This summer, “Dr. Beach” is not dropping his towel on California sand.

Stephen Leatherman, a Florida coastal scientist who’s earned the name “Dr. Beach” for his annual rankings of U.S. beaches, has released 2025’s batch of must-visit-before-you-die spots. Unlike other years that shout out California — notably, Coronado Beach in San Diego — the Golden State is left completely out of the mix.

Instead, Leatherman is going heavy on Hawaii and New York. Long Island gets his coveted No. 1 spot: He praises Coopers Beach for its wide expanses of “grainy white quartz sand” and “large sand dunes covered by American beach grass interspersed with extravagant mansions.”

The scientist typically uses a 50-factor checklist to determine what makes a best beach. But this year Coopers boiled down to one thing, as he told CNN: “It’s a big, beautiful beach.” As for San Diego, he passed it over

this year because “now Coronado is too polluted to go in the water.”

Dr. Beach’s best US beaches for 2025

1: Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York

2: Wailea Beach, Maui, Hawaii

3: Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

4: Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Naples, Florida

5: Main Beach, East Hampton, New York

6: Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina

7: St. Andrews State Park, Panama City, Florida

8: Kaunaoa (Mauna Kea) Beach, Big Island, Hawaii

9: Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

10: Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

— John Metcalfe, Bay Area News Group