Hawaii and Florida top list of best US beaches for 2026, according to ‘Dr. Beach’

A crescent-shaped beach in Hawaii that’s immersed in greenery and facing an island just offshore is the best beach in the US.

So says coastal scientist Stephen P. Leatherman, better known as “Dr. Beach.” Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai tops the list for 2026, which he compiles based on 50 individual criteria.

The No. 2 beach, according to Leatherman’s annual ranking, is St. Andrews State Park in Panama City, Florida.

Hawaii and Florida dominate the top 10, which includes Caladesi Island State Park in the Dunedin/Clearwater area of Florida, and Wailea Beach on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

One beach in the Northeast broke into the top five: Main Beach in the picturesque eastern Long Island town of East Hampton. The New York beach ranked No. 5 this year.

Leatherman notes the beach’s “peaceful, countryside setting in a small village” and the “towering sand dunes” that help make it so bucolic.

Hawaii and Florida typically fare well in the ranking partly because Leatherman focuses on “swimming beaches,” which means the water has to be warm enough to draw people in for a few strokes.

Beaches in Maine, Connecticut and other Northeastern states, for example, are often too “nippy” to make the cut, he said in an interview with CNN. One Massachusetts beach, however, caps off the top 10: Cape Cod’s Coast Guard Beach. Leatherman says visitors go by bike or shuttle bus to reach this pristine beach where in recent years seals have begun to congregate.

Several beaches are located in private resorts, including Kaunaoa in Hawaii, also known as Mauna Kea Beach, located on the island of Hawaii. While the beach is located inside the Mauna Key Beach Resort, the shoreline is accessible through dint of the public right of way, stressed Leatherman, who teaches at Florida International University in Miami.

Tamara Kraus/CNN Underscored

17 stylist-approved beach bags and totes to make schlepping your essentials hassle-free

Don’t see your favorite beach? Water temperature, as noted, is likely the culprit.

Leatherman says there are many spots he likes in Washington State, Northern California and Oregon, among other places, and he often hears from beachgoers who complain when these areas don’t make the list.

“It’s just too bloody cold,” he said.

Other factors that keep beaches off his ranking include tidal movements. Leatherman said strong tides make the water cloudy, which doesn’t always appeal to beachgoers because once immersed in the surf, “People want to see their toes.”

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

“It is wrecking that whole area,” Leatherman said. “I am so upset about that.”

San Diego County has repeatedly had to issue advisories due to the presence of bacteria in the water, warning swimmers to keep away. New advisories citing sewage from the Tijuana River were issued in May.

The two other beaches that are off the list this year are Lighthouse Beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, due to erosion, and Cape Florida State Park in Miami where the vast quantity of sargassum seaweed washing up on shore is reducing the beach’s natural beauty.

Leatherman has been publishing the annual list since 1991. The 50 criteria that he uses to evaluate the beaches include water and sand quality, the size of waves, the shape of the beach, cleanliness and rainfall.

The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census/Agustín Garese

Scientists find more than 1,100 wild and unusual ocean species

He “retires” beaches from his ranking so that other spots have a chance but that doesn’t mean there’s been a dip in quality. Last year, for example, Coopers Beach in the New York town of Southampton topped the list. He said it remains a wonderful beach.

In the 2025 ranking, this year’s No. 1 beach, Poipu, came in third.

There are 650 major public recreational beaches in the US, according to Dr. Beach, and he says he’s visited all of them.

Poipu Beach , Kauai, Hawaii

St. Andrews State Park , Panama City, Florida

Caladesi Island State Park , Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida

Wailea Beach , Maui, Hawaii

Main Beach , East Hampton, New York

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park , Naples, Florida

Beachwalker Park , Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Kaunaoa , Big Island, Hawaii

Lanikai Beach , Oahu, Hawaii

Coast Guard Beach , Cape Cod, Massachusetts

夏威夷一处新月形海滩，绿树环绕，面向近海岛屿，是美国最好的海滩。

海岸科学家斯蒂芬·P·莱瑟曼（Stephen P. Leatherman，人称“海滩博士”）如是说。考艾岛的波普海滩位列他根据50项具体标准编制的2026年最佳海滩榜首。

