(KAILUA, Hawaii) — In Kailua, the sand is smooth and white, the water is apparent and calm, and the view is exactly what you would expect from a seashore within the Hawaiian Islands.
Those are a few reasons Oahu’s Kailua Beach Park has been chosen as the high-quality 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 listing beneath the alias “Dr. Beach” since 1991.
Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, with the most important categories being water cleanliness, protection, and management of the beach surroundings and facilities. Leatherman uses statistics from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grade the beaches on water best and has been to all the seashores on his list.
Beaches in Hawaii are continuously ranked high, occasionally on the top of his listing.
“I love Waikiki Beach. No query approximately that — a world-famous seaside — but Kailua is much smaller and quieter,” Leatherman said. “It’s a lot greater peaceful. … You don’t have massive high-rises and all that. Kailua is on the opposite side of the mountains. It’s like a distinctive international.”
In current years, Leatherman has offered extra credit to seashores that prohibit smoking, which all Oahu beaches do. He thinks different beaches around the kingdom and the United States should comply with the suit.
Leatherman also looks for powdery smooth white sand, which Kailua Beach Park has in abundance.
Vari Singh and her family had been touring Oahu from Los Angeles and spent an afternoon in Kailua.
“The color of the ocean is something like we’ve never seen earlier. The sand is incredibly gentle and fun to play with; it makes good sandcastles,” she said as her daughter wiped sand from her face. “And the scenery is beautiful. You just come over the hill, and it’s this majestic scene of inexperienced ocean.”
Leatherman mentioned that not everyone appreciates his lists’ exposure to pinnacle beaches.
“I get a variety of folks that are very happy about it. They want to recognize where to move,” Leatherman stated. But “I constantly get some pushback. People say, ‘Oh no, we already have too many people coming here. What are you doing?’ It’s almost like they think it’s a secret seashore or something. (Kailua) is not quite a secret beach. It is a real gem even though.”
Braden Marquez, 18, who grew up in Kailua, says he is concerned about overcrowding and hopeful about his hometown’s future.
“This seaside is pretty unique to me just because my own family has been coming here for years and years,” he stated, noting the location has modified a lot since his youth.
“(My) largest challenge might be dropping the locals because of the inflow of human beings,” he said, throughout a current going each trip. “But apart from that, I’m quite excited about all the new matters to return.”
For the first 25 years of ranking, any beach that won the top spot on Leatherman’s listing turned ineligible for inclusion in the next years. But in 2015, Dr. Beach cleared the slate to permit any seaside in the country to be yet again eligible, resetting the clock — and perhaps the relevance— related to his annual contest.
Kailua was named the best beach in 1998, making it a-time winner.
Leatherman is again retiring new winners and posting them on his website.
The other beaches on this year’s list are Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks in 2D location, observed via Grayton Beach State Park inside the Florida panhandle; Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York; Duke Kahanamoku Beach on Oahu; Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin-Clearwater, Florida; Hapuna State Beach Park on Hawaii’s Big Island; Coronado Beach, San Diego, California; and Kiawah Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
He says Leatherman intends to produce the listing every yearto praise magnificent, safe beaches that balance nature with accessibility and services. He hopes beaches that haven’t made his listing will make adjustments to reveal a healthier coastal environment.
