Quote :

"(CNN) -- A sandy stretch in the tony Hamptons topped 2010's best beaches list, compiled each year by a coastal scholar known as Dr. Beach. Coopers Beach, the main beach in the village of Southampton on the east end of Long Island, New York, took top honors this year on the 20th annual list released by Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. Coopers Beach's sandy shoreline is dotted with historic mansions and the picturesque St. Andrews Dune Church. Sarasota, Florida's, Siesta Beach took the second spot on the list, followed by Coronado Beach in San Diego, California. Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate the nation's beaches, including water quality, sand quality, beach width and environmental management. The full list includes coastal recreation spots from Hawaii to Massachusetts: 1. Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York 2. Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida 3. Coronado Beach in San Diego, California 4. Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks of North Carolina 5. Main Beach in East Hampton, New York 6. Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii 7. Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts 8. Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island, South Carolina 9. Hamoa Beach in Maui, Hawaii 10. Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne, Florida"

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/05/28/best.beaches.list/index.html?hpt=Mid

So what say you? Do you really think Cape Hatteras trumps places like Oahu and Maui?

5/30/2010 12:08:38 AM

Based on that criteria, yes.

Kind of surprised Southampton is #1 though.

5/30/2010 12:50:53 AM

Waikiki is actually one of Hawaii's worst beaches in my opinion. Hawaii has some AMAZING beaches, but Waikiki is just not one of them.

5/30/2010 2:25:03 AM

What does tony islands mean?

[Edited on May 30, 2010 at 11:18 AM. Reason : f]

5/30/2010 11:17:50 AM

Go Siesta Key! I used to live about 5 minutes from there, so I'm biased, but Siesta Key is the most amazing beach I've ever been to. The sand is made of 99% quartz (not coral like other beaches), so it's soft, pure white, and never gets hot. Plus the water is completely clear. Really only drawback is that there's a lot of old dudes roaming around in speedos.

Oil spill, don't mess with my beach ...

5/31/2010 10:00:54 PM

That list loses all credibility when it lists any beach north of North Carolina...period.

5/31/2010 10:05:40 PM

Hawaii got all the spots last year

5/31/2010 11:10:00 PM

3^ For real. My MIL grew up near there, and 2 years ago we went down to visit her parents. Siesta Key IS gorgeous, and I hope any oil that hitches a ride on the Loop Current doesn't find its way there. The sand is unlike any beach sand I've ever seen.

6/1/2010 8:36:03 AM

Quote :

"Coopers Beach, the main beach in the village of Southampton on the east end of Long Island, New York, took top honors this year on the 20th annual list released by Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. 5. Main Beach in East Hampton, New York "

I have been to South Hampton and East Hampton. Perhaps this is the "BEST" beach if you enjoy highly overpriced hotels,
$8 bud lights, a town chock full of snooty rude NYC bankers/socialites, horrendous traffic ( infrastructure improvements like widening roads are intentionally neglected to maintain the "small town" feel and because business owners think its
good for business), cold beach water, and parking fee's that make Wrightsville's $2/hr seem like a bargain.

At LEAST this list is better than that damn top 10 claiming Myrtle Beach was number 1 that had its thread a couple years ago. That list was the ultimate joke.
In my opinion no beach should be number one that only really has beach weather for at most 3 months a year. Right
now it is 63 in East Hampton. Plus at any date before Memorial Day and after Labor day, the two towns are nearly a ghost
town except for the locals and some super elites that will fly their helicopter to their McMansion for the weekend.

Having gone to visit my girlfriends family, who lives in East Hampton, I can say this is not even on my top 10 list. Of
course if your criteria is to be the number 1 beach for which you can brag to your yuppie friends about "Staying in the Hamptons"
perhaps this can be number 1 if you are that conceited stuck up mother fucker.

Cape Hatteras pwns both these places.

The only attributes I can give East Hampton or South Hampton that beats NC beaches are...

1.) The sand is softer.
2.) They have better swell (if you surf).
3.) The astronomical prices at least filter out the riff-raff (at least compared to places like Wrightsville beach or Holden Beach).
4.) During high summer it is not 90+ degrees with sweltering humidity.

[Edited on June 1, 2010 at 2:56 PM. Reason : s]

[Edited on June 1, 2010 at 3:00 PM. Reason : a]

6/1/2010 2:51:31 PM

Quote :

"That list loses all credibility when it lists any beach north of North Carolina...period."

You are retarded.

Also, I've been to Coronado a few times...it's nice, and I love San Diego, but I don't see what's so special about the beach.

6/1/2010 3:04:30 PM

I am retarded? I like beaches to be warm like the previous poster said more than 3 months at a time. anything south of WB is perfect a good 9-10 months out of the year, so YOU're a REH TARD.

6/1/2010 5:53:37 PM

Quote :

"poster said more than 3 months at a time."

from what I has told even 3 months is a generous estimate.

btw i consider "beach weather" to be the following...

a. Sunny ( can be partly cloudy if sun is shining >50% of the time)
b. >75 deg F (aka warm enough to run around with just a swim suit and not be cold)
c. Reasonable wind ( Being sand blasted is not good "beach weather")

Beach weather though does not mean that the water is necessarily warm (otherwise lots of California would be in trouble). Also, just because it is not good "beach weather" does not mean that it is still not a good day to go to the beach. Fishing, running, dog walking, weddings, etc can i occur when the weather is nice but not necessarily beach weather.

[Edited on June 1, 2010 at 6:18 PM. Reason : f]

6/1/2010 6:02:40 PM

^^ Ha, you're right. I read what you wrote as "any beach in NC".

6/1/2010 6:26:24 PM

seeing as i live in san diego, for all i care they can take san diego beaches off lists like these all together. i know how great the beaches are, and don't really care to have the best beaches exposed to tourists and inland folks coming out for the weekend.

actually putting just coronado on the list is perfect, as that is pretty much the biggest tourist beach in the county anyways. nothing against coronado and the Del, it's a great area, but not one i would EVER consider driving to.

6/1/2010 6:58:31 PM

Honestly I think most beaches in NC could make the list, they just aren't as well known because most beaches in NC are smaller towns.

6/2/2010 10:30:34 AM

Fuck some NY beaches. I grew up up north and yeah they're nice but the water is f*cking cold. No beach where the water barely tops 70°F at any point during the summer should make this list.

6/2/2010 11:18:23 AM

I've seen Ocracoke pop up on this list before (I think as the top beach), and rightfully so.

But I'm amazed that the Northern OBX beaches consistently fail to make these lists, particularly the Currituck/Corolla area. That place is money.

6/2/2010 11:57:32 AM

Isn't Cape Hatteras where they shut down the beach to save those plovers?

6/13/2010 9:53:29 AM

Wonder how next year's ranks will look with the oil.

6/13/2010 10:56:55 AM

Yeah, Corolla is awesome. So is Sunset Beach, although its gotten a lot more touristy and crowded since I used to go there annually.

6/13/2010 8:32:16 PM

Not suprised to see it included. Cape Hatteras has more natural beauty than many other beaches I've seen.
The freedom from mini-golf, huge neon-lit surf shops, strip malls, giant buffets, clothing outlets, huge hotels and other typical dreadful commoner-oriented beach fixtures is welcome too.

It's just a small village behind the dunes with a couple of marinas, a single grocery store, clear water, nice cottages and awesome fishing.

6/14/2010 11:29:14 AM

Ocracoke was this guys #1 back in 2007 I wanna say, as it deserves to be. Ocracoke is just so out of the ordinary.

6/15/2010 4:56:05 PM