My Favorite Beach Toys for Kids This Summer, Tested by Kids

Nothing frustrates kids at the beach more than a cracked, leaky beach pail. The Spielstabil Large Sand Pail is made from ABS plastic that’s strong enough to hold up to hard play without being so thick that it weighs kids down. The 2.5 liter bucket is 6.5 by 7.5 inches, making it a good choice for a range of beach-playing activities. I appreciate that the lip is thin, which makes it easy to pour from.

My then 2-year-old was entertained for at least 30 minutes, splashing in water we put inside and putting sand in and out of it, and her bigger siblings also used it to create a castle. But Spielstabil buckets really shine in their durability. My toddler got mad at one of her siblings and threw the bucket at one point, and it didn't break or scratch, like other pails have in the past. One of my older kids also accidentally dropped it on a rock when it was full of water and it didn't crack. The handle can come off (to hook the bucket onto something) if you want, but it will also stay secure as long as you want it to. Just be aware that this isn’t the largest sand bucket out there. But it ends up being the perfect size for smaller family members to hold and carry.

Age rating: 3+ years | Weight: 9 oz. | Dimensions: 7.5″ (H) x 6.5″ (W) x 6.5″ (D)

Shovels can be a surprisingly tough beach toy to get right. Options that come attached to buckets usually crack with firm digging, and many others have sharp edges that can easily scrape or even cut a toddler. My older kids love the Matty’s Toy Stop sand shovels, but they’re too big for my 3-year-old to use effectively. The Hape Mighty Shovel is a different story. This long-handled shovel is perfectly sized for toddler hands, with an incredibly sturdy feel. My daughter used this for a little of everything, including shoveling wet, heavy sand and scooping up rocks. The Mighty Shovel handled every activity my 3-year-old threw at it without any issues.

I appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into this shovel’s design. The handle is thick without being unwieldy, while the edges of the handle and shovel itself are slightly curved to keep it from digging into palms or scraping your little one. The shovel head has a smooth back too, so toddlers (or you) can create an even spot in the sand to make shapes. My daughter used the shovel to fill up a bucket with water and dump it out—that was endlessly entertaining for her. One of the things I love most about the Hape Mighty Shovel is that it’s clearly designed for toddlers. My daughter was excited to carry this around at the beach and loved to tell her big siblings that this was “her” shovel. It’s been on multiple beach trips, and she pulls it out of the toy pile to use every time. Just be aware that because this is made for toddler hands and is sturdy, it can be used as an effective weapon against siblings. That’s not the shovel’s problem, but something to keep in mind if your toddler, like mine, has no problem staking a claim to their stuff.

While the Hape Mighty Shovel isn’t the cheapest shovel you’ll find, its sturdiness makes the higher price tag worth it. My daughter even repeatedly whacked it against some rocks, and it held up great. I suspect she’ll outgrow the shovel before it breaks, making the price more than worth it.

Age rating: 18+ months | Weight: 3.2 oz. | Dimensions: 15.7″ (H) x 3.5″ (W) x 1.2″ (D)

A good ball is an amazing accessory to have for beach days, but traditional inflatable balls pop easily when they’re in the sand, salt water and heat. The Crocodile Creek Playground Ball is a durable option that can handle just about anything you throw at it, making it the perfect beach toy for kids of all ages.

My family has had a unicorn version of this ball for more than a year, and it’s a huge hit. My kids love it so much that I keep it in my car and whip it out at the playground, beach and older sibling’s sports practices to keep everyone entertained. It’s made of rubber for a bouncy feel, and the ball has a slightly textured surface that makes it easy for small hands to grip. That grippy surface also helps keep the ball from rolling right into the ocean after a strong kick. (As the designated ball-fetcher, that’s a feature I can get behind.)

For this round of testing, we used a Crocodile Creek ball with an adorable toothy shark print. Although the company also offers it in 29 different prints, meaning you can pick a ball based on your toddler’s preferences. My daughter spent about 20 minutes kicking the ball around herself and then with her big siblings. She especially loves the fun pattern and likes to keep the ball next to her at all times. She’ll even hold the ball in the car to and from the beach to make sure we don’t forget it.

The Crocodile Creek ball doesn’t really hold onto sand, but salt water can wear down rubber over time, so it’s a good idea to hose this ball down after beach sessions. The ball arrives deflated, too, making it important to have a small pump handy to blow it up. But while this ball seems simple, it’s one of my kids’ favorite toys for the beach and beyond, delivering plenty of year-round use.

Age rating: 3+ years | Weight: 4.9 oz. | Dimensions: 7″ (D)

Traditional buckets and molds are perfect for creating sand castles and forts, but sometimes kids want to branch out from that. Melissa & Doug’s Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set allows toddlers and big siblings to “bake” at the beach, making plenty of opportunities for pretend play.

