CORONADO, Calif. -- Sometime around 2013, an oceanography professor at Florida International University will emerge from his office in Miami and declare Coronado Beach the best sand strand in the United States.

Huh? Coronado? That strip on the back side of the Navy bases?

What about Malibu and Laguna and Waimea Bay on Oahu or Kaanapali on Maui?

We'll get to that.

Coronado's pedigree is hard to beat in Southern California. (Yes, there are nice beaches in Northern California, but we are humans, not seals. Look but don't touch.) The narrow, long line of sand curving along the outside of San Diego Bay seems to sparkle. No, it does sparkle. There's mica in the sand, reflecting the sun's rays.

The red-turreted Hotel del Coronado has anchored the stretch of sandy real estate since 1888. From Victorian ladies in full-length frocks and gentlemen in evening coats strolling the sands to the microscopic bikinis and baggy bathing shorts of today, Coronado has played host to it all.

Despite the longevity, the relative pristine nature of the beach is a big draw for Dr. Stephen Leatherman, the Florida researcher who has been churning out lists of the best beaches in the United States under the moniker "Dr. Beach."

"Coronado is an offshore island with a very flat, fairly protected beach with some of the safest and warmest water on the California coast without having the pollution problems," Leatherman said in an interview. "It is in the San Diego area, but a world away."

Leatherman's main purpose is to promote healthy beaches, so he retires the top beach from the competition each year so a new one gets its, well, moment in the sun. Leatherman's list is well-known for omitting California beaches from the mix. No Malibu. No Laguna. No Windansea. California's waters are often too polluted, too crowded and too cold to compete with the usual winners from Hawaii or Florida.

With Coronado currently in the No. 5 slot, it's likely to have its starring role sometime in the next decade.

Of course, film fans know the beach has already had its big moment -- in 1959, when it starred in the film "Some Like It Hot," with the ultimate beach bathing beauty of the era, Marilyn Monroe. The comedy, which also featured Tony Curtis (with a dead-on Cary Grant impersonation) and Jack Lemmon, opened on March 1 and gave the shivering nation a glimpse of the golden sands of the beach and the Hotel del Coronado.

Getting to Coronado Beach can be a bit of a chore. You have to take Interstate 5 south and pass almost all the way through the city before hanging a right on the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, making sure not to follow the traffic on to the North Island Naval Air Station and its aircraft carriers. At Orange Avenue, visitors hang a left. The beaches are close when the turn choices come down to Ocean Boulevard or Strand Way.

The big attraction here, the place Dr. Beach is talking about, is known locally as Coronado Central Beach. Part fronts the "Hotel Del," which despite its prime beachfront doesn't have private rights to the sand and sea. Swimmers will share the waters with a few surfers and small clumps of shore-casting fishermen (and women) looking to hook surfperch, butterfish or croaker. If you bring your own grub, the picnic tables at Sunset Park are a good stop. A concrete walkway runs along part of the edge of the beachfront. There's a wheelchair ramp at Avenida de las Arenas.

Up and down San Diego's beachfront, it's not unusual to see the city's major tenant, the U.S. Navy. Marines from the Recruit Depot jog along Pacific Beach, and ships heading north along the coast pass Ocean Beach. From Coronado, you can see submarines, cruisers, troop ships and aircraft carriers pulling into San Diego Bay, along with sailboats headed around the horn to Glorietta Bay. Every now and again, the Marines will stage a mock assault on the beaches the U.S. Navy Amphibious Base is on the back side of Coronado's thin Silver Strand Boulevard.

Farther down the boulevard, just past City Hall, is the placid Glorietta Park Beach, a bayside watery playground for families.

I prefer the quieter, beautiful Silver Strand State Beach, about five miles south of the main city area. It gets its name from the crushed shells that mix with the sand.

Silver Strand is a favorite grunion run spot when the moon is right. When the sun is out, people soak up the rays among the dunes. The sliver of land here is so thin, pedestrian tunnels connect the beach and bay sides. You're farther from the stacked-up urban world of Coronado city here. It's still possible to have to dodge a jackrabbit crossing Highway 75, or watch gophers pop in and out of their holes.

From here, it's an easy loop back along Palm Avenue to pick up Interstate 5 and head north. (Or maybe explore more beaches to the south -- anyone up for a drive to Cabo San Lucas? Only another 1,100 miles.)

Bottom line: For me, many of these Coronado beaches beat a lot of locales in Florida or North Carolina favored by Dr. Beach. (Hawaii? Well, let's be realistic here.) I can only hope Coronado can somehow leapfrog over the current No. 4, a beach on New York's Long Island. The ignominy of coming in second to a frigid, grassy knoll outside of Manhattan would be hard for Californians to bear.

IF YOU GO:

WHEN TO GO: My favorite time is September, after Labor Day, when the crowds and prices drop precipitously, yet it is still warm and sunny. Even early October can have beach temperatures well into the 70s, despite morning clouds.

SLEEPS:

Hotel del Coronado. Even if you don't stay, you have to check out California's largest wooden public building. If you do stay, make sure you are in the historic building and not the nice but unremarkable modern annex. Weekdays are best -- low prices and fewer lookie-loos crowding the lobby. 1500 Orange Ave., www.hoteldel.com or 800-468-3533. Other nearby luxury options include the Loews Coronado Bay Resort and Glorietta Bay Inn. Room rates officially top $400 a night, but midweek deals in still-warm September and October can bring the price below $300.

Best Western Suites: Its orange roofs and white siding echo the Del, but the prices (and experience) are more down-market. A good, simple motor inn. 275 Orange Ave. Pool and hot tub. www.bestwestern.com or 800-528-1234. Rates from about $189 a night.

Silver Strand camping: Camper and RV parking is available at Silver Strand Beach State Park. Rates start at $8 per night for smaller vehicles and rise to $30 per night for RVs over 21 feet. Discounts are available for seniors and the disabled. 800-444-7275.

EATS: I'm not a fancy diner during my beach-oriented trips to Coronado. Clayton's Coffee Shop (979 Orange Ave., 619-435-5425) for breakfast and Villa Nueva Bakery Cafe (956 Orange Ave., 619-435-4191) for coffee and desserts. Another good spot is Tartine (1106 First St., 619-435-4323). My one rare indulgence is the Sunday brunch at the Hotel del Coronado in the cavernous Crown Room (book through the hotel). Book well in advance -- it's a wonderful zoo of an experience. Price is $69.50 for adults, $22.95 for ages 7-12 and $10.95 for ages 2-6.

MORE INFORMATION: www.coronadochamber.com or 619-435-9260

Online: www.coronadovisitorcenter.com