. Mac Sports Heavy Duty Folding Beach Wagon Cart
2. Wheeleez Heavy Duty Beach Cart
3. Timber Ridge Folding Camping Wagon/Cart
4. Tommy Bahama All Terrain Beach Cart
5. Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon
6. Mybeachcart Foldable Beach Cart
7. PORTAL Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon

Our reviews of the top rated beach wagons with our buyers guide below will help you choose a good beach cart for you.

Beach Cart Reviews

#1 Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Beach Wagon Cart

The Mac Sports Heavy Duty All Terrain Utility Cart is our Editor’s Choice as the best beach cart for soft sand.

It comes with an ergonomic, adjustable height handle which clips into place when not in use, as well as 2 generously sized cup holders to keep your beverages safe from spills during transport.

It’s equipped with extra-large, extra-wide, hard plastic wheels, and this beach cart easily handles traversing sandy beaches and other terrains, even with a hefty load.

And, you never need to worry about a flat tire with this one. The handle is height adjustable to save your back from having to bend over to pull this beach cart.

Built with a heavy-duty frame and durable 600 denier fabric, it is made to last and allows for easy clean-up, as well as offering UV and mildew resistance.

The bottom of the inside is padded. A wonderful beach wagon for the entire family!

It comes fully assembled and sets up in seconds. It is the perfect cart for use at the beach, camping, yard work, and more. Folds quickly and comes with a storage bag for easy storing between uses.

#2 Wheeleez Heavy Duty Beach Cart

The most noticeable feature of the Wheeleez Heavy Duty Beach Cart is the oversized, balloon tires. Made of durable materials, these wheels can manage everything from soft sand to jagged rocks.

Because the wheels have more contact area with the ground, this beach cart is also ideal for gardening. No more wheel tracks through your lawn.

With an axle designed of marine grade anodized aluminum, your new cart will stand up to all weather conditions. Hot sun, salt spray, you name it. This axle is rust resistant.

Assembly takes just a few minutes with all necessary hardware included. All hardware is made of stainless steel to increase the cart’s durability.

Make sure all your gear gets there in one trip no matter the terrain.

This heavy-duty beach cart can handle a lot more weight than many others available so if you’re at the beach with family or even for an event, you’ll want this cart with you.

#3 Timber Ridge Folding Camping Wagon/Cart

Timber Ridge Folding Camping Wagon/ Beach Cart comes fully assembled and sets up in seconds. It includes a convenient removable padded bottom and carry bag for use when the cart is folded or being stored.

The extra-large and wide wheels offer ease of use in a variety of terrains and applications, as well as excellent stability. They are made of hard plastic, with rubberized taped around the center for added traction.

The handle is an adjustable, telescoping style, easily changeable in height, so you can adjust it depending upon where it is best set for each user.

The Timber Ridge folding camping/beach cart is made with a sturdy steel frame and durable 600D polyester material, allowing for high load weights between 110 to 150 pounds, and years of dependable service.

Timber Ridge back this product with a 1 year manufacturers warranty, and is the best beach wagon for soft sand.

#4 Rio Beach Wonder Wheeler Wide Beach Cart

The Rio Beach Wonder comes assembled and ready to use. It is manufactured with a sturdy metal frame and durable mesh, offering easy clean-up. Perhaps one of its best features is the 48 quart cooler built in.

This beach wagon cart makes it easy to transport your gear from place to place and works well on most surfaces.

The 8” extra wide solid rubber wheels make it suitable for soft, deep sand.

This is an economical choice for a work horse of beach/outdoor cart, and will make the task of moving heavy items a breeze, not to mention it will save you many trips back and forth while unloading the car or truck.

The handle is not adjustable in height, but does fold for space saving storage of this beach cart. Works great for use at the grocery store and yard work as well.

We give the Rio Beach Wonder the nod as the best beach cart because of its ease of folding and carry capacity.

#5 Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon

The Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon offers you a good bang for the buck if you are in search of a more economical choice for an outdoor use cart.

Built with a heavy-duty frame and easy to clean 600 Denier fabric, which will enable you to transport up to 150 lbs. of gear with ease.

It can easily be used on most surfaces and remain steady and stable. Pulls well on most sandy beaches and other surfaces.

This folding beach wagon includes a telescoping handle to accommodate most anyone, and offers two mesh cup holders to keep your beverages safe during transport

While this model does not offer the extra-large and wide wheels, it is perfect for camping, and most other outdoor activities where you need to haul some serious gear, but not on beaches where sand is very deep.

The 8” tires are solid rubber with a hard plastic rim.

#6 Mybeachcart Foldable Beach Cart

The marine grade aluminum frame construction of the Mybeachcart Foldable Beach Cart is lightweight and easily maneuvered over sand and other terrain.

Easily fold for storage or transportation, even in the trunk of most cars.

Removable wheels make this process even easier. The included air pump means you can take this cart from folded to assembled and ready for your trip in minutes.

The extra-large, non-slip platform accommodates larger or awkwardly shaped items. Two buckle straps, each 7’ long, keep your items secure even when bouncing around on the sand.

