The Best Secret Beach In Contiguous U.S. Is In St. Pete

A beach in St. Pete

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Where is the top-ranked secret beach in America, excluding the beaches in Hawaii? St. Pete!

Family Destinations Guide took a look at some of the most secluded, amazing beaches across the country. How did they come up with their list. They polled 3,000 families in America to find out what secret beaches they wanted to visit most this summer.

The top "secret" beach families want to visit is Awahua Beach, which is in Hawaii.

Coming in second (first in the contiguous United States) is Shell Key Preserve in St. Pete.

What makes Shell Key Preserve so special? It's very secluded, the stunning white sand, and clean blue water.

You won't find condos or tourist attractions there. Just plenty of vegetation and nature, including sea turtles.

If you want to re-charge and enjoy nature's wonder, Shell Key Preserve in St. Pete is your spot.

The other notable beach in our Tampa Bay area that made this list is Caladesi Island, coming in at number 23. Caledisi is a gorgeous, secluded white-sand beach in Dunedin.

For more on this story, click here.

Top Five List Of Best Beaches In Country Includes A Tampa Bay Area Beach

So many beaches around the Tampa Bay area to enjoy.

Surprisingly, only one local beach (actually, only one Florida beach, too) earned a spot on the Travel + Leisure’s list of top 25 beaches in the United States.

But the Florida beach that made it on to the list is a beauty. Clearwater Beach came in at number 5.

The number one beach in the country, according to this list, is Poipu Beach in Kauai, Hawaii.

The factors taken into consideration included: Sand, wave activity, seclusion, parking ease, and the quantity of shaded trees. Clearwater Beach certainly has beautiful sand, some places where you can feel secluded, but not necessarily great parking options.

You can visit Travel and Leisure here to read the complete list.

Here are the top 5:

Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

Ocean City, Maryland

Coronado Beach, San Diego, California

Pope Beach, Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Florida

Beach St. Pete

Roxanne WilderWriter

Roxanne is a co-host on the MJ Morning Show and host of Middays on Q105 in Tampa Bay. She also hosts segments on The Current, which features local feel-good stories and health and wellness segments, and airs on five of the six Tampa-based Beasley Media Group stations. Roxanne has conducted hundreds of interviews, from athletes to Oscar winners, including Matt Damon, Christian Bale, and Chadwick Boseman. She also specializes in media training, having worked with clients in the NFL, NBA and WWE for television, in print, and online. Roxanne is a published author and will be releasing a thriller novel in 2024. Her favorite thing in the world is being with her two daughters and husband. As a content creator for Q105, Roxanne writes about family activities in the Tampa Bay area, as well as reviews for local restaurants and travel.