HONOLULU (AP) — Cruising along the west side of Hawaii s Big Island, the landscape is dominated by ancient volcanic flows and jagged shorelines. Then you get to Hapuna Beach.
HONOLULU (AP) â Cruising along the west side of Hawaii s Big Island, the landscape is dominated by ancient volcanic flows and jagged shorelines. Then you get to Hapuna Beach.
There, the contrast of black lava rock, white sand and blue water means you have arrived in paradise â at least that s what âDr. Beachâ believes.
âItâs like an oasis,â said Stephen Leatherman, who has been ranking U.S. beaches on his annual list under the alias âDr. Beachâ for three decades.
The sand looks super white there because of the black lava beside it,â he said. I think the contrast makes you think, âOh my gosh, Iâve never seen sand so white in my life.â â
Hapuna Beach State Park was ranked the best beach in the U.S. in Leatherman s review of sandy shorelines for 2021.
Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, hopes his 30th annual list will encourage people to get out and leave the past year of pandemic struggles in the rearview mirror.
He acknowledged that people will have to pay extra to get tested for COVID-19 before coming to the islands. “Hawaii is a really special place, and so I think it’s worth it, he said.
Kandi Miranda, who owns Manuela Malasada Company and runs a food truck near Hapuna Beach State Park, was born and raised on the Big Island. She was able to stay open for locals throughout the pandemic and is optimistic about the return of visitors.
After a year of pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions, Stephen “Dr. Beach” Leatherman hopes his 30th annual list of the best beaches in the Unites.
Caladesi Island State Park ranks as one of the top 10 U.S. beaches â again
By FOX 13 news staff
Published article
DUNEDIN, Fla. - Every year, Dr. Beach takes a close look at beaches across the country and ranks each one. For 2021, Caladesi Island State Park once again ranks in the top 10.
According to him, two of the best beaches are in Florida: Caladesi at No. 7 and St. George Island State Park in the Panhandle at No. 4. Last year, Caladesi came in sixth place. In 2019, it was in seventh place. The white beach is composed of crystalline quartz sand which is soft and cushy at the water’s edge, inviting one to take a dip in the sparkling clear waters, Dr. Beach wrote.