Sand & Surf: The Best Beaches of 2014
Duke Kahanamoku Beach
And the best beach of 2014 is ... Duke Kahanamoku Beach on Oahu, Hawaii. This beach is protected by a reef from big waves.[Read More]
Barefoot Beach Preserve
No. 2 on the 2014 Best Beaches is Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park in Bonita Springs, Florida.
St. George Island State Park
The sand dunes at St. George Island State Park in Florida, No. 3 on 2014's Best Beaches list.
Waimanalo Beach
Waimanalo Bay State Park on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. This beach ranked No. 4 in "Dr. Beaches" Top 10 list of 2014.
Hamoa Beach, Maui
Hamoa Beach on the island of Maui in Hawaii. This mixed coral and lava sand beach is inside an eroded volcanic crater and ranks No. 5 on the 2014 Best Beaches list.
Cape Hatteras
The iconic Cape Hatteras lighthouse overlooks the No. 6 beach on the 2014 list on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Cape Florida State Park
Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, is the seventh-best beach of 2014, according to Stephen Leatherman of Florida International University.
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Coast Guard Beach
The 8th beach on the 2014 list is Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, overlooked by this lighthouse and Coast Guard station.
Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island, South Carolina is home to Beachwalker Park, the No. 9 beach of 2014. Though much of the island is developed, Beachwalker Park on the southern end is public and a great spot for bird-watchers.
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park
Rounding out the top 10 beaches of 2014 is Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in Naples, Florida. Sand dunes covered in sea oats give way to shores of fine white sand.
Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.