'Dr. Beach' Releases 15th Annual Rating
Of America's Best Beaches
(May 2005) --
For the second time since 1997, only three Florida beaches earned enough points with “Dr. Beach” to make his annual list of best beaches in America.
But the top pick was, indeed, a Florida beach -- Fort DeSoto Park‘s Main Beach, a county park in Pinellas County, near St. Petersburg. This is only the fifth time a Florida beach was named No. 1 since the list began in 1991.
Stephen Leatherman is Dr. Beach, a coastal scientist with 30 years of international experience studying storm impacts, erosion and ways to improve beach health. He has selected an annual Top-10 Beaches since 1991. Each list comprises the best swimming beaches in the country, chosen with 50-criteria to evaluate scientific and ecologic factors, facilities and management.
Leatherman is Florida International University's director of the International Hurricane Research Center and the Laboratory for Coastal Research. The center is also home to the National Healthy Beaches Campaign, founded by Leatherman.
On an island a short drive across Tampa Bay off the Florida coast, "North Beach at Fort De Soto Park is a natural jewel on the finger of a sun-drenched city," Leatherman said in a news release May 26. "It’s a long, wide, sugar sand beach with great shelling and thriving natural dunes, on the Gulf of Mexico.”
Fort Desoto is a 105-year-old landmark of Florida history. There’s swimming, fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, bird-watching, camping, biking, walking trails, and a dog park. The beach has modern facilities and plenty of parking, key ingredients for top swimming beaches, Leatherman said.
"A huge part of good beach management is about involving the public and offering a meaningful connection with the environment," he said. "Each of the Top 10 Beaches is a stellar example
of what we all look for in a rejuvenating place by the sea."
The second Florida beach on the 2005 list is Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin (pronounced du-NEED-in). It moved to the No. 4 slot after being ranked 5th from 2001 to 2004. It’s been a long up-and-down ride for Caladesi, as it has ranked among the top 6 every year since 1997, but has yet to claim the top spot.
Coming in at No. 8 is Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne. That’s one spot better than the No. 9 ranking it has held since 1999.
The Florida beach that has dropped off from its No. 7 spot on the 2004 list is Siesta Key Public Beach on Siesta Key in Sarasota County. In 2004, it had returned to the list for the first time since 2001, when it ranked 13th. (Incidentally, although Dr. Beach in 2004 listed "Crescent Beach" as No. 7, the official tourism agency for the state, FLAUSA, reports that Dr. Beach was really standing on Siesta Public Beach.)
The only newcomer to the 2005 list is D.T. Fleming Beach in Maui, Hawaii, coming in at the No. 5 spot in its premiere. The beach had not previously held any ranking since at least 1997, the year The Herald-Report began tracking Dr. Beach‘s list.
Other finishers:
Ocracoke Island, N.C., placed 2nd, one spot better than it had in 2003 and 2004. Ocracoke is making a climb on the list since its 14th place spot in 1997.
Hanalei Bay in Hawaii came in 3rd this year, a beach that has placed in the top eight since 1997.
Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Mass., is another up-and-comer. It placed 6th this year. It had held rankings as low as 18 and 19 in the late 1990s and 2000, and then fell off the list completely in 2002 and 2003. It made the list again in 2004, coming in at No. 8.
Coming in at No. 7 this year is Coronado Beach in San Diego, Calif. It made its premiere on the list in 2004, coming in at No. 10. Coronado is only the third California beach to make the list since at least 1997.
Main Beach in East Hampton on New York’s Long Island came in 9th, up from 5th place in 2004 and from 15th place in 1997.
Rounding out the Top-10 list is Hamoa Beach, Hawaii, which had placed in the top 10 every year since 1997 except in 2002 and 2003.
Beginning in 2002, Leatherman began limiting his list to 10 beaches. From 1991 to 2001 he had listed 20 beaches as the best in the nation.
Since the list was shortened to 10, several Florida beaches have dropped off and not returned since: St. George Island State Park was 16th in 2001; Perdido Key State Park finished 17th in 2001; and Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in Naples was No. 11 in 2000 and 1999.
Bahia Honda State Park ranked first in 1992 and Grayton Beach State Park placed first in 1994. Neither has returned to the list. Other No. 1 listings from Florida are St. Andrews State Park, which took the top spot in 1995, and St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, which was first in 2002. Dr. Beach excludes from the list for 10 years all No. 1 listings.
It has been reported that Dr. Beach uses criteria to rate the beaches in three broad categories: Physical Factors, such as sand softness, wave size and current strength; Biological Factors, such as water color and quality, and presence of pests; and Human-Use Factors, such as lifeguard protection, visual obstructions and amenities.
Dr. Beach’s best beaches in America, with 2004 rankings in parentheses:
1. (2) Fort DeSoto Park
2. (3) Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
3. (6) Hanalei Bay, Hawaii
4. (4) Caladesi Island State Park
5. (NR) D.T. Fleming Beach, Hawaii
6. (8) Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.
7.(10) Coronado Beach, Calif.
8. (9) Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne
9. Main Beach, East Hampton, Long Island, New York
10. Hamoa Beach, Hawaii
PREVIOUS NATIONAL
WINNERS
(excluded from the
survey for 10 years) |
| 1991 Kapalua, Hawaii
|
| 1992 Bahia Honda State Park,Fla. |
| 1993 Hapuna, Hawaii |
| 1994 Grayton Beach State Recreation Area, Fla. (now a state park) |
| 1995 St. Andrews State Park, Fla. |
| 1996 Lanikai Beach,
Hawaii |
| 1997 Hulopoe, Hawaii |
| 1998 Kailua Beach Park, Hawaii |
| 1999 Wailea Beach, Hawaii |
| 2000 Mauna Kea Beach, Hawaii |
| 2001 Poipu Beach Park, Hawaii |
| 2002 St. Joseph Peninsula State Park |
| 2003 Kaanapali in Hawaii |
| 2004 Hanauma Bay in Hawaii |
Click Here to see the 2004 Dr. Beach List
Click Here to see the 2003 Dr. Beach List
Click Here to see the 2002 Dr. Beach List
Click Here to see the 2001 Dr. Beach List
Click Here to see the 2000 Dr. Beach List
Click Here to see the 1999 Dr. Beach List
Click Here to see the 1998 Dr. Beach List
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