The Best U.S. Vacation Towns for Accessible Travel [2026 Data Study]

Planning an accessible vacation can mean checking far more than whether a hotel offers an accessible room. Travelers may also need lodging with step-free access, wheelchair-accessible restaurants, accessible trails and tours, and public restrooms they can use comfortably — all in the same destination.

To find the best U.S. vacation towns for an accessible stay, we analyzed 100 popular leisure destinations, including beach towns, mountain getaways, resort communities, historic towns, outdoor recreation hubs, and major tourist cities. Each destination was scored across 8 factors tied to lodging, dining, recreation, and public amenities.

Smaller leisure markets dominated the top of the ranking. Pensacola Beach, Florida, placed first with a score of 91.3 out of 100, finishing 1.7 points ahead of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, stood out as the study’s most frequent category leader.

Which Vacation Towns Rank Best for Accessible Travel?

These are the 10 vacation towns that ranked best based on their overall scores (out of 100) and strongest individual accessibility factors.

1. Pensacola Beach, Florida: 91.3

Pensacola Beach takes the top spot with one of the strongest all-around profiles across the factors measured. Per 1,000 residents, the destination has 8.3 Airbnb listings with step-free access, 11.3 hotels with accessible bathrooms and stair-free entrance paths, 64.3 wheelchair-accessible restaurants, and 16 accessible public restrooms.

2. Gatlinburg, Tennessee: 89.6

Accessible lodging helped Gatlinburg finish just 1.7 points behind Pensacola Beach. The mountain destination has 42.4 Airbnb listings with step-free access per 1,000 residents — the highest rate in the study — along with 11.4 qualifying hotels and 3.2 wheelchair-accessible tours and activities per 1,000 residents.

3. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: 75.5

Rehoboth Beach led more individual factors than any other destination in the study. Per 1,000 residents, it has 30 hotels with accessible bathrooms and stair-free entrances, 68.3 wheelchair-accessible restaurants, 7.5 wheelchair-accessible trails, and 25 accessible public restrooms.

4. Pigeon Forge, Tennessee: 75.3

Pigeon Forge performed particularly well for accessible lodging and activities. It has 24 Airbnb listings with step-free access, 6 qualifying hotels, and 4.2 wheelchair-accessible tours and activities per 1,000 residents.

5. Cape May, New Jersey: 71.4

Cape May earned its top-5 finish with strong results across dining, public amenities, and activities. Per 1,000 residents, the coastal destination has 16.1 wheelchair-accessible restaurants, 9.3 accessible public restrooms, and 3.9 wheelchair-accessible tours and activities.

6. Ogunquit, Maine: 70.5

Ogunquit was the clear leader for accessible public restrooms, with 61.9 per 1,000 residents — more than twice the rate of any other top-10 destination. It also has 17.5 wheelchair-accessible restaurants and 7.5 qualifying hotels per 1,000 residents.

7. Ka’anapali, Hawaii: 66.6

Ka’anapali ranked first for wheelchair-accessible tours and activities, with 5 per 1,000 residents. The resort community also has 22.5 Airbnb listings with step-free access per 1,000 residents, helping it perform well across both lodging and recreation.

8. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: 65.9

Carmel-by-the-Sea stood out for its mix of dining, trails, and public amenities. Per 1,000 residents, it has 20.3 wheelchair-accessible restaurants, 4.2 wheelchair-accessible trails, and 17.7 accessible public restrooms.

9. Leavenworth, Washington: 63.9

Leavenworth had the lowest median 5-night Airbnb price among the top 10, at $1,463 for a listing with step-free access. It also has 3.8 qualifying Airbnb listings, 10 wheelchair-accessible restaurants, and 1.7 wheelchair-accessible trails per 1,000 residents.

10. Bar Harbor, Maine: 61.1

Bar Harbor rounds out the top 10 with a balanced accessibility profile. Per 1,000 residents, the destination has 2.5 Airbnb listings with step-free access, 4.7 qualifying hotels, 9.4 wheelchair-accessible restaurants, 1.6 wheelchair-accessible trails, and 5.5 accessible public restrooms.

Which Vacation Towns Have the Most Accessible Lodging?

Lodging is a major part of planning an accessible vacation, so we also looked at the destinations with the highest concentration of Airbnb listings, filtered for step-free access, and hotels, filtered for both accessible bathrooms and stair-free paths to the entrance.

Most Airbnb Listings With Step-Free Access per 1,000 Residents

• Gatlinburg, Tennessee: 42.4
• Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: 29.2
• Pigeon Forge, Tennessee: 24
• Ka’anapali, Hawaii: 22.5
• Mackinaw City, Michigan: 13.8

Most Hotels With Accessible Bathrooms and Stair-Free Entrances per 1,000 Residents

• Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: 30
• Moab, Utah: 25.1
• Malibu, California: 13.1
• Gatlinburg, Tennessee: 11.4
• Pensacola Beach, Florida: 11.3

Rehoboth Beach and Gatlinburg are the only destinations to appear in both top-5 lodging lists. Rehoboth Beach ranked first for qualifying hotels and second for Airbnb listings with step-free access, while Gatlinburg placed first for Airbnb listings and fourth for hotels.

The Top Vacation Town for Each Accessibility Factor

Rehoboth Beach is the study’s most frequent category leader, ranking first for qualifying hotels, wheelchair-accessible restaurants, and wheelchair-accessible trails. The remaining factors were led by Gatlinburg, Milwaukee, South Padre Island, Ka’anapali, and Ogunquit.

Full Ranking Data

Curious how a destination ranked? Use the interactive table below to search all 100 towns and cities or compare their overall scores, lodging, dining, recreation, and accessible public restroom availability.

Methodology

To determine the best U.S. vacation towns for accessible travel, we started with a curated list of 100 popular leisure destinations. The list included major tourist cities, beach towns, mountain destinations, resort communities, historic towns, and outdoor recreation hubs.

Each destination was evaluated on 8 factors primarily related to mobility-accessible lodging, dining, recreation, and public amenities.

For availability-based factors, we measured accessible amenity supply density by calculating the number of qualifying amenities per 1,000 permanent residents. This approach measures how concentrated accessible lodging, dining, recreation, and public amenities are within each destination relative to its year-round population.

The analysis does not adjust for annual visitor volume or peak-season tourism demand. As a result, destinations with small permanent populations and large tourism economies may have higher per-capita rates. The rankings should therefore be interpreted as a comparison of the concentration of accessible amenities rather than the capacity of those amenities to serve a destination’s total visitor population.

Final Thoughts

Pensacola Beach earned the highest overall score under our per-resident methodology. Several smaller vacation destinations also ranked highly because they had a strong concentration of accessible lodging, dining, recreation, and public amenities, as measured in the study. 

Gatlinburg stood out for lodging with step-free access, Rehoboth Beach led more individual categories than any other destination, and Ogunquit had the highest concentration of accessible public restrooms.

No ranking can capture every traveler’s needs. Before booking, confirm room layouts, entrance conditions, bathroom features, transportation options, and activity requirements directly with each provider. The best destination is ultimately the one that supports the specific accommodations a traveler needs throughout the entire trip.

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