根据 Leatherman 的年度排名，排名第二的海滩是佛罗里达州巴拿马城的圣安德鲁斯州立公园。

夏威夷和佛罗里达州占据了前十名的大部分席位，其中包括佛罗里达州达尼丁/克利尔沃特地区的卡拉德西岛州立公园和夏威夷毛伊岛的威雷亚海滩。

东北部有一处海滩跻身前五：位于风景如画的长岛东部小镇东汉普顿的主海滩。这处纽约海滩今年排名第五。

莱瑟曼指出，这片海滩“位于一个小村庄，环境宁静祥和”，还有“高耸的沙丘”，这些都使这里充满了田园风情。

夏威夷和佛罗里达通常在排名中表现良好，部分原因是莱瑟曼专注于“游泳海滩”，这意味着水温必须足够温暖才能吸引人们下水游几下。

例如，缅因州、康涅狄格州和其他东北部各州的海滩通常“太冷”，无法入选，他在接受CNN采访时说道。然而，马萨诸塞州的一处海滩却跻身前十：科德角的海岸警卫队海滩。莱瑟曼说，游客们骑自行车或乘坐班车前往这片原始海滩，近年来，海豹开始聚集于此。

夏威夷的考纳奥阿海滩（也称莫纳克亚海滩）位于夏威夷岛，是一些私人度假村的一部分。虽然该海滩位于莫纳克亚海滩度假村内，但游客可以通过公共道路进入海岸线。在迈阿密佛罗里达国际大学任教的莱瑟曼强调说。

Tamara Kraus/CNN Underscored

17 款造型师推荐的沙滩包和手提包，让您轻松携带必备物品

没看到你最喜欢的海滩？正如前面提到的，水温很可能是罪魁祸首。

莱瑟曼表示，他喜欢华盛顿州、北加州和俄勒冈州等地的许多地方，而且他经常听到海滩游客抱怨这些地区没有上榜。

“真是太冷了，”他说。

导致海滩未能入选排名的其他因素还包括潮汐运动。莱瑟曼表示，强劲的潮汐会使海水变得浑浊，这并不总是能吸引海滩游客，因为一旦浸入海浪中，“人们都想看到自己的脚趾”。

莱瑟曼经常提到一些因污染或其他问题而被从十大海滩榜单中移除的海滩。今年有三个海滩被排除在外，其中包括圣地亚哥的科罗纳多海滩，这已经是它连续第二年被除名了。莱瑟曼表示，蒂华纳河的污水对该海滩造成了严重影响。

“这简直毁了整个地区，”莱瑟曼说。“我对此感到非常难过。”

由于水中存在细菌，圣地亚哥县不得不多次发布警告，提醒游泳者远离该水域。5月份，该县又发布了新的警告，理由是蒂华纳河的污水污染了该水域。

今年从名单中除名的另外两个海滩分别是北卡罗来纳州外滩群岛的灯塔海滩（由于侵蚀）和迈阿密的佛罗里达角州立公园（由于大量马尾藻冲上岸，降低了海滩的自然美景）。

自 1991 年以来，莱瑟曼每年都会发布这份榜单。他用来评估海滩的 50 项标准包括水质和沙质、海浪大小、海滩形状、清洁度和降雨量。

日本财团-Nekton 海洋普查/Agustín Garese

科学家发现了超过1100种野生和不寻常的海洋物种

他会把一些海滩从排名中“移除”，以便让其他海滩有机会入选，但这并不意味着海滩的质量有所下降。例如，去年纽约州南安普顿镇的库珀斯海滩位居榜首。他说，它仍然是一个很棒的海滩。

在 2025 年的排名中，今年排名第一的海滩波普海滩位列第三。

据比奇博士称，美国有 650 个主要的公共休闲海滩，他说他已经全部游览过了。

夏威夷考艾岛波普海滩

佛罗里达州巴拿马城圣安德鲁斯州立公园

佛罗里达州达尼丁/克利尔沃特卡拉德西岛州立公园

夏威夷毛伊岛威雷亚海滩

纽约州东汉普顿主海滩

佛罗里达州那不勒斯市德尔诺-威金斯山口州立公园

南卡罗来纳州基亚瓦岛海滩漫步者公园

夏威夷大岛考纳奥阿

夏威夷瓦胡岛拉尼凯海滩

马萨诸塞州科德角海岸警卫队海滩