My 3-year-old and her 6-year-old big sister flipped when they saw this brightly-colored toy, rushing to get their hands on it after I spent a few minutes wrestling with the plastic case. Once opened, they immediately dove in and started making their own baked creations in the sand. The set features 12 pieces—four cupcake bottoms, four toppers, a mold, a tray, a pretend icing bag and a mesh storage bag—so several kids can play at once. The pieces are made from thick plastic that feels sturdy. Even though my daughter liked clapping together the cupcake bottoms and tops, no pieces chipped.

While Melissa & Doug rates this toy for kids 3 and up, my 3-year-old needed some guidance on how to use the set. She spent a lot of time just plopping the cupcake toppers in the sand to make shapes before I walked her through what this was supposed to be and how to use it. The toppers look like animals—not icing or other cupcake tops—and that threw her off. She also didn't really understand what the icing piece was supposed to be or how to use it, but my 6-year-old did.

Given how many beach toys we have, I love the included mesh storage bag. My kids always lose pieces to things, and this allows us to keep the set together, even in our larger beach toy bag. But you still need to be conscious of keeping all the parts together or the set will start to lose its appeal. I’ve found myself constantly re-sorting toys during beach clean-up to make sure all the parts stay together. Overall, this is a versatile set: Kids can make “cupcakes” and standalone shapes in sand, along with using the tray to collect seashells. This can be the only toy you take to the beach and your toddler will still be entertained all afternoon—that’s a big perk when space in your beach bag is limited.

Age rating: 3+ years | Weight: 0.93 lb. | Dimensions: 15" (L) x 9" (W) x 3" (H)

The HABA Dinosaur Sand Glove is a perfect option for dinosaur fans. Kids simply slip their hand inside and get to work. The glove can be used to dig up sand—the bottom of the jaws doubles as a shovel—or for pretend play. My son had a blast trying to scare his little sisters with it when he wasn’t shoveling.

The glove is made from thick ABS plastic, with nylon straps your child can use to grip the whole thing. It’s also impressively sturdy. This glove was tossed around and used to dig up rocks, along with sand, and it didn't scratch or dent. The plastic has a smooth, slightly slippery feel that allows sand to slide off, making this toy easy to clean. While it has nooks and crevices for the teeth, we didn't have any issues with sand getting stuck or water being trapped.

At about $20, this dinosaur glove is a great price considering it works as a shovel, figurine, hand puppet, and even bedroom decor—my son artfully displayed it in his room after one beach trip. Just keep in mind that this toy is rated for kids 3+ and it may be too heavy for younger children to operate. When we tested this last year my 2-year-old was interested in it, but couldn’t really figure out how to use it other than burying it in the sand. This glove also has a wow factor that makes it perfect for summer birthday presents—I’ve already gifted it to several families.

Age rating: 3+ years | Weight: 9.6 oz.| Dimensions: 7.5″ (H) x 5.3″ (W) x 5.3″ (D)

The Sandy Beach Doll is a slightly different take on a beach toy. Designed to be used in sand and water, you fill the 14-inch plastic doll up with both. Finally, a doll you can let your kid bring to the beach without having to stress about it getting gunked up!

The Sandy Beach Doll comes adorably packaged, with a sturdy, clear plastic bag you can reuse at the beach. The doll also comes with matching sunglasses for your child and the doll, which my daughters were thrilled with. There's also a yellow spade that you can use to fill your doll up with sand or water, and my kids used it later to work in the sand on other projects.

The elephant in the room is that adults may find this doll creepy. I polled 10 adults, and every single one made a reference to Chucky from Child’s Play. But my daughters are smitten. I've never seen them get this excited about a beach toy, and their friends were equally excited to play with the doll. It could be because it's a doll that they can use at the beach—which is a rarity—or there may be something about the design itself. But whatever it is, they’re in love. My daughters play with this doll at the beach, pool and even in the tub.

This doll comes in girl (Sandy) and boy (Sailor) versions, and is made from sturdy plastic. While it will likely crack or break if, say, your child smashes it against a rock, it's still surprisingly sturdy. It's even more robust when it's filled with sand and water. I could see us losing the sunglasses at some point, but the doll itself is hard to misplace. The only real drawback of the Sandy Beach Doll is the price. At $75, it’s far from the cheapest beach toy you’ll find. However, the excitement my kids have gotten from it makes it worth it in my book.

Age rating: 3+ years | Weight: 16 oz. | Dimensions: 14″ (H) x 8.75″ (W)

The second Melissa & Doug beach toy to make our list is the brand’s Sunny Patch Camo Chameleon Watering Can. It’s an adorable and smartly designed watering can that kids of all ages can love, featuring a chameleon perched on a branch.

