OCRACOKE, N.C. — Since 1991, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, AKA Dr. Beach, has released his list of best beaches in America. Dr. Beach grew up in Charlotte but is currently a professor and director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. Every year, the geoscientist and coastal ecologist ranks 650 beaches to get down to the top 10. He rates beaches in the U.S. based on 50 criteria, including safety, sand quality, and cleanliness.
Coming out on top this year is Ocracoke's lifeguarded beach. He says there's 16 miles of pristine beach with clean sand and water, beautiful big sand dunes, and then a little village where you can find good accommodations and great restaurants.
One other thing he's big on: no smoking allowed.
"This is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore they don't allow any smoking so you're not gonna find cigarette butts here," he notes.
Points of interest at Ocracoke include:
- The Ocracoke Lighthouse, the nation's second-oldest lighthouse. The 75-foot tower celebrates its 200th birthday in 2023.
- The pony pens, which house a once-wild herd believed to be descended from Colonial Spanish mustangs brought here by Sir Richard Grenville, whose ship ran aground at Ocracoke in 1585. The horses are now protected by the National Park Service.
- The British Cemetery, the final resting place for four British seamen killed while defending the U.S. coast from German U-boats in 1941.
Ocracoke is also an island that was a haunt of Blackbeard, the world’s most famous pirate.
"He would go out and get his plunder and then come back and throw great parties," says Dr. Beach, adding " he threw beach parties and bonfires and shared the wealth. He's quite a ladies' man and I can understand why you want to come here. I'd want to come here too. And so in fact, his spirit lives on, on Ocracoke Island."
When Dr. Beach's list began in 1991 as a Top 50 selection, Ocracoke was ranked in 17th place. The island reached the top in 2007, when it became the first beach outside of Hawaii and Florida to make it to the top. No other beach outside those states has earned the crown twice.
Other Carolina beaches that ranked in the top 10 were Lighthouse Beach in Buxton in the Outer Banks at #6 and Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island at #9. You can check out the full list here.
