Dr. Beach

Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, has been popular for years with his recommendations as to what beaches fit his assessment of the best beaches.

He acknowledges that there are many reasons why people visit the beaches and this is why he rates individual beaches against a series of factors.

He has a list of fifty criteria covering everything from width of the beach at low tide, slope of the beach, color of the water, cleanliness of the beach, presence of crime, and more.

The beach groups he has includes those beaches more recommended for "best swimming, walking, wilderness, sports, city, novelty and surfing beaches".

Click on the Top Beaches List on Dr. Beach's site to see his recommendations for 2006. Once you get to this page you can then navigate to a page with links for a few photos of each of the top picks.
1. Fleming Beach, Maui, Hawaii
2. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin, Florida
3. Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina
4. Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York
5. Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii
6. Main Beach, East Hampton, New York
7. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
8. Coronado Beach, San Diego, California
9. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
10. Barefoot Beach Park, Bonita Springs, Florida

This is a good site to visit.