'Experts' name best beach in NC. Carolinians are already arguing about it.

Anyone crazy enough to single out one beach as the best in North Carolina deserves what's coming to them.

So USA Today's "panel of judges" might as well put their cell phones on mute for the rest of the year. Carolinians love to argue about a lot of things, but debating favorite beaches is near the top, somewhere just below anything involving Duke and UNC.

And it can get mean.

USA Today bravely named Emerald Isle as the best beach in the state, because it "features 12 miles of largely undeveloped shoreline offering stunning views of both the Atlantic Ocean and Bogue Inlet."

There were 20 contenders and it was among 10 singled out. The nine were (in descending order): Oak Island Beach, Holden Beach, Atlantic Beach, Carolina Beach, Topsail Beach/Surf City, Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Sunset Beach and Kure Beach.

Within minutes of the news being released, critics were lined up on Facebook to debate the results.

"I think it’s overrated," posted Amanda Garcia of Emerald Isle.

"It’s all a lie," posted Miranda Edmundson Crumpler.

"Apparently, those voting for a particular beach don't live there or close by," posted Jerry Nord.

Why this is such an intensely personal issue here has a lot to do with the fact that the state is home to two national seashores and more than 300 miles of barrier island beaches. Nearly all are accessible and beloved by Carolinians who pray out-of-state tourists don't find their "secret spot."

It's not clear who exactly sits on USA Today's panel of "beach experts," but it did name one: Stephen Leatherman (a.k.a. "Dr. Beach"), a professor at Florida International University.

He apparently uses 50 criteria to select the best U.S. beaches on an annual basis, says USA Today.

North Carolinians are not impressed.

This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 4:28 PM with the headline "'Experts' name best beach in NC. Carolinians are already arguing about it.."