29 May 2013
TALLAHASSEE – Three Florida beaches are among the best 10 in America for 2013 as ranked by the renowned “Dr. Beach,” Dr. Stephen Leatherman.
Confirmed to the 2013 Top 10 are St. George Island State Park in northwest Florida and Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, which rose to No. 3 and No. 7 from their positions in 2012.
The new list also includes Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs, on Florida's southwest coast, which surged into the Top 10 for the first time, at No. 6.
Leatherman praised the Florida beaches for their white, “squeaky clean” sand, gentle surf and emerald-colored waters.
VISIT FLORIDA's Chief Marketing Officer Paul Phipps said Florida's consistently high rankings lend scientific validation to visitor word-of-mouth that led 91.4 million visitors to the Sunshine State last year.
"Naturally, it's extremely valuable exposure that connects us with beach-lovers around the world. Whenever they see Florida in prestigious rankings such as this, they visit, and when they visit, they come back again and again,” Phipps said.
Tourism officials in Bonita Springs have always felt Barefoot Beach was worthy of the Top 10 but were thrilled to see it jump right to No. 6.
“We knew our beach and our sunsets were spectacular, but this Top 10 ranking proves that Barefoot Beach is indeed exceptional,” said Christine Ross, president and CEO of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce. Ross speculated that recent updates in beach facilities helped Barefoot Beach land in the middle of the rankings, rather than making its debut at No. 10.
Dr. Beach's “Top 10” beaches for 2013
- Main Beach, East Hampton, New York
- Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
- St. George Island State Park, Franklin County, northwest Florida
- Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
- Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii
- Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park, Bonita Springs, southwest Florida
- Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, southeast Florida
- Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, North Carolina
- Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
- Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
Florida has won seven times
Since the inception of the Dr. Beach lists in 1991, the beaches of Florida and the Hawaiian Islands have dominated the No. 1 rankings. Leatherman judged these 23 beauties to be tops in terms of sand quality, water quality, and a long list of other measures.
Florida beaches have won the top honor seven times.
Beach lovers would be wise to start at the beginning and visit each beach in the Dr. Beach hall of fame, though one can't go wrong visiting any of Florida's 825 miles of beaches.
Here are the Florida beaches long recognized by Dr. Beach as best in America:
- Bahia Honda State Recreation Area (1992, second year of the list), now a state park, in the Florida Keys.
- Grayton Beach State Recreation Area (1994), now a state park, in Walton County
- St. Andrew's State Recreation Area (1995), now a state park, in Bay County, Panama City Beach
- St. Joseph Peninsula State Park (2002) in Gulf County, near Port St. Joe
- Fort De Soto Park, North Beach (2005) in Pinellas County, St. Petersburg/Clearwater
- Caladesi Island State Park (2008) in Pinellas County, St. Petersburg/Clearwater
- Siesta Key Beach (2011), near Sarasota
MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Cassels, lcassels@VISITFLORIDA.org, (850) 363-5801. Laura will be available at the VISIT FLORIDA table of Media Marketplace, International PowWow 2013.
Learn more about Florida, its beaches and summer travel at www.VISITFLORIDA.com.
