Professor calls Caladesi Island US's best beach

The University of Tampa senior had never been to this barrier island north of Clearwater, but she and her mother were immediately impressed.

"The water's just more beautiful here," Sturm said, adding that she preferred it to other Gulf Coast beaches.

Caladesi Island earned the honor of being named best beach in 2008 for an annual list compiled by Florida International University professor Stephen P. Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach.

The runners-up on Leatherman's list, released Thursday, were Hanalei Beach, Hawaii; Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Fla.; Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y.; Coronado Beach in San Diego; Main Beach in East Hampton, N.Y.; Hamoa Beach, Hawaii; Cape Hatteras, N.C.; Cape Florida State Park near Miami; and Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, S.C.

Caladesi's somewhat remote location factored into Leatherman's rankings -and why Sturm and her mother, Cynde Jayden, were awed by it.

"It's an island getaway," said Leatherman, who studies changing coastlines and has released his annual list since 1991. He noted that despite being in the densely populated Tampa Bay area, many nearby residents have never visited Caladesi.

Most beachgoers reach the island by a 15-minute, $9 ferry ride. Visitors -unless they bring their own boat -are limited to four-hour stays at the beach, which is a state park.

While more remote than the tourist mainstays of Clearwater or Miami, Caladesi still has showers, restrooms, kayak and beach chair rentals, and a snack bar.

Caladesi's fine, white quartz sand beach owes its creation to a 1921 hurricane, which separated it from nearby Honeymoon Island. Caladesi became a state park in 1968.