Oahu’s Kailua beach is named best in the U.S.
KAILUA, Hawaii — In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you would expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands.
Those are among the reasons Oahu’s Kailua Beach Park has been selected as the best stretch of sand for an annual list of top U.S. beaches.
Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias “Dr. Beach” since 1991. He uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, with the most important categories being water cleanliness, safety and management of the beach environment and its facilities. Leatherman uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grade the beaches on water quality and has been to all the beaches on his list.
Beaches in Hawaii are consistently ranked high.
“I love Waikiki Beach. No question about that — a world-famous beach — but Kailua is a lot smaller and quieter,” Leatherman said. “You don’t have big highrises and all that. Kailua is on the other side of the mountains. It’s like a different world.”
In recent years, Leatherman has awarded extra credit to beaches that prohibit smoking, which all Oahu beaches do. He thinks other beaches should follow suit.
The other beaches on this year’s list are Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks in second place, followed by Grayton Beach State Park in the Florida panhandle; Coopers Beach, Southampton, N.Y.; Duke Kahanamoku Beach on Oahu; Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.; Caladesi Island State Park, DunedinClearwater, Fla.; Hapuna State Beach Park on Hawaii’s Big Island; Coronado Beach, San Diego, Calif.; and Kiawah Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.