Dr. Beach Reveals His Top 10 U.S. Beaches For 2015

NPR

Published May 22, 2015 at 1:52 PM EDT

Waimanalo Bay Beach Park on the Hawaiian island of Oahu won the #1 spot on Dr. Beach's top 10 beaches list for 2015. (Ryan Ozawa/Flickr)

Memorial Day weekend is upon us, which for many people marks the first real beach weekend of the year. Just in time, a new list of the top 10 public beaches in the U.S. is out, ranked by a man who goes by the name “Dr. Beach.” Taking this year’s top honor: Waimanalo Beach in Oahu, Hawaii.

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks to Dr. Beach, or Stephen Leatherman, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University, about the beaches that made the cut this year, and why.

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches For 2015

Waimanalo Bay Beach Park – Oahu, Hawaii
Barefoot Beach – Bonita Springs, Florida
St. George Island State Park – Florida panhandle
Hamoa Beach – Maui, Hawaii
Cape Hatteras – Outer Banks of North Carolina
Cape Florida State Park – Key Biscayne, Florida
Coast Guard Beach – Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Beachwalker Park – Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park – Naples, Florida
East Beach – Santa Barbara, California

Guest

Stephen Leatherman, also known as “Dr. Beach,” is a professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University. He tweets @drbeach_top10.