A renowned coastal scientist has left North Carolina off his list of the top ten beaches in the United States for a second straight year.
Florida International University Professor Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, announced his Top 10 beaches in the United States just ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
A North Carolina native who grew up visiting the Outer Banks, Leatherman has published 20 books and hundreds of scientific articles and reports about storm impacts, coastal erosion and ways to improve beach health and safety.
Since 1991, Leatherman has used fifty criteria to evaluate beaches, including water and sand quality as well as safety and management.
He has twice named Ocracoke’s Lifeguard Beach as a number one, most recently in 2022, and it has been retired from eligibility for now.
Lighthouse Beach off Buxton reached as high as 5th in 2023, but it was not on the list both last year and this year.
The section of beach just to the north has been closed since September 2023 due to petroleum contaminated sand and soil, along with infrastructure, from the former Navy and Coast Guard base that had been exposed by erosion.
The Army Corps of Engineers has since removed contaminants, concrete, pipes and other items, and is slated to continue testing the soil and water at the site.
But the Dare County Health Department and National Park Service have kept closed the 3/10ths of a mile long stretch of beach from the end of Old Lighthouse Road to the jetties at the old lighthouse site.
A public advisory board has been created to work with the Army Corps on the next steps in rehabilitating the site.
Leatherman’s familiarity with the Outer Banks dates back decades, first as a visitor as a child, and then as an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University.
He surveyed the beaches of Hatteras Island using a transit and rod to determine shore changes and erosion that continues to threaten N.C. Highway 12.
“During my graduate studies at the University of Virginia, I continued to make trips to Cape Hatteras and participated in a study of swash sand transport rates,” Leatherman said.
“Beaches are our nation’s foremost recreational areas and must be protected,” Leatherman said in a July 2024 manuscript about the Lighthouse Beach situation. “National seashores should receive immediate attention to remedy any pollution problems.”
“This closure has not only impacted local citizens, but has also raised concern among visitors who are vitally important to the economy of the Outer Banks of North Carolina,” Leatherman said.
“Lighthouse Beach had to be removed from the Top 10 Beaches…(and the) pressing pollution issues need to be resolved,” Leatherman said.
Dr. Beach’s Top 10 for 2025:
1. Coopers Beach, Southampton, Long Island, New York
2. Wailea Beach, Maui, Hawaii
3. Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
4. Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Naples, Florida
5. Main Beach, East Hampton, Long Island, New York
6. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina
7. St. Andrews State Park, Panama City, Florida
8. Kaunaoa, Big Island, Hawaii
9. Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
10. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Along with Buxton Beach, two other beaches were excluded this year: Coronado Beach in San Diego, California, because of sewage from the Tijuana River and Caladesi Island State Park in Florida due to damage from Hurricane Helene.
