Dr. Beach names Kiawah beach among nation’s Top 10 – again

A South Carolina beach is once again on the list of the nation’s 10 best.

Kiawah Island might be best known for its golfing, but the island’s Beachwalker Park is No. 9 on the best beaches list that was released Thursday.

Florida International University professor Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, uses about 50 criteria to assess and rank beaches across the country. In recent years, he has given extra points to beaches that prohibit smoking, saying cigarette butts are not only environmentally damaging, but can ruin the experience for beach-goers. Safety and environmental management are other major factors he considers.

Here’s what Leatherman has to say about Beachwalker Park, the public beach located on the southern end of Kiawah Island: “Tennis and golf are featured here as well as interpretative tours of the fauna and flora of the island. This is certainly a nature-lovers coast, so visitors should pack their canoes and kayaks to paddle through the tidal inlets or walk down to St. Sam’s Inlet to see thousands of birds. The water is not clear here, but it is clean and provides for fantastic seafood for Lowcountry cooking. Visitors can also pack their bicycles, since the sand is compact enough to ride along the 10-mile long barrier island.”

Beachwalker Park was No. 8 on the list last year and has made the Top 10 for several years now.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 6:15 PM.