Florida's Siesta Beach Named Nation's Best

Tampabay.com: Dr. Beach has announced his No. 1 pick for this year, and Sarasota County's Siesta Beach has the honors. The annual survey by Florida International University professor Steven Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, named the wide slice of brilliant white sand and warm, emerald water on the state's s southwest Gulf coast as the best beach in the United States.

“The sand is like sugar,” said Leatherman, director of FIU’s Laboratory for Coastal Research. “Some people can’t believe it. You have to bring sunglasses because it’s so bright. It’s super soft, super fine. They claim to have the finest, whitest sand in the world, and I can’t argue with that.”

Previously, the 40 acres of almost pure quartz crystal sand on the Siesta Key barrier island was runner-up in Leatherman’s rankings the past two years and was third in 2008. San Diego’s Coronado Beach was runner-up this year. Rounding out the top 10 were:

No. 3, Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu
No. 4, Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.
No. 5, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina
No. 6, St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle
No. 7, Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.
No. 8, Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.
No. 9, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii
No. 10, Cape Florida State Park near Miami

Leatherman ranks beaches on 50 criteria, including the look and feel of the sand, water quality, weather, facilities and crowds.Florida's beaches typically rank high in the survey, and in fact two local beaches have won: Caladesi Island in 2008 and Fort DeSoto in 2005. Both have been retired from the list and are now in his hall of fame.