Dr. Beach names Florida’s Siesta Beach best beach in US

The sand on Siesta Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast is as fine as powdered sugar, a pure, sparkling white and soft as a kitten’s fur — all because it’s comprised of 99 percent pure crushed quartz.

For that reason, and many others, it was selected this year as the best beach in America by a professor who’s made a career ranking and studying beaches around the United States. “The sand is outstanding,” said Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, a professor at Miami’s Florida International University.

Other beaches in order of ranking are: Kapalua Bay Beach in Maui, Hawaii; Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach in North Carolina; Grayton Beach State Park in Florida; Coopers Beach in New York; Coast Guard Beach in Massachusetts; Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida; Hapuna Beach State Park in Hawaii; Coronado Beach in San Diego and Beachwalker Park in South Carolina.