South Carolina’s heat and humidity are quickly moving the dial to “broil” – as they always do this time of year – so my wife and I will go with our most dependable coping mechanism: travel to places other than South Carolina. Technically that’s not quite true because one of those destinations is still South Carolina. Doesn’t matter. The goal is to find temperatures closer to the “bake” setting, where the air movement qualifies as a breeze. Both conditions can be found, of course, at the beach.
I consider myself fortunate to have grown up near a beach. Others may counter by saying the mountains are more desirable, or the desert, or the shores of a pristine lake. To each their own. For me, an upbringing of Pacific Ocean sand and surf turned the calm of the coast into a part of my DNA. I thirst for the beach several times a year. And in the United States alone, I have 650 choices.
Inevitably, 10 of those 650 beaches are rated as “top”. The so-called authority on the subject is a guy nicknamed Dr. Beach. At first I scoffed at the notion that one person could choose the ten best from hundreds, but this doctor takes his medicine seriously. Dr. Beach has identified fifty criteria (fifty!) to evaluate beaches, including water warm enough to swim in, sand clarity, presence of pests (like mosquitos and seagulls), and the size of the ocean waves. He even rates the surrounding noise level generated by humans.
To further solidify his credentials, Dr. Beach disqualifies locales threatened by pollution, erosion, or out-of-control seaweed. He “retires” beaches that have reached the top ten too many times since he started his lists (in 1991). Finally, Dr. Beach has visited every… single… one… of those 650 beaches. He may be obsessed with his subject but I’d say he’s a bona fide authority, wouldn’t you?
On his list for 2026, Dr. Beach prescribed four in Hawaii, three in Florida, one in Cape Cod, and one in the Hamptons. His tenth selection, coming in at #7, is right here in South Carolina. Whew, that was close. After all, he could’ve picked MY beach and then me and the good doctor would be having a serious conversation.
As you know, the problem with top-ten lists is exposure. Something or somewhere great suddenly becomes headline news and everyone wants a piece of it. Next thing you know that thing or that place becomes too popular, and no longer resembles its former wonderful self. With all due respect to Dr. Beach’s “retirement” strategy, once something becomes “top-ten” we’re not quick to forget about it.
I’ve been to a few of Dr. Beach’s top choices for 2026. Maybe not Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, but just about every beach on Cape Cod is bucolic. Maybe not Caladesi State Park in Clearwater, Florida but I’ve dipped my toes in the sugar sand and warm waters of a beach in Clearwater. I’ve been to Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii twice, for my honeymoon and for a family reunion. I’m happy to see Poipu ranked as the #1 beach in the United States this year.
I’m even happier to see my two favorite beaches not ranked in the top ten (or anywhere near it) this year. One is on the West Coast and one is right here in South Carolina. One is big and one is small. Both have easy access to the quaint shopping of a nearby village. And both have the kind of views where walking, riding bikes, or simply staring out at the sea never gets old. The names of these beaches are…
Nope. Sorry, no big reveal. Not even the tease of a photo. There aren’t a ton of you readers out there but it only takes one to make my beaches go viral, and then what am I going to do? Find another couple of beaches? Uh-uh, no way. Go find your own beaches. You have 650 to choose from. And God forbid Dr. Beach ever ranks mine in his top ten. If that happens I’ll report him to the “surf board” and demand they pull his license.
Some content sourced from the CNN Travel article, “Hawaii and Florida top list of best U.S. beaches…”, and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.
Life In A Word 
Wow, as I love beaches to, I’ll need to look up this Dr Beach. I think he might love them more if he’s been to ALL 650 of them. Thanks for sharing. Summer is here, so is beach life!
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Sometimes’ you’ve got to gate keep something good! I grew up with lakes so the mess of sand drives me crazy. Also I was bummed it was cloudy and I couldn’t see the second full moon.
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Ditto on the blue (full) moon down here, Lyssy. I knew early in the socked-in day it wasn’t going to happen. To add to the lost opportunity, apparently we could’ve seen a lineup of four or five planets as well. At least there’s always a next time!
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Analyzing all 650 beaches is amazing. Quite the hobby. You sound like a pretty decent authority yourself. Annnnnndddd, I can’t help but add that a pic of my book in hand at a beach wouldn’t have been a bad thing. Just saying–what a great way to have that beach rank in the top ten in MY book. 😉
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I just added two items to my to-do list!
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Dave, well I don’t blame you for not sharing your favorite beachy keen spot because yes, people will flock there, just like when anyone shares their favorite secluded fishing hole or best birding area. I hopped onto Dr. Beach’s site to see how many were in Michigan (none) but there were some pretty beaches there nonetheless which were his current and past favorites. I was surprised to see he would just “retire” beaches – a rather silly notion to do so because why not let the “repeaters” just have the accolades? The South Carolina beach featured was very nice.
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We have neighbors who moved here from Kiawah Island because of the “top-ten” impact I mentioned. Too many people moved there, the infrastructure couldn’t keep up, and suddenly you have traffic nightmares and no chance at a dinner reservation. Not sure what the solution is but maybe like the post-pandemic, the interest in locales (including beaches) across the country will even out over time.
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That’s a shame that happened to your neighbors because of the publicity and everyone gravitating there. It’s like the quaint little towns being bombarded with tourists and homeowners only being able to enjoy their property/town in the off-season.
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As one who grew up in the midwest, and specifically in an area where there were several lakes, beaches are kind of exotic to me. I have enjoyed some time at a couple of beaches on Lake Michigan, and even a couple of beaches in both California and Florida. Really, I don’t care about the water. Just give me a nice beach chair and an umbrella so that I can doze or read a book as I listen to everyone around me having fun in the surf.
And you are absolutely right in not giving away your favorites!
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Thanks to my choice of university I’ve been to Indiana Dunes and Warren Dunes. It was a little strange to see a “beach” gathering of people where there wasn’t an ocean but those sand mountains are impressive. Not a bad alternative when you’re landlocked!
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The beach is my happy place so I don’t blame you for not revealing yours. Pack me a picnic, a cooler and a book and I can easily spend a whole day there. Oh, and sunscreen too….and an umbrella….and towels….usually the car is packed. I wish I had a beach house so I could just step outside.
Somehow I remember the bad beaches better. I hate when you go to a resort and the beaches are dirty although they might have looked nice in the pictures.
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The beach is the one place I can “while away” the hours, doing absolutely nothing. Staring at the horizon is mesmerizing. It’s also a great place to people-watch.
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