According to the latest ranking released on Thursday by the esteemed university professor known as “Dr. Beach,” a 9-mile stretch of sugar-white sand along the Gulf of Mexico in Florida has been crowned the nation’s best beach for 2023. The winning beach is located on St. George Island, located slightly off the Florida Panhandle, and is part of a state park. This is the 33rd year that Professor Stephen Leatherman, who teaches in the Department of Earth & Environment at Florida International University, has evaluated the best public beaches among America’s 650 public beaches around Memorial Day.
The reason why St. George Island set itself apart from the rest this year is the beach’s natural beauty, its lack of development, and abundance of activities, which includes fishing, cycling, swimming, kayaking, camping, and stargazing. The park covers a vast area of about 2,000 acres on the eastern end of the island, which is connected by a bridge to the mainland across Apalachicola Bay, where oysters are famously harvested. Although there is a small village, restaurants, rental homes, and a few motels on the island, there is no unnecessary development, which is why it is a favorite of Professor Leatherman.
Due to this, St. George Island is an idyllic place where people can have the best of both worlds while enjoying miles and miles of pristine beaches. The island has been battered over the years by tropical storms, most recently by Hurricane Michael in October 2018, which caused massive damage to the island’s sand dunes and park facilities such as picnic pavilions and restrooms. However, since that time, the park staff and volunteers have done an excellent job of getting the park back to normal.
Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, such as sand type, wave action, presence of wildlife, level of development and crowding, and many other factors. Certain credit is given to beaches that ban cigarette smoking, primarily to prevent discarded cigarette butts. Leatherman did not witness any discarded smoking materials during his recent visit to St. George Island. “I had to give them more credit for that,” Leatherman said. “I believe people are becoming more aware that the beaches are some of our greatest recreational areas where you can do so many things.”
Hawaii earned three beach placements, while Florida had two this year, with Caladesi Island State Park ranking fourth on the list. The park is accessible primarily by ferry or private boat, or visitors can walk a decent distance from Clearwater Beach, depending on the tides. Despite its name, Caladesi is no longer a true island since an inlet closed off. The beach has crystalline quartz sand, which is soft and plush at the water’s edge, inviting visitors to dip their feet into the sparkling clear waters. Caladesi is also home to boardwalk nature trails and kayaking through mangroves, which are home to a variety of fish, birds, and other wildlife species.
Below are Dr. Beach’s top 10 for 2023 in rewritten form:
- Florida Panhandle’s St. George Island State Park
- Oahu’s Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Hawaii
- Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York
- Dunedin/Clearwater’s Caladesi Island State Park in Florida
- Lighthouse Beach in Buxton, North Carolina’s Outer Banks
- San Diego’s Coronado Beach
- Wailea Beach in Maui, Hawaii
- Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island, South Carolina
- Hawaii’s Kauai’s Poipu Beach
- Coast Guard Beach in Massachusetts’ Cape Cod.