Miami, FL — Caladesi Island State Park takes the number one spot in the 18th Annual Top 10 Beaches ranking produced by coastal expert Dr. Stephen Leatherman, Director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research. As “Dr. Beach,” Leatherman has selected the annual Top 10 Beaches since 1991. Fifty criteria are used to evaluate the beaches, including water and sand quality, as well as facilities and environmental management, as part of the National Healthy Beaches Campaign. Read the full press release.

Here’s the full list of all ten beaches, in order of ranking - Caladesi Island, Fla.; Hanalei Beach, Hawaii; Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Fla.; Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y.; Coronado Beach in San Diego; Main Beach in East Hampton, N.Y.; Hamoa Beach, Hawaii; Cape Hatteras, N.C.; Cape Florida State Park near Miami; and Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, S.C.

Sad to say, but California - The Golden State with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world - gets only a consolation spot, with Coronado Beach, San Diego, coming in fifth. Even worse, the poor beach is sandwiched between SouthHampton and East Hampton, NY - Could it be any worse? Well, according to this AP report, Leatherman seems to be partial towards beaches in Florida and Hawaii. Also, it seems the Doc takes into consideration the state of commercial exploitation of the beach. As in whether or not it is tourist infested, or a well known spot for beach vacations, etc. Meaning that the more famous the beach gets, the less its chances of landing up on Dr. Beach’s list. So hopefully that must have been one of the reasons why no other beach in California made it to the list.

On the other hand, if no one goes to a beach and no one knows about it, there must be something wrong with it? Consider this - It takes a 15 minute, $9 ferry ride to get to Caladesi Island, and once you’re there, they’ll kick you out after 4 hours because it’s a state park. WTF? And inspite of being in the Tampa Bay area, a lot of people nearby have never visited the island. WTF?

Come to think of it, Catalina Island, CA, is extremely beautiful, also needs a ferry ride, you can stay as long as you want, and everyone in California knows about it. In fact, you can probably walk across the water for miles, if you just jump from deck to deck amidst the crush of boats in Avalon Harbor. Photo by 4×4jeepchick via Flickr.

Maybe it’s just that there are so many things to do in Miami and Tampa Bay that people in Florida haven’t found the time to discover the best beach in America … Or maybe Dr. Beach needs to get out of his Ivory Tower in Florida, and spend a year tramping around beaches in California.

Posted on May 23rd, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Beaches, Travel News