Question: Where are the US best beaches in 2007?
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 shores with a coveted spot on his annual top ten US beaches list. Mixin' up the sandy medicine on 2007's list of best US beaches are: 1. Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, Outer Banks, North Carolina. Norfolk, Virginia to Kitty Hawk to Hatteras to free ferry -- leaves every 20-30 minutes in season. 2. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida - # 1 Causeway Blvd., Dunedin, Florida 34698; 727-469-5918. Near Tampa. Accessible only via boat or $9 per person ferry -- no pets on ferry. 3. Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York -
Cooper Neck Road Southampton, NY 11968, 631-283-6011. Need a parking permit and possibly a local friend. 4. 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. 5. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts - Eastham, MA. New England beach scenery at its finest. Henry David Thoreau's "Great Beach" starts here. 6. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii - Hana, West Maui. Potentially big surf, some facilities, few crowds for such a well-known spot. 7. Main Beach, East Hampton, New York. Parking permits needed near this great surfing spot "barricaded" (Surfline.com) by really, really rich people's houses. 8. 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. 9. Lighthouse Point Park, Daytona Beach, Florida - 5000 S. Atlantic Ave., Ponce Inlet, Florida, 32127; 386-756-7488. Pedestrian-only beach, a nice switch in car-crazy Daytona (which, by the way, is off the spring break hot spot list). 10. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Florida - 948 Beach Rd., Sarasota, Florida, 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.
Don't forget your swimming suit. Doctor's orders.
Looking for Dr. Beach's 2008's best US beaches? See the best beaches of 2008 here -- the 2007 list is above.
"The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the ocean immensity and change." --Orison Swett Marden
