Florida’s St. George Island Park tops list of top 10 beaches

101
2
Florida’s St. George Island Park tops list of top 10 beaches

Half of the top 10 beaches in the United States for 2023 are in Florida and Hawaii.

That's according to the 2023 list of the best beaches in the United States, released in May by Dr. Beach, a coastal scientist Stephen Leatherman.

Florida's St. George Island State Park wins the top spot. The barrier island park boasts nine miles of pristine beaches along the Gulf Coast. St. George has a wealth of nature trails for biking and hiking, birding and fishing, as well as birding, fishing, boating and camping. With limited light pollution and a tracking platform for night sky exploration, Narendra is a prime spot for stargazing.

Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University, said the beach has some of the whitest, finest sand in the world. The water is clear and sparkling, far from any sources of pollution in this offshore barrier island. Since 1991, Leatherman has been ranked America's best beaches.

He uses 50 criteria to evaluate hundreds of public beaches in the United States. The criteria include sand texture, sand softness, water temperature, and more.

Duke Kahanamoku Beach on Oahu, Hawaii, is on the west end of the famous Waikiki Beach with fewer visitors than the more crowded stretches. The reef on Diamond Head is protected by a protective offshore coral reef, which makes it a perfect spot for families with children.

The others in this year's top 10 are Poipu Beach in Kauai and Wailea Beach in Maui.

Florida's Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin Clearwater also made the top 10 overall. None of Florida's Atlantic beaches appear in the Top 10 of 2023, Leatherman said, pointing out that the Atlantic coast is being affected this year by sargassum seaweed.

The other five beaches are New York, North Carolina, California, South Carolina and Massachusetts. The 2023 list includes only one beach in each state.