Hapuna Beach State Park was ranked the best beach in the U.S. in Leatherman s review of sandy shorelines for 2021.
Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, hopes his 30th annual list will encourage people to get out and leave the past year of pandemic struggles in the rearview mirror.
He acknowledged that people will have to pay extra to get tested for COVID-19 before coming to the islands. “Hawaii is a really special place, and so I think it’s worth it, he said.
Kandi Miranda, who owns Manuela Malasada Company and runs a food truck near Hapuna Beach State Park, was born and raised on the Big Island. She was able to stay open for locals throughout the pandemic and is optimistic about the return of visitors.
Hapuna Beach State Park was ranked the best beach in the U.S. in Leatherman s review of sandy shorelines for 2021.
Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, hopes his 30th annual list will encourage people to get out and leave the past year of pandemic struggles in the rearview mirror.
He acknowledged that people will have to pay extra to get tested for COVID-19 before coming to the islands. “Hawaii is a really special place, and so I think it’s worth it, he said.
Kandi Miranda, who owns Manuela Malasada Company and runs a food truck near Hapuna Beach State Park, was born and raised on the Big Island. She was able to stay open for locals throughout the pandemic and is optimistic about the return of visitors.
St. George Island beaches named 4th in 2021 Top 10 Beach list by Dr. Beach
William Kronholm/AP
FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2007, file photo, miles of empty beach and billions of sea shells await a lone beachcomber at St. George Island State Park near Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle on Feb. 5, 2007. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S., under the alias Dr. Beach since 1991. In 2021, he has named St. George Island State Park the fourth-best beach in the country. (AP Photo/William Kronholm, File)
Only 2 Florida beaches make Dr. Beach s top 10 list
St. George Island State Park, Caladesi Island State Park among top 10
STEVE CANNON/AP
Marc Moncrief, right, along his wife Sherry, center, daughter Megan, left, 16, son Trevor, 13, back, celebrate the holiday, Monday July 4, 2005, at St. George Island, Fla. Three shark attacks in Gulf of Mexico waters off the Florida coast ahead of the Fourth of July weekend didn t keep tourists off the white sands of this resort island. Marc Moncrief, 42, of Calvary, Ga., acknowledged the shark stories had them debating just what exactly they would do in the murky water in the 90-degree heat. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon)
After a year of pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions, Stephen “Dr. Beach” Leatherman hopes his 30th annual list of the best beaches in the Unites.