The 25 Most Instagrammed Summer Vacation Spots
For many Americans, Memorial Day weekend is a chance to squeeze in a quick trip to the beach or soak up a little culture in the big city. Since the long weekend is the unofficial start of summer vacation, TIME decided to take a look at which places in the U.S. saw the most travel-related Instagram activity.
While thousands of users did flee for the coastline, a good many more flocked to major U.S. cities like New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles—though in the latter case, some beachgoers may have tagged themselves as being in L.A. while others were more specific with tagging themselves at Venice Beach or the like.
Curiously, in spite of the long flight, quite a bit of activity shows up across the major Hawaiian islands. Among continental beaches, those in driving distance to major cities saw the most activity, with spots like Miami Beach and Virginia Beach drawing large crowds. South Carolina and the Florida panhandle were also particularly popular.
MethodologyIt’s not possible to know for sure that every tagged photo is from a person on vacation. To get the best results, TIME started by analyzing all geotagged photos in the U.S. with the tag “vacation,” then examined which other tags were commonly associated with them. That led us to “travel,” “travelgram,” “ocean” and “beach.”
Central Park
Location: New York, NY
Count: 10,620
1 of 25
Venice Beach
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Count: 4,990
2 of 25
Golden Gate Bridge
Location: San Francisco, CA
Count: 4,002
3 of 25
South Beach, Miami
Location: Miami Beach, FL
Count: 3,079
4 of 25
Millennium Park
Location: Chicago, IL
Count: 3,017
5 of 25
Las Vegas Strip
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Count: 3,010
6 of 25
La Jolla Cove
Location: San Diego, CA
Count: 2,977
7 of 25
Waikiki Beach
Location: Honolulu, HI
Count: 2,774
8 of 25
Disney's Magic Kingdom
Location: Orlando, FL
Count: 2,235
9 of 25
Santa Monica Pier
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Count: 1,864
10 of 25
The Gentleman's Club: The Office
Location: Miami, FL
Count: 1,833
11 of 25
Lincoln Memorial
Location: Washington, DC
Count: 1,540
12 of 25
Pike Place Market
Location: Seattle, WA
Count: 1,496
13 of 25
Point Dume Beach, Malibu, California
Location: Malibu, CA
Count: 1,355
14 of 25
The Boston Common
Location: Boston, MA
Count: 1,141
15 of 25
New Orleans French Quarter
Location: New Orleans, LA
Count: 987
16 of 25
International Rose Test Garden
Location: Portland, OR
Count: 947
17 of 25
Fort Lauderdale Beach
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Count: 932
18 of 25
Montage Laguna Beach
Location: Laguna Beach, CA
Count: 928
19 of 25
Crystal Cove State Park
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Count: 842
20 of 25
Kaanapali Beach
Location: Lahaina, HI
Count: 833
21 of 25
Fort Zachary Beach, Key West
Location: Key West, FL
Count: 712
22 of 25
Virginia Beach Oceanfront/Boardwalk
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Count: 689
23 of 25
Huntington Dog Beach
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Count: 680
24 of 25
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Count: 673