A mesh bag is included for smaller items, designed specifically to let the sand out and your belongings secure. As far as beach carts go, this is one of the most adaptable as far as size and shape of cargo is concerned.

#7 PORTAL Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon

The Portal brand beach/camping cart offers a high weight limit, in a lightweight, yet tough design to offer you years of dependable service.

Aside from the folding steel frame, it offers a double layered, heavy duty fabric, for durability and increased load bearing capacity.

This beach buggy cart comes with a built-in weather resistant cover to protect the contents of your beach cart.

The handle folds down, to save even more space when folding the unit for storage in the included storage bag.

However the handle height is not adjustable, which is one drawback on this model.

With a large space and weight capacity, solid, large rubber wheels, quick set-up and ease of use, this is sure to be a handy cart for campers and outdoor enthusiasts of all interests, as well as those using it for chores around the house and yard.

Solid rubber 8” tires on a hard plastic rim make the Portal the best beach wagon that can carry a heavy load.

How to Choose the Best Beach Cart / Wagon – Buyers Guide

• Wheel Size/Material
• Weight Capacity
• Functional Features
• Stability
• Other Features
• FAQ’s About Beach Carts
• Helpful Tips For Beach Carts

Wheel Size/Material

Clearly, wheel size will be an important consideration when choosing a folding beach cart, especially, if the beach you plan on frequenting has a thick or deep sand base.

For the best performance in sand, choose a beach cart with wheels that are extra-large in diameter as well as width. This helps prevent the beach cart from sinking into the sand, making it difficult to pull.

For beach use, camping, and most all other outdoor terrains, the Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Beach Wagon Cart is our #1 choice.

Our second choice is the Timber Ridge Folding Camping Wagon / Beach Cart. In shallow sand and other terrains any of the above 5 reviewed foldable beach wagons should work nicely.

As for the material of the wheels, they are all durable. However, if your primary use will be on a cement or paved surface, you may consider choosing a model with solid rubber wheels, for far less “road noise” than the plastic wheels would create.

Weight Capacity

The weight capacity of each of these beach carts is just about the same for each model, about 150 pounds, with the exception of the Portal brand beach/camping cart. This one can pack up to 225 pounds, thanks to the durable double layering of the 600D Material.

Bear in mind, however, that this model does not offer the extra wide wheels, so it is not recommended to attempt to use the Portal brand beach/camping cart fully loaded on a sandy beach or soggy ground. You may just find yourself stuck.

Functional Features

Among the functional features available, are adjustable handles which can be raised or lowered to best suit the person pulling the beach cart.

Not all folding utility carts come with this feature, so if this is something you feel is essential to you, be sure you choose one that offers this option.

Those who are above average height will especially appreciate this feature because it will keep them from having to hunch over to pull the beach cart, saving them an aching back.

Beach carts without an adjustable handle, should offer a folding handle option for ease of storage.

Another feature that can be great to have on your beach cart are the large mesh cup holders that some models come with. These are handy for keeping your hands free during transport, while also keeping your beverage safe from spills, yet close at hand if needed.

Stability

Stability is an important factor in any beach/camping/outdoor cart. While all of the above offer good stability, care must be used when navigating the beach cart. If you attempt to turn the cart too sharply, it can likely result in a tip-over, especially on terrain that is not flat and solid.

On models where the two front wheels sit closer together, and not at the corners of the beach cart, the chances

Terrain

Before you do anything else, it’s a smart idea to figure out the type of terrain you’ll be using your beach cart over. Sand is pretty much the standard, as beaches have well…sand. However, what about before you get down to the beach? Will you be traversing rocky areas?

Then they need to be all-terrain-suited. If you’re going to be simply rolling it along the sidewalk or asphalt then this probably isn’t going to be too much of an issue.

Wheels

This goes hand-in-hand with our last point. Most wheels on the best beach carts are typically made of either a hard plastic or durable rubber.

Plastic is a bit noisy for use over cement and other hard surfaces, though they roll smoothly over sand and softer environments like grass. There are nice meet-in-the-middle wheels that are made of plastic, though have rubberized tape in the center of said wheels to help maneuver various surface types better.

Rubber is still very durable and naturally goes well with harder surfaces, as well as sand. However, many times they’re a bit more expensive than plastic.

Also make sure you’re looking at the width of the wheels, as this will greatly affect how balanced the cart is. The wider, the better balance you have.

Frame

The frame plays a huge role in how convenient, light, and durable a beach cart is. Frames are going to always be made of metal, though the type of metal will vary depending on the model and manufacturer. Typically, you’ll have aluminum, steel, or some combination of the two.

Aluminum: Aluminum is very lightweight yet still remains durable enough to last for years to come. It’s also usually very affordable.

Steel: It’s harder to get tougher than steel, however steel can often be more expensive and heavier than aluminum.

Take a look to see how much weight the frame can carry, too. Aluminum may be strong, but steel typically allows for heavier loads of up to around 150 pounds, more or less. Also, always make sure it has a type of anti-corrosion coating on the frame, and ensure you’re rinsing it off after you get home from a day at the beach to eliminate any saltwater.

