Weigh down all four corners and start with a bigger, heavier towel: put a bag, a cooler, or your sandals on the two upwind corners, and a water bottle on each of the others, and the wind loses its grip. A wide oversized towel gives the wind less loose edge to lift in the first place.
Wind gets under a towel at the corners and peels it up like a page. Once one corner lifts, the whole thing goes. Pin the corners and there is nothing for a gust to grab. Reach for the heaviest anchors you already carried down: a full cooler, a beach bag, your shoes, a couple of water bottles. Spread them to the four corners rather than piling them in the middle, since a weighted center still leaves the edges free to flap.
Size and weight matter too. A small, thin towel lifts on the lightest breeze, while a large towel with real weight to it sits flatter and stays put. A damp towel is heavier than a bone-dry one, so on a breezy day a towel that has soaked up a little water actually holds its spot better.
An oversized Turkish blanket is the easy answer here, because it covers more ground and weighs more than a standard beach towel.
The NIXY Mediterranean Oversized Turkish Beach Towel Blanket ($55) is big enough that your bag and cooler pin the corners with fabric to spare, so the middle stays flat for two people. It is the towel to reach for on a gusty afternoon.
Once the day is done, a flat-weave Turkish towel also shakes clean fast. Our guide to getting sand off a Turkish beach towel covers the shake-and-snap that keeps the grit off your gear on the ride home.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to stop a beach towel blowing away? Anchor all four corners with the heaviest things you brought: a cooler and a bag on the upwind side, shoes or water bottles on the other two. Weighting the corners rather than the center leaves no loose edge for the wind to lift.
Does a heavier towel stay put better in the wind? Yes. A larger, heavier towel sits flatter and gives the wind less loose edge to catch, so it stays put far better than a small, thin one. A slightly damp towel is heavier still and holds its spot even better.
Do beach towel clips or anchors work? They help, but they are not required. Corner clips and sand anchors add security in strong wind, though for most breezy days the gear you already carried, spread to the four corners, is enough to hold a towel down.
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