The Best Beach Wagons of 2024

Is it just us, or does it feel like every time you go to the beach, you must run a mini-marathon, transferring all of your gear from the car to the sand? Getting your umbrellas, towels, beach toys, kids, snacks, drinks, and body boards down to the beach typically requires multiple trips, leaving you exhausted by the time you finally are ready to “relax.” 

Adding a quality beach wagon to your routine can help you streamline your gear-hauling while reducing trips to the car and the exhaustion that ensues. They’re a game changer. Seriously. The best beach wagons fit easily in your vehicle, are quick to set up, fit all your beach gear, and roll over varying surfaces like boardwalks, dirt paths, grass, rocks, and, most importantly, sand.

With so many beach wagon options to choose from, finding the best one for your needs can be a challenge. To help, our resident beach bum and gear expert, Rebecca Parsons, tested eight of the best beach wagons out there on daily trips to the beach near her home on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Rebecca used these wagons for weeks while considering important factors like cargo and weight capacity, wheel size and rolling performance, steering, how well they pack away for storage and transport, materials and durability, and what each is best suited for.

Our top beach wagon recommendations are listed below. If you have general questions or want to learn more about what makes a good beach cart, check out our Buyer’s Guide and Price & Value sections at the end of this article. To see the models we tested and their specs at a glance, head to our Comparison Chart. 

Editor’s Note: This guide was updated on November 10, 2024, with the addition of a Price & Value section to help explain what you get for your money.

The Best Beach Wagons of 2024

• Best Overall Beach Wagon: Timber Ridge Double Decker Wagon
• Best Budget Beach Wagon: Beau Jardin Folding Beach Wagon
• Best All-Terrain Beach Wagon: Mac Sports Heavy Duty All-Terrain Beach Wagon
• Best Beach Wagon for Easy Storage and Transport: Sekey 220L Collapsible Folding Wagon
• Best Beach Wagon for Kids: Veer All-Terrain Cruiser
• Best Budget Beach Wagon for Kids: Radio Flyer Beach & Boardwalk Wagon

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Best of the Rest

Beach Wagons Comparison Chart

Beach Wagon	MSRP	Weight	Weight Capacity	Open Dimensions	Folded Dimensions
Timber Ridge Double Decker Wagon	$220	27.3 lbs.	450 lbs.	54″ L x 18.5″ W x 34.5″ H	15″ L x 7″ W x 35.5″ H
Beau Jardin Folding Beach Wagon	$110	29.9 lbs.	350 lbs.	35.4″ L x 23.8″ W x 31.5″ H	7″ L x 23.8″ W x 31″ H
Mac Sports Heavy Duty All-Terrain Beach Wagon	$160	23.1 lbs.	150 lbs.	37” L x 21” W x 25” H	10″ L x 21″ W x 31″ H
Sekey 220L Collapsible Folding Wagon	$130	24.0 lbs.	330 lbs.	37″ L x 23″ W x 40″ H	13” L x 9.5″ W x 24″ H
Veer All-Terrain Cruiser	$699	32.6 lbs.	110 lbs. kids, 250 lbs. cargo	37” L x 20” W x 23” H	37″ L x 20″ W x 14″ H
Radio Flyer Beach and Boardwalk Wagon	$160	32.0 lbs.	150 lbs.	47.6″ L x 24.4″ W x 38.4″ H	7″ L x 18.5″ W x 32.7″ H
Rio Brands Wonder Wheeler Beach Cart	$99	13.5 lbs.	100 lbs.	34.25″ L x 26″ W x 41.5″ H	34.25″ L x 26″ W x 10″ H
iHomey Collapsible Folding Utility Wagon	$49	21.0 lbs.	200 lbs.	35″ L x 20″ W x 23″ H	6″ L x 19″ W x 26″ H

How We Tested the Best Beach Wagons

The team at GearJunkie loves all things outdoors and that includes spending time at the beach. Whether we’re spending time at the coast, a nearby lake, heading to an outdoor concert, or doing chores around the house, we learned a long time ago that having a wagon to carry our gear can be a huge help.

Our Expert Tester

For our beach wagons buyer’s guide, we recruited self-proclaimed beach bum Rebecca Parsons to test and review all of the models included here. Rebecca lives on Oahu, Hawaii, and ventures to the beach daily. Sometimes, she hits the beach for a quick surf, but most of the time, beach days involve the three F’s — food, friends, and family.