Cart Material

The material of the carrying area is obviously important to the performance of the beach cart. It doesn’t matter how durable the frame is or how smooth the wheels are if the material is of poor quality. There are many out there made of mesh and the like, which may look particularly “beachy” and let the breeze through. However, they’re simply not going to hold up well over time.

Through research and reading countless user feedback, we’ve determined that without a doubt, the best material is 600D fabric. It’s extremely durable, tear-resistant, lightweight, and oftentimes holds its color better so there’s no worry about it fading and looking used.

If you accidentally spill a soda or other beverage, you don’t have to worry about it getting ruined, either. Simply get out the hose when you arrive home and spray it down!

Foldable

While the actual material of the frame is important, it’s also nice to know if it’s foldable. Unless you live right next to the beach, you’ll need to be able to fold it up into a compact size to be able to transport it in your vehicle easily.

Most will have a simple method of doing this, such as pulling a tab or pressing a button. This is going to encourage you to use your beach cart more often, as it’s going to be much more convenient for you.

Durability

Beach carts are investments. No, they may not be the most expensive investment out there, but you can plan on using them for years in the future. This is directly due to the high-quality materials used in the construction of these models. By going up in price slightly, you’ll have a lower risk of it breaking or simply not working properly.

Making sure your cart’s frame is made of steel or aluminum is going to help out in this regard greatly. The fabric of the carrying area should also last a long time, and not rip easily.

Assembly

Once your beach cart arrives on your doorstep, you’re going to want to get it together and head to the beach right away. We all turn into kids when we receive “presents”. However, assembly is almost always necessary in this case. You don’t want it to take you hours to assemble – otherwise the magic kind of wears off. It should be as simple as putting wheels on and maybe attaching a handle.

Other Features

Beach carts typically come fully assembled, and set up/break down in just seconds. Most come with a convenient carry bag or storage bag, as well.

The slim, compact design when folded makes storage a breeze, and makes it simple to fit into a vehicle to take it along wherever you go.

Some Beach carts even come with a padded insert for the bottom of the cart. This works nicely for providing a smooth flat bottom to keep your load more stable or to help make it more comfortable if you choose to transport children or pets in it.

These beach carts also have the capability of accommodating universal standard clamp-on cart umbrellas to provide shade for your kids, critters, or coolers.

FAQs About Beach Carts

The following are the most commonly asked questions by people who are in the market for a beach/outdoor cart.

Q: How heavy are the beach carts?

A: Most all beach carts weigh between 20 and 26 pounds. This is because they are made with a durable steel frame.

Q: Can I transport my children/pets in this cart?

A: Most manufacturers advise against it because it is not equipped with seatbelts or other safety devices for passengers. However, many people purchase these carts specifically, for this purpose and are very pleased with the results. If you do, know it is at your own risk.

Q: Do they come assembled?

A: Yes! All the carts on our list come to you fully assembled. No need for any tools. Just open the box, take it out, and it is ready to go. They set up in mere seconds. 

Q: Can the material portion be removed?

A: Unfortunately, no. It is sewn around the metal frame, which helps provide strength and durability. But it is easy to clean with a damp cloth or some warm water and at touch of dish soap for those more soiled spots.

Q: Do the beach carts steer well, or are the front wheels wobbly?

A: They steer exceptionally well, as the handles are connected to the front wheels  (on most models) giving maximum control and preventing the wheels from wobbling.

Helpful Tips For Using a Beach Cart

1. For primary use as a beach cart, we suggest choosing a model with extra-large and wide wheels.

2. Clean and store in carry case after each use to maintain good condition.

3. To prevent damage to your new beach cart, do not exceed weight limit.

4. For primary use on sidewalks, floors, or in stores we suggest choosing a model with rubber wheels for noise reduction.

5. Avoid allowing children to play on, in or pull when loaded, especially when unattended by an adult.

It’s Time to Hit the Beach!

Now that you know more about what to look for in a beach or outdoor cart to best suit your personal needs, it’s time to get out there and buy that perfect cart.

Whether it’s hitting the beach, camping, a day at the park, working around the yard or a multitude of other activities you may have planned for this awesome workhorse of a beach cart, it’s time to get to it.

Above all, stay safe and have a blast!

How We Researched

To come up with the top beach carts, we researched a variety of sources for reviews such as Target, Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart along with our own personal experience.

We also consulted online magazines for product research and reviews to get as much unbiased information as we could. To help weed out fake reviews we used Fakespot.com to make sure we only looked at genuine reviews.

With so much quality gear available, we had to narrow it down based on what we felt were the best options for the price. The staff authors have a wide and varied background in adventure travel, hiking and backpacking.

The authors have decades of experience and are eager to share their knowledge with readers.

To help narrow down the selection we used personal experiences along with recommendations from fellow travelers and tour guides.

After extensive research, we came up with our list to help you choose the right one for you.

Sources