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EASTHAM, MA -- Looking for that perfect beach getaway but don’t want to go far? You’re in luck if you live in Massachusetts, because Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod is the fifth-best beach in the country - number one in New England - according to the annual list from expert Dr. Beach.
The local hotspot has moved up one position from its sixth-place finish on the 2017 list. Hawaii’s Kapalua Bay Beach in Maui was ranked first overall.
The annual list was created by Stephen “Dr. Beach” Leatherman, a Florida professor, in 1991. Prior to starting the list, he had visited every ocean beach in the United States for a Department of Interior study.
Leatherman devised a set of 50 criteria for his rankings, which include everything from sand softness, water temperature, rain, rip current and safety records.
Here’s the full list:
- Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui, Hawaii
- Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, Outer Banks of North Carolina
- Grayton Beach State Park, Florida Panhandle
- Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York
- Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
- Lighthouse Beach, Outer Banks of North Carolina
- Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida
- Hapuna Beach State Park, Big Island, Hawaii
- Coronado Beach, San Diego, California
- Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina