Steven Traynum, Coastal Science & Engineering
South of Charleston, South Carolina, on the southern end of Kiawah Island, you'll find miles of untouched beach at Beachwater Park.
Dr Beach
Caladesi Island State Park in Florida is reached by a long walk from Clearwater Beach, pedestrian ferry or private boat. The beach is crystalline quartz white sand but the big fun is the kayak and canoe trails through the mangroves.
Dr Beach
Coopers Beach is located in tony Southampton, on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Its white quartz sand offer some of the best public beach access in the Hamptons.
Hotel Coronado
Most visitors cross the stunning Coronado Bridge to get to to San Diego's Coronado Beach. The Hotel del Coronado serves food and drinks on the beach. It's a great spot for celebrity watching.
Dr Beach
Development has been restrained at Grayton Beach State Park on the Florida panhandle, so the white sand dunes still dominate the landscape.
Dr Beach
Part of Cape Cod National Seashore, Coast Guard Beach is reached by bicycle or shuttle bus after parking at the Salt Pond Visitor's Center. The former Coast Guard station is still standing, and Nauset Marsh behind it is worth exploring to see the shorebirds.
Dr Beach
Once the home of Blackbeard the pirate, Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina is a wild beach where big surf can be found late in the summer.
Dr Beach
The snorkeling area at Kapalua Bay Beach on Maui, Hawaii, is protected by two headlands formed by lava flows into the sea.
Dr Beach
Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida, has some of finest white sand and calmest, clear water in the country.
Dr Beach
Although top-ranked Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Hawaii is a 10-mile drive from Waikiki Beach on Oahu, it's a world away with its marine protected area and limited parking. (Take the shuttle. It's worth it.)
CNN  — 

On the eastern end of Oahu, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve offers a white sand coral beach enclosed in a breached volcano.

This marine-protected area, 10 miles from Waikiki Beach, was the first beach to ban smoking in Hawaii, a move to protect tropical fish in the area.

Oahu’s Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve topped Dr. Beach’s 26th annual top 10 list of U.S. beaches, released Thursday.

Dr. Beach, also known as coastal expert and Florida International University professor Stephen P. Leatherman, issues his annual list on the basis of 50 criteria, including water and sand quality.

He’s recently started placing more emphasis on beach safety, environmental management and no-smoking policies.

Oahu bans smoking at all beaches on the island.

Hanauma Bay Beach Park has limited parking, so Dr. Beach recommends taking the Waikiki Beach Shuttle.

But don’t try to visit on Tuesdays. The beach is closed to let the fish rest.

Hawaii took two of the top 10 spots in the annual rankings, but Florida had the most beaches listed with three.

North Carolina, Massachusetts, California, New York and South Carolina each had one beach in the top 10.

Why isn’t your favorite beach listed?

Past winners are retired and listed at DrBeach.org, making way for new winners.

1. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu, Hawaii

2. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Florida

3. Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui, Hawaii

4. Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, Outer Banks of North Carolina

5. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

6. Grayton Beach State Park, Florida panhandle

7. Coronado Beach, San Diego, California

8. Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York

9. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida

10. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina