Question: Where are the US's best beaches in 2008?
Answer: Dr. Stephen Leatherman (aka Dr. Beach), beach expert, reknowned author and professor of environmental studies at Florida International University (FIU) as well as director of FIU's Laboratory for Coastal Research, dishes out the gritty goods on the US's best beaches and rewards the country's sweetest sand with a coveted spot on his annual top ten list. Mixin' up the beach medicine on 2008's list of best US beaches are: 1. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida - # 1 Causeway Blvd., Dunedin, FL 34698; 727-469-5918. Near Tampa. Accessible only via boat or $9 per person ferry -- no pets on ferry. 2. Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii - North Shore of Kauai island. Interesting weather up here; swim on Kauai's North shore with caution, though Hanalei Bay is said to be relatively safe. 3. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Florida - 948 Beach Rd., Sarasota, FL, 34242; 941-346-3207. White, white, white sand and Gulf green water. Offers absolutely every beach amenity, which can be good or no -- clue: 800-car parking lot. 4. Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York -
Cooper Neck Road Southampton, NY 11968; 631-283-6011. Need a parking permit and possibly a local friend. 5. Coronado Beach, San Diego, California - 619-522-7300. Perfect California beach with whale watching in winter. Drive or take the ferry across the San Diego Bay. 6. Main Beach, East Hampton, New York - 631-324-8158. Parking permits needed (and they're already sold out for 2008) near this great surfing spot "barricaded" (Surfline.com) by really, really rich people's houses. 7. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii - Hana, West Maui. Potentially big surf, some facilities, few crowds for such a well-known spot. 8. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, North Carolina - 252-473-2111. This National Seashore, the first of that designation in the US, covers over 70 miles from South Nags Head to Ocracoke Inlet. Make time to climb the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. 9. Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne - 1200 Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne, FL, 33149; 305-361-5811. Also called the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area, this beach is home to the Cape Florida lighthouse, built in 1825. Feel like a swim? Fifty miles from Bimini, Bahamas. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina - 1 Beachwalker Dr., Johns Island, SC 29455; 843-768-2395. Eleven lovely miles of protected pines and palmettos on this barrier island with a river on one side and ocean on the other.
Don't forget your swimming suit. Doctor's orders.
"The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the ocean immensity and change."
-- Orison Swett Marden
