HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii's Hanauma Bay on Oahu has been named America's best beach on an annual top 10 list compiled by coastal science professor Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach.
The Florida International University professor compiles the popular list of best public beaches using 50 criteria, including best sand and water quality, environmental management and amenities.
One of the professor's newest and most important criteria is smoking bans on beaches. No public beaches in Hawaii allow smoking.
Three Florida beaches made this year's list: Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Caladesi Island State Park near Clearwater, and Grayton Beach State Park in the panhandle.
All three of these beaches had been named top beach in the past, but Dr. Beach's rules prohibit past winners from topping the list again.
Also on Dr. Beach's list are Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui; Ocracoke on North Carolina's Outer Banks; Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; San Diego's Coronado Beach; Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York; and Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
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