For long beach days with lots of toys, beach chairs, beach towels, coolers, canopy tents, and more, Rebecca regularly uses a beach wagon to make getting her gear from the car to the beach much easier. She’s also a full-time gear reviewer and has been writing about beach gear and equipment for a decade. 

Our Testing Process

After researching the best and most popular beach wagons on the market, we rounded up a diverse selection of 8 models to test and compare. Some are designed to carry young children, others have heavy-duty wheels designed to tackle mounds of sand, and others are double-deckers so you can more easily store and organize your gear. While many of them share a similar design and functionality, we found that not all beach wagons are created equally.

During testing, we considered how easy each cart was to set up and break down, how much cargo space and weight capacity each provided, how well the wheels fared on the sand and other surfaces, special features, and how small each packs down to fit in your vehicle or storage space.

We packed these carts in the car and took them to the beach and oceanside parks, where we wheeled them across grass, dirt, and sand. We packed them to the brim with stuff, cruised around with minimal gear, and even had the dogs ride in them. When testing concluded, we zeroed in on our favorites and those that excel in specific ways compared to the rest.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Beach Wagon

Beach wagons all serve the same basic function, but there are quite a few things to consider when deciding which one is right for you. By assessing what you’ll be hauling and the surfaces you’ll be pulling it over, you should be able to determine the size, weight capacity, wheels, and beach wagon type that’s best suited to make your trips to the beach easier and more enjoyable. And, to make your trips to the beach even better, you might also be interested in our reviews of the best women’s sandals, hard-sided coolers, and soft coolers, too.

Intended Use

When you’re in the market for a beach wagon, the first thing you should consider is how you plan on using your wagon. Do you want to use it to help transport your children? Will it be strictly for gear? Or is your hope that your toddler and your gear will all fit into the cart? Along with that, considering the size, shape, amount, and weight of the gear you intend to haul is very important.

It’s also helpful to think about the type of terrain you’ll be pulling your cart across. Most likely, you’ll be pulling it through sand at some point, so you’ll want heavy-duty, wide, large-diameter, all-terrain wheels. But if your beach has a smooth path leading to it, then skinnier wheels may be just as effective.

Carrying Capacity

Capacity accounts for how much gear you can fit in your beach wagon and how much weight it can handle. Before purchasing, consider what you plan on carrying in your wagon. Kids? Dogs? Chairs? Coolers? All of the above? After thinking about how you plan to use your wagon, look at the storage space, if there are seats or separate areas for kids, and the weight capacity of the wagon. 

By considering the size, shape, and weight of the items you’re hoping to move in the wagon, you can also narrow down the choices further. If you intend on using your wagon mainly for beach towels, chairs, and a few beach games, you won’t need a high-weight capacity, and a wagon like the RIO Wonder Wheeler Beach Cart could do the trick.

But, if you plan on hauling a heavy YETI cooler packed to the brim with drinks and food for a beach BBQ, a portable grill, large chairs, an umbrella or sunshade, and cooking gear, then you’ll probably do better with a wagon that can support a heavy load like the Sekey Foldable Wagon or the Timber Ridge Double Decker.

Portability

Unless you’re lucky enough to live within walking distance of the beach, you’ll likely have to transport your beach wagon in the car. For this reason, you’ll want to make sure the wagon is light enough for you to lift and load it into your trunk comfortably and that it will fit in your vehicle, too. Fortunately, most beach wagons are reasonably lightweight and collapsible, so they can be folded down to a much smaller size to fit in the back of most vehicles.

Lighter-weight wagons may be easier to lift but tend to be less durable and typically have lower weight capacities. Heavier beach wagons may be slightly more cumbersome to lift into your trunk, but they tend to be made from beefier and more durable materials. Again, consider how you plan to use your wagon to determine if you want to prioritize a lighter, more manageable beach wagon or a heavier, more durable wagon.

The lightest wagon on our list was the RIO Wonder Wheeler Beach Cart, which weighed just 13.5 pounds, whereas the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser was the heaviest at 32.5 pounds. Every other model fell somewhere in between, and all of them were light enough to be relatively easy to deal with.

Storage

Beach wagons are inherently somewhat big and bulky — if you don’t have a garage, finding a place to store them can be challenging. Luckily, almost all the wagons we tested were collapsible, making them small enough to store in a closet or under a bed. If you’re tight on space, make sure the wagon you are interested in is collapsible.

