Two Local Beaches in Top 10 Nationally, Says Dr. Beach

Two South Fork beaches were listed in the Top 10 in the nation this week by Dr. Stephen Leatherman, the Florida professor known widely as “Dr. Beach,” who has put out a national ranking of beaches since 1991.

Coopers Beach in Southampton Village was ranked second, behind Duke Kahanamoku Beach on Oahu, Hawaii, and East Hampton Main Beach, ranked sixth, returned to the Top 10 list after a long absence.

“Main Beach provides the perfect blend of nature and built environment,” Leatherman says of Main Beach on his website, DrBeach.org. “Main Beach is a great place for star-spotting as many actors and actresses frequently visit this beach for its peaceful, countryside setting in a small village. The big, wide sandy beach composed of grainy quartz grains has towering sand dunes and beautiful clean and clear blue water.”

Both Main Beach and Coopers have topped the list in years past and Coopers has been a perennial Top 5 over the last decade.

“The beach is backed by large sand dunes covered by American beach grass interspersed with large and extravagant mansions,” Leatherman says. “Some of the best beach access in the Hamptons exists on Coopers Beach.”

Leatherman uses a ranking system of 50 criteria to score beaches — from the softness of the sand and wave conditions to the food and drink amenities, the level of urbanization surrounding the beach and the ease (and cost) of parking.

This year, Wailea Beach on Maui was third; Caladesi Island State Park in Clearwater, Florida, was fourth; Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, was fifth; Poipu Beach on Kauai was seventh; Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in Naples, Florida, was eighth; Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod was ninth; and Coronado Beach in San Diego was 10th.

Hawaiian beaches have taken the top spot in four of the last eight years.