Learn How Dr. Beach Rates Beaches

Six hundred fifty beaches are considered but only 10 make Dr. Beach's annual Best Beaches of America list. Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman is considered to be America's foremost beach expert and is internationally recognized as Dr. Beach. Since 1991 he has compiled his list but what makes a top 10 beach?

Criteria Dr. Beach Uses to Determine a Top 10 Beach
I recently had the opportunity to join Dr. Beach when he visited beaches of Don Pedro-Knight-Palm Island, Don Pedro Island State Park and Little Gasparilla Island in Southwest Florida. Joining him on this journey was a rare opportunity to see what he does because usually when he assesses beaches, he does not announce his visit.

Dr. Beach uses a list with 50 criteria to evaluate a beach in areas of physical and biological factors and human use and impact. These include beach shape, sand softness and public safety. Criteria are rated on a scale of one to five with a perfect beach scoring 250 points. To date, no beach has earned a perfect score but Hawaii's Kaplua Beach in Maui has come close with 240 points.

"I've seen thousands of beaches in this country and around the world and I have never found a perfect beach. My mission goes on," Dr. Beach said, "In search of the perfect beach. I have to keep going, I can't stop."

Tools for Assessing a Beach
Turns out, evaluating a beach is a scientific process. Dr. Beach measured the width of the beach with a measuring tape, the water's current with a dye ball, the beach's slope with a level, and sand grain size with sifting containers and a geological hand lens. He also waded into the water to feel the temperature. To measure water visibility, he uses a Secchi disk but did not bring one for this evaluation.

Dr. Beach does his homework and checks EPA ratings and safety records to see if there have been water quality issues; water-related deaths, specifically cased by rip currents; or reported crimes, such as pick pocketing.

How Does a Beach Get Ranked by Dr. Beach?
Dr. Beach has visited and ranked 650 major recreational beaches and said that was the reason why he had not visited nor ranked the Don Pedro-Knight-Palm Island area. He visits about 100 beaches each year and people throughout the country keep him updated on changes to specific beaches.

Dr. Beach also focuses on swimming beaches. Cold water temperature, turbidity and other unfavorable water conditions can disqualify a beach from making the top 10 list. Importantly, he does not accept compensation for rating a beach.

How Did Don Pedro-Knight-Palm Island, Don Pedro Island State Park and Little Gasparilla Island Rank?
Since these islands are only accessible by boat, it was anticipated they would not make Dr. Beach's top 10 list and he confirmed it by saying the destination would not be included because it does not "have the big public access but I don't think that's bad."

He later added he liked the destination and said, "What you have here is very special. There are not a lot of places I find like this."

About Dr. Beach
Stephen P. Leatherman is Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. Conde Nast Traveler published his first unofficial top 10 list in 1989. A former student worked for the travel magazine and informed the editor Leatherman was a beach expert. Before leaving to teach in China, Leatherman received a call from the publication and hastily rattled off his 10 favorite beaches in no particular order. After the list was published, he took two years to compile a true top 10 list. His next Top 10 Beaches in America List will be released Memorial Day Weekend.

Sources:
Walk with Dr. Stephen Leatherman on Don Pedro-Knight-Palm Island and Don Pedro Island State Park, Fla., May 6, 2011
Press Conference featuring Dr. Stephen Leatherman, Palm Island Resort, Knight Island, Fla., May 7, 2011
Dr. Beach's website, www.drbeach.org