Additionally, once collapsed, most of the wagons could be stored upright as they were able to stand on their own. However, a few couldn’t stand on their own, which was annoying if you plan to store it leaned against a wall. 

Wheels

When it comes to beach wagons, the wheels are an important factor to consider that dictates how well they roll over varied surfaces and sand. In our opinion, larger wheels — both in width and diameter — are what you’re after. The larger the wheel diameter, the easier it can roll over obstacles like rocks and roots.

The wider the wheel, the more “flotation” it has, and the easier it will be to roll over soft sand. Narrower wheels, on the other hand, can more easily sink into soft sand, but if you plan on mostly using your wagon on firm, even surfaces such as the boardwalk or your local park, then you should be fine with smaller wheels. 

Materials

Beach wagons spend a lot of time exposed to sun, sand, and salt water, so their construction is especially important. The ideal beach wagon is made from durable yet lightweight materials. This includes the fabrics used in their construction, as they tend to take a lot of abuse, as heavy and sand-covered objects are often placed inside. Thin materials can wear out quickly, whereas thicker, UV—and water-resistant fabrics can stand up to more abuse from both your gear and the elements.

The same goes for the frames. While we appreciate lightweight construction, we appreciate things that don’t break even more. Thin and fragile frame tubes and other parts can be much more prone to bending, buckling, and failing prematurely than slightly heavier and more durable options. Even then, the weight difference is marginal and worth a few extra pounds for added peace of mind and longevity.

Extra Pockets

While extra pockets aren’t necessary, they are nice to have. Most of the beach wagons we tested came with a cup holder or two, which was great for storing a water bottle or coffee to free up your hands.

Some carts come with mesh pockets on the interior or exterior for storing smaller items such as a phone, book, or wallet. Again, while we don’t think they are necessary, smaller pockets can be very helpful for organization and keeping track of smaller items that can often get lost in the shuffle of a larger cargo area.

Handle

Surprisingly, the handle design for beach wagons has a fair amount of variation among the models we tested. Some wagons have fixed-length handles, others have adjustable handles, and some are equipped with springs that help them stay upright even when you’re not holding them.

We were fans of wagons with collapsible handles for storing and transporting and really enjoyed when the handle could stay upright so it wasn’t just laying in the sand. The most unique handle of all, however, was on the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser. This handle can be used to pull the wagon behind you, or it can be locked in position to push it like a stroller. We found this added versatility to an excellent kid-friendly wagon, as the user could choose to use it as a stroller or wagon, depending on the situation.

Price & Value

There is a bit of price variation among the beach wagon models we tested. Our selection of wagons ranges in price from around $80 up to $220, with one high-end outlier at $699. Most of the beach wagons we tested are relatively affordable, and all of them will help make your beach days a little easier. In our testing, we found that quality and price seem to go hand in hand.

Budget

For example, the least expensive model we tested, the iHomey Utility Wagon ($49), uses materials that don’t seem very durable. It works, but the narrow wheels don’t roll very well in sand, and it doesn’t feel like it can handle much abuse. Stepping up a little in price to something like the Beau Jardin ($110) Wagon is our recommendation. From the materials to the construction, everything about this wagon feels more durable, and that is reflected in the higher, but still reasonable, price. The wider wheels also work better on sand and mixed surfaces, and the 350-pound weight capacity means you won’t have to skimp on what you load into it.

Mid-Tier

Climbing a step up the price ladder, we find our top-rated beach wagon, the Timber Ridge Double Decker Wagon ($220). This model ups the ante of storage and carrying capacity with two levels and an impressive weight capacity of 450 pounds. You’d be hard-pressed to overload this wagon or find items that won’t fit. The lower level opens to fit bulky things like chairs or even pop-up canopy tents, while the upper basket and organizational pockets keep all of your smaller items contained. It’s also got a sturdy frame and robust materials that seem like they should last for several seasons of abuse. Plus, we’ve noticed that it’s often sold for a discounted price of around $170.

Premium

The Veer All-Terrain Cruiser ($699) is by far the most expensive model we tested, but it also stands in a class of its own in terms of engineering, build quality, and performance. This wagon’s materials, construction, and kid-carrying capability are miles ahead of the other models we tested. For active parents with a more flexible budget, this is a seriously top-shelf way to move your kids around the beach, neighborhood, parks, etc., and it’s also versatile for carrying cargo, pets, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions