New research has revealed the most picturesque beaches in America, with California’s La Jolla Cove coming out on top. Florida and Hawaii also cleaned up.M
The study by hotel company Westgate Resorts analyzed the number of Instagram hashtags for the most visited beaches across the country. These hashtag numbers were then compared with each beach’s length to see which beaches had the highest number of hashtags per meter.
California’s La Jolla Cove takes the crown as the most Instagrammable beach in America, with a whopping 4,257 hashtags per meter. The beach has had 366,068 hashtagged Instagram posts made about it, and with it having the smallest length in the top ten of just 86 meters, the San Diego beach takes the number one spot in the list. The area is a top destination for beachgoers and a hotspot for divers, snorkelers, and swimmers.
The San Diego coastline is especially beguiling around La Jolla. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Coming in second place is South Beach, located in Miami. It comes in with a hashtags per meter score of 2,037, thanks to a length of 3,942 and a total of 8,027,955 hashtagged posts on Instagram. South Beach has a world-famous beach scene and has undergone numerous artificial and natural changes over the years.
Third place goes to one of five California beaches on the list, Laguna Beach. The study found the beach to have 1,319 hashtags per meter, thanks to a total of 3,161,606 hashtagged Instagram posts and a length of 2,397 meters. Many festivals are held in the area, such as the Festival of the Arts, Kelpfest, and Pageant of the Masters.
Venice Beach is fourth on the list, with the Los Angeles beach having a hashtags per meter score of 899. There are 4,341,671 hashtagged posts for the beach on Instagram, with a length of 4,828 meters. It’s the most popular tourist attraction in Los Angeles and the second most in Southern California, behind only Disneyland.
Hawaii’s Sandy Beach, located on the south shore of O’ahu, completes the top five. With 764,196 hashtagged posts in total, and its shorter length of 1,020 meters, it comes in with a hashtags per meter score of 749. It’s notorious for its bodyboarding and surfing opportunities due to the large and consistent waves which form on the shoreline.
Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii.
Here’s the full top 10:
- La Jolla Cove, California (achingly beautiful)
- South Beach, Florida (the hippest beach on the list)
- Laguna Beach, California (so pretty)
- Venice Beach, California (can’t beat the social scene)
- Sandy Beach, Hawaii (One of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s fave spots as a boy growing up on O’ahu)
- Manhattan Beach, California (just steps from LAX)
- Hermosa Beach, California (my parents went here for their honeymoon)
- Sunset Beach, Hawaii (great surfing on Oahu’s lovely north shore)
- Delray Beach, Florida (a personal fave)
- Waikiki Beach, Hawaii (popularity never seems to diminish)
For those of you keeping score at home, that’s five California spots in the top 10 (all in the top seven), which is most impressive. I’d personally add Napili Beach for Maui, Hawaii, Capitola Beach for California and Caladesi Island/Clearwater Beach for Florida, but that’s just me.
