“Dr. Beach’

Surrounded by lush greenery and facing an island just offshore, Hawaii’s crescent-shaped beach is one of the best in the United States.

says coastal scientist Stephen P. Leatherman, better known as “Dr. Beach.” Topping his list for 2026, which he compiled based on 50 individual criteria, was Poipu Beach on Kauai.

According to Leatherman’s annual rankings, the No. 2 beach is St. Andrews State Park in Panama City, Florida.

Hawaii and Florida dominate the top 10, including Caladesi Island State Park in Florida’s Dunedin/Clearwater region and Wailea Beach on Maui, Hawaii.

One Northeastern beach made it into the top five. It’s Main Beach in East Hampton, a picturesque town on eastern Long Island. This year, New York beaches ranked fifth.

Leatherman notes that the beach’s “idyllic rural setting in a small village” and “towering sand dunes” give it an idyllic feel.

Hawaii and Florida typically do well in this ranking, in part because Leatherman focuses on “swimming beaches,” meaning the water has to be warm enough to encourage people to take a few dips.

For example, beaches in Maine, Connecticut and other Northeastern states are often “too cozy” to access, he said in an interview with CNN. However, one beach in Massachusetts rounds out the top 10. Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod. Leatherman said tourists access this pristine beach by bicycle or shuttle bus, which has started attracting seals in recent years.

The private resort has several beaches, including Kaunaoa, Hawaii, also known as Mauna Kea Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. Leatherman, who teaches at Florida International University in Miami, emphasized that although the beach is located within the Mauna Kee Beach Resort, the shoreline is accessible through a public right-of-way.

Water temperature and clarity

Can’t find your favorite beach? As mentioned earlier, water temperature may be the culprit.

Leatherman said he often hears complaints from beachgoers that they have many favorite spots in states like Washington, Northern California and Oregon, but those areas aren’t on the list.

“It’s really too cold,” he said.

Other factors that push beaches away from his rankings include tidal movements. Leatherman said strong tides make the water muddy, but that’s not necessarily appealing to beachgoers because once they’re in the waves, “people want to see their toes.”

Leatherman regularly lists beaches that have to be removed from the top 10 because of pollution or other issues. Three beaches were excluded from this year’s rankings, including San Diego’s Coronado Beach for the second year in a row. Leatherman says sewage from the Tijuana River is seriously impacting the beaches.

“The whole area is being destroyed,” Leatherman said. “I’m very angry about that.”

San Diego County had to issue repeated advisories warning swimmers to stay away due to the presence of bacteria in the water. A new advisory was issued in May citing sewage from the Tijuana River.

Two other beaches removed from the list this year are Lighthouse Beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks due to erosion and Cape Florida State Park in Miami, where the beach’s natural beauty has been marred by large amounts of sargassum seaweed washing up on the shore.

Mr. Leatherman has published this list annually since 1991. The 50 criteria he uses to rate beaches include water and sand quality, wave size, beach shape, cleanliness, and precipitation.

He “knocked” Beach out of the rankings to give other spots a chance, but that doesn’t mean a drop in quality. Last year, for example, Cooper’s Beach in Southampton, New York, topped the list. He said it’s still a great beach.

In the 2025 rankings, this year’s No. 1 beach, Poipu, came in 3rd place.

Dr. Beach said there are 650 major public recreational beaches in the United States, and he has visited all of them.