Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
(CBS/AP) Like a Hollywood star, Coronado's 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand. That's one of the reasons why Coronado — flanked by the iconic hotel featured in Marilyn Monroe's 1958 film "Some Like It Hot" — has been named the No. 1 beach in the United States in the 2012 survey by professor Stephen P. Leatherman of Florida International University.
It is the first time "Dr. Beach" has given the top slot to California in the more than two decades that he has been ranking beaches in the United States based on their environmental quality and safety for swimmers.
Coronado Beach, on a peninsula across the bay from San Diego, has near-perfect Mediterranean weather and a postcard backdrop.
"I think it's one of the most super beaches around," said Leatherman, director of FIU's Laboratory for Coastal Research.
Click through this gallery to see other beaches on the Top 10 list.
California's chilly coastal waters have cost its pristine beaches points when they've been up against balmy contenders in Florida and Hawaii in the past. Coronado Beach was runner-up last year to Florida's Siesta Beach. Once a beach tops Leatherman's list, it is retired from consideration for future rankings.
Leatherman said Coronado is great for skim boarding (gliding on the water with a small, finless surfboard) and walking. The wide, flat beach is lined by majestic mansions and the Hotel del Coronado. Known as "Hotel Del," the National Historic Landmark with its peaked red roof was built in 1888 and is the last of California's Victorian seaside resorts.
Coronado is also the name of the swanky-yet-quaint city on a peninsula populated by Navy officers and some of California's wealthiest. It can be reached by ferry boat for a few dollars from downtown San Diego.
There is free parking at the beach but it is on a public street so it can be challenging, Leatherman said.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 2: Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii
This beach was named after gold medal Olympic swimmer Duke Paoa Kahanamoku who helped popularize surfing beyond Hawaii's shores.
Leatherman said this beach - bounded by the Ala Wai small boat harbor and the Hilton Hawaiian Village catamaran pier - is protected from big waves by a shallow offshore reef, making it a great swimming area for families with kids.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 3: Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.
This wide sandy beach on New York's Long Island - with towering sand dunes and beautiful clean and clear blue water - is a major summertime draw for well-to-do residents.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 4: St. George Island State Park, Florida
Leatherman calls the sand at this Florida panhandle beach "squeaky clean," just two years after the BP oil spill.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 5: Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii
A pocket beach in what is a breached volcanic crater requires visitors to maneuver a treacherous drive, but the reward is a beach praised by writers Ernest Hemingway and James Michener ("Hawaii").
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 6: Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.
Leatherman says the steeply sloping shoreline affords spectacular views of Nauset Spit, with a picturesque lighthouse nearby.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 7: Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii
Leatherman says this magnet for Hawaiians is good for swimming - safe from dangerous currents.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 8: Cape Florida State Park near Miami
At the southern tip of Key Biscayne is this state park featuring emerald-colored waters, gentle surf and a fine, white coral sand beach.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 9: Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.
A draw for birders and for canoeists and kayakers wishing to paddle through this barrier island's tidal inlets, Beachwalker Park is also great for bike riding.
Calif.'s Coronado heads 2012 Top 10 beaches list
No. 10: Cape Hatteras in North Carolina
The first National Seashore in the United States offers, according to Leatherman, some of the best board surfing along the East Coast.