Perdido Key, Florida
Top Ten Beaches in the United States
Best Swimming: Perdido Key State Park (Florida)
By Rich Beattie
Add to My Favorites 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 camera-worthy 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 Perdido 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.