Back on Top: Dr. Beach ranks Siesta Key Beach No. 1

For the second time in seven years, Dr. Beach named Siesta Key Beach the best beach in the country.

By David Conway
| 9:00 a.m. May 25, 2017

County Commissioner Al Maio speaks at an event Thursday honoring Siesta Beach' s No. 1 Ranking on Dr. Beach' s list.

Siesta Key
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The seemingly endless list of accolades for Siesta Key Beach got a little longer Thursday, when Dr. Beach named it the No. 1 beach in the country for the second time this decade.

Visit Sarasota County officials made the announcement at the Siesta Beach public pavilion alongside Dr. Beach, birth name Stephen Leatherman. Leatherman, a coastal geologist, uses 50 categories to develop a ranking of the top beaches in the nation.

County officials, alongside Stephen Leatherman, unveiled a new sign at Siesta Key Beach on Thursday recognizing the beach's latest honor.

Siesta Beach first topped the list in 2011, and came in second last year behind Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Oahu, Hawaii. Visit Sarasota President Virginia Haley said the $21.5 million beach improvement project the county completed last year helped Siesta return to the top spot.

Although Siesta Beach has become a regular on rankings like this — TripAdvisor named it the No. 1 beach in the country in February — Haley said the island isn’t seeing diminishing returns.

“These always bring an uptick,” Haley said. “We certainly saw it right after the TripAdvisor list, so we expect a really big uptick now — which is great headed into the summer season.”