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Introduction |
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Sleeping Bear, MI |
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Acadia, ME |
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Hatteras, NC |
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Everglades, FL |
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Perdido Key, FL |
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Matagorda , TX |
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Santa Monica, CA |
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Point Lobos, CA |
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Olympic, WA |
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Polihale, HI |
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PARKS
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| By Rich Beattie, GORP Editor |
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Best Swimming |
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Perdido Key, Florida |
Sugar-white sands, clean water, and great body surfing: The beach on Perdido Key is a prime spot for jumping in and getting wet. While not exactly a secret from condo developers, this super swimming hole is still a get-out-the-magnifying-glass dot on the map. A 247-acre barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico's Florida/Alabama border, the Key offers wide, white, sandy beaches, rolling sand dunes covered with sea oats, and wildlife like the osprey, dolphin, and loggerhead turtle.
How great is this beach? Stephen P. Leatherman (also known as Dr. Beach), America's beach guru and a professor at Florida International University of Miami, ranked it among America's best in 2000. His factors? Everything that's important to a swimmer and beachcomber: sand softness, wave size and current strength, water color and quality, and lifeguard protection.
Essentials: For more info, call
850-492-1595.
Tip:
Don't forget your mask and fins (or at least be sure to rent them) — the snorkeling's awesome.
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[from Outside magazine]
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