My youngest child clapped when she saw this watering can. She loved the chameleon design and started petting it as soon as she got her hands on it. She had a great time pouring water and sand out of it and would have happily kept doing it all day. She could mostly play with the can herself, although she wanted my help regularly filling it up. This toy is made from an incredibly sturdy and thick plastic, from the handle to the spout.

The watering can looks difficult to break, and it's survived several play sessions with my kids, as well as my toddler thunking it into my 7-year-old when he tried to steal it away. (So be aware: the thick plastic can be used as a weapon against siblings if your kids tend to fight over who gets to play with a toy first.) I’ve had watering cans with filters and spouts that clogged with sand, which wasn’t an issue with this toy thanks to its wide spout and filter-less end—it’s one of the more high-quality options you can find without going to a “real” adult watering can.

Age rating: 3+ years | Weight: 10.4 oz. | Dimensions: 10.5″ (H) x 8.75″ (W) x 3.5″ (D)

The Green Toys My First Tugboat toy is a multipurpose that’s a great option for families who want to limit how many toys they tote to the beach. This features a toy boat kids can push around, with a hidden scooper underneath. We first got this toy when my now-8-year-old was just a few months old and it’s still a toy that gets regular use in our beach gear.

My two youngest kids (ages 2 and 4 at the time of testing) were the most excited about the boat. My toddler loved scooping water out of her bucket and onto the sand or sand back into the bucket—as long as she was scooping, she was happy. Once she got tired of doing that, she used some figurines on top for pretend play.

My older kids used this more as a sand scooper, which caused wet sand to build up in the bottom section. You can remove the top layer of the tugboat to clean out the underside if needed, but a quick rinse in the ocean got everything out fairly easily.

As a mom, I appreciate that the boat is free of BPA, PVC and phthalates. And another nice perk: It can be tossed in the dishwasher when it needs a more intense cleaning. The only annoyance I had was with the packaging, which needed to be wrestled away from the boat at first. But given that we’ve had ours for more than six years now, I’d say it was worth the effort.

Age rating: 6+ months | Weight: 7.8 oz. | Dimensions: 9″ (L) x 5.25″ (W) x 4.5″ (H)

Yup, this is the third Melissa & Doug product that made the list. The company creates exceptional beach products, making them hard to ignore. I’ve had several friends who’ve owned the Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Play Set, and I finally bought one for my daughter’s birthday a few years ago. It’s a family favorite toy thanks to its adorable design and high functionality.

The set features several components: an octopus whisk, a crab scooper, three measuring cups, a bucket with side handles and a turtle sand sifter that doubles as a lid. This sand toy is surprisingly versatile and can draw in a wide range of kids. My toddler and her older sister are particularly fascinated with cooking and love that they can "bake" in the sand with the kit. While my daughters did pretend play, my son used the turtle shell sand sifter to decorate his castle, and the bucket/mixing bowl to carry water back and forth from the ocean.

This toy is really durable. The parts are all made of plastic, but they're thick, so I didn't worry about them breaking. My only potential concern is the fact that there are multiple parts, which can get lost if you're not conscious enough to keep them all together—and we tend to lose things. However, all of the pieces smartly fit inside the turtle bucket, giving you a designated spot for everything. My daughters also squabbled over who got to play with what at first, but they quickly fell into a rhythm of sharing. Ultimately, you get a lot of entertainment out of this toy, and it has the level of quality you would expect from Melissa & Doug. If you can keep all the parts together, it would make a great hand-me-down for younger siblings.
Age rating: 3+ years | Weight: 14.4 oz. | Dimensions: 7.25″ (H) x 9.25″ (W) x 8.25″ (D)

Finding trucks that can actually roll on the sand—as opposed to being dragged through it—is surprisingly hard. The CAT Dump Truck has big, rugged wheels that actually grip the sand, allowing it to cruise along when it’s pushed.

My kids, and my son in particular, were excited to use this truck. It has a working back that can be filled with sand or water and then dumped, and there's a built-in handle to make the process easy. The CAT truck, which looks like those massive trucks you might see at construction sites, is made from thick plastic, making it a toy that seems like it could stand up to several season's worth of use. There are also no parts that seem like they would break off easily.

Just a heads up: You might want to take this out of the package before you hit the beach. Of all of the toys we tested, this was the hardest to set free. It wasn't anything I couldn't do—it just took me about five minutes to finally get the truck out of the packaging. This truck has different nooks and crannies, but it brushes off easily after a play session. After it spent some quality time in wet sand, I simply rinsed it in the ocean. And because it's made of plastic, so there’s no need to worry about rust. The truck is smaller than ones we’ve used in the past, but it’s also a great size for kids to grip.

Age rating: 2+ years | Weight: 1.4 lbs. | Dimensions: 10″ (L) x 5.75″ (W) x 6″ (H)