ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 9-mile (14-kilometer) stretch of Florida sugar-white sand in an pristine natural setting togetherwith the Gulf of Mexico is the country’s finest beach for 2023, according to the yearly ranking launched Thursday by the university teacher understood as “Dr. Beach.”
The state park on St. George Island simply off the Florida Panhandle drew the leading honor from Stephen Leatherman, teacher in the Department of Earth & Environment at Florida International University. This year’s top 10 list marks the 33rd year Leatherman hasactually ranked the finest of America’s 650 public beaches around Memorial Day, the standard start of summertime.
St. George Island is regularly on the list. But this year what set it apart from others is its natural appeal, absence of advancement, plentiful activities consistingof fishing, swimming, kayaking, biking, outdoorcamping and an unrivaled view of the night sky for stargazers, Leatherman stated.
“There’s simply so numerous things that capture my creativity there,” Leatherman stated in an interview. “It’s an picturesque location.”
The park covers about 2,000 acres (810 hectares) on the east end of the island, which is linked by a bridge to the mainland throughout Apalachicola Bay, wellknown for its oysters. The other areas of the island consistof a little town, diningestablishments, leasing houses and motels, however not a entire lot else.
And that’s the method Leatherman likes it.
“People can have the finest of both worlds there, simply miles and miles of pristine beaches,” he stated.
The island hasactually been damaged over the years by tropical storms, most justrecently by Hurric