America’s best beaches

with his clipboard

Dr. Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, has studied beach erosion for 40 years and completed two national surveys of the American coast. He is the head of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. For the past two deades he has been meticulously surveying the best beaches in America, giving them scores acroess 40 criteria from the softness of the sand to the slope of the dunes. The full listing is at the end of this article.

“I’ve been to every beach in the United States and there are around 650 in contention for the prize of top beach – all of which are swimming beaches so nothing is too cold,” he says. “Beaches remain the number one recreational activity in America.”

Stephen is from North Carolina, and has visited this year’s winning beach, Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, Outer Banks, North Carolina at loeast 50 times in his life. It is 300 yards of beach at the southern end of the Outer Banks, a thin chain of barrier islands along North Carolina’s coast, 26 miles from the mainland.

“I was born in North Carolina, so despite the fact that it’s remote, I estimate I’ve visited Ocracoke about 50 times. This place is my top getaway in the US. You’ve got 14 miles of unspoilt sand, a lovely, quaint village behind it with b&bs and inns, and perfect quiet. You don’t come here for golf or a spa and there’s no McDonald’s.”

America’s Top Beaches for 2007 are:

1. Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, Outer Banks, North Carolina – National Winner
2. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida
3. Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York
4. Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii
5. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
6. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
7. Main Beach, East Hampton, New York
8. Coronado Beach, San Diego, California
9. Lighthouse Point Park, Daytona Beach, Florida
10. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Florida

Photos of all 10 beaches can be found HERE

Previous National Winners, which are excluded from the survey, are

• 2006 Fleming Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii
• 2005 Fort DeSoto Park – North Beach, St Pertersburg, Florida
• 2004 Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii
• 2003 Kaanapali, Hawaii
• 2002 St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida
• 2001 Poipu Beach Park, Hawaii
• 2000 Mauna Kea Beach, Hawaii
• 1999 Wailea Beach, Hawaii
• 1998 Kailua Beach Park, Hawaii
• 1997 Hulopoe, Hawaii
• 1996 Lanikai Beach, Hawaii
• 1995 St. Andrews SRA, Florida
• 1994 Grayton Beach SRA, Florida
• 1993 Hapuna, Hawaii
• 1992 Bahia Honda SRA, Florida
• 1991 Kapalua Bay Beach, Hawaii

All of these beaches and hundreds more are described in