Dr. Beach names Hawaii, Florida top

Dr. Stephen Leatherman, the coastal scientist known as “Dr. Beach,” released his annual America’s Best Beaches ranking on May 21, and Hawaii and Florida accounted for most of the beaches highlighted this year. CNN reported Thursday that the 2026 top 10 was dominated by those two states. Leatherman says he has issued the list every year since 1991, timing it to Memorial Day weekend, which he calls the start of beach season. The ranking is a U.S.-only list and is separate from Blue Flag beach certifications, which are based on a different international program. Dr. Beach’s own website says his system evaluates 650 major public recreational beaches along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. The survey, he says, was designed primarily for swimming beaches but is also used to assess beaches for scenery, walking and sports. (drbeach.org) ### Who is Dr. Beach, and why does his list get attention? Stephen Leatherman is a professor and director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University, according to his biography on Dr. Beach’s website. The same biography says he developed a 50-criteria rating system and spent two years completing the first national survey behind the rankings. His site says the list has become a regular Memorial Day feature in television and newspaper coverage. (drbeach.org) Since 1991, Leatherman has published the annual ranking as a consumer-facing guide to beach quality rather than a government certification. His website describes the beaches he evaluates as “patients,” reflecting the medical branding behind the “Dr. Beach” name. ### What does the ranking actually measure? Dr. Beach’s website says the ranking uses 50 criteria scored on a scale of 1 to 5. (drbeach.org) The site’s overview does not list all 50 criteria in the search excerpt, but it says the system is meant to provide an “objective appraisal” of major public recreational beaches in the United States. CNN reported that the 2026 list weighed factors including water temperature, natural beauty and sand quality. (drbeach.org) The program also emphasizes beach conditions that ordinary visitors notice quickly. Dr. Beach’s broader public-health material says beachgoers are looking for beaches that are clean, safe and healthy, and warns that some arrive to find pollution, erosion, crowding or hazards. That material says the National Healthy Beaches Campaign is not associated with the annual best-beaches list, underscoring that the ranking is its own separate product. (drbeach.org) ### Why do Hawaii and Florida show up so often? Hawaii and Florida have long been recurring states in Dr. Beach rankings, based on the examples visible on his site. The current site excerpts for prior lists include Wailea Beach on Maui, Poipu Beach on Kauai, Lanikai Beach on Oahu and Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in Naples, Florida. Those descriptions highlight white sand, clear water, snorkeling conditions, wildlife and scenic backdrops. (drbeach.org) CNN said those same two states dominated the 2026 top 10. The network’s item did not appear in full through search results, but the headline and search snippet matched the broad pattern already visible on Dr. Beach’s site. ### Is this the same thing as a Blue Flag beach award? Blue Flag and Dr. Beach are separate systems. Dr. Beach’s campaign page says membership in the National Healthy Beaches Campaign does not serve as criteria for his annual selections. (drbeach.org) The user-facing takeaway is that a beach can appear in one program without appearing in the other, because the standards, geography and organizers differ. That is an inference drawn from the separate descriptions published on Dr. (cnn.com) Beach’s site and in CNN’s report. ### Where can readers check the list for themselves? Dr. Beach’s website hosts the annual top-10 list, the beach descriptions and the methodology pages. The homepage available Thursday still prominently displayed the 2025 list in search results, while the site’s background pages describe the annual release schedule around Memorial Day weekend. CNN’s May 21 report points readers to the 2026 ranking, and Leatherman’s site is the primary source for the full list and criteria. (drbeach.org 1) (drbeach.org 2)