2 Of America’s Top 100 Secret Beaches Are Located In GA

GEORGIA — The point of a hidden beach is that few people know about it, but the Family Destinations Guide blew that out of the water with a new list of the top 100 secret beaches in America, which includes two in Georgia.

The travel planning company surveyed 3,000 U.S. families to determine the hidden beaches they’d most like to visit in 2023.

In Georgia, the picks were Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island and Cumberland Island National Seashore on St. Marys.

Driftwood was No. 24 on the list. According to a May 12 Best Beaches in Georgia list, Driftwood is recommended for its driftwood and leafless trees and for its soft landscape.

Cumberland was No. 32 on the list. According to the Best Beaches list, Cumberland has powdery white sandy beaches and is high ranking in the categories of family-friendly, safety, amenities, water quality and accessibility - scoring at least a 4 out of 5 in each category.

The top secret beach in the poll is Awahua Beach, located off Hawaii’s island of Molokai. It’s known for crystal clear turquoise waters and soft, white sand.

Hawaii has three of the top five secret beaches — No. 3 Lanikai Beach, off the coast of Oahu, and No. 4 Kauapea Beach, on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii.

Also among the top five picks are Shell Key Preserve beach in Florida (No. 2) and Sedge Island beach in New Jersey (No. 5).

Florida had the most secret beaches to visit with nine, California had eight and Hawaii had five.

Not all the beaches front oceans. The list included beaches in landlocked states such as Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.