Florida Beach Is The 3rd Most Picturesque in America

You can learn a lot from Instagram hashtags. When people want to show off their vacation photos there's always a flurry of hashtags at the end of the post. Which Florida beach did you go to? Which lake in Michigan did you go on a pontoon? Did you go to visit a desert? Florida beaches get tagged a lot, but there's one beach that gets tagged more than the rest. Making that location the third most picturesque in America.

Experts at Storyboards used Instagram data to analyze the number of hashtags for various landscapes in America to discover which of those are the most picturesque. It makes sense, the more times a landscape is tagged, the more people want to brag about it. Number one on the list, amazingly, is not in Florida. And it's not a beach, it's a lake.

Placing first on the list of the most picturesque landscapes in America is Lake Tahoe, with 2,986,225 Instagram hashtags. Situated on the border of California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe is the clearest lake in the U.S., with a 99.994% purity – plus, there are many outdoor activities to partake in there, from hiking to fishing. The celebrity golf tournament "American Century Championship" happens in July. 

Above all, peak tourist season brings the crowds. Likewise, hotel rates are higher. The best time to enjoy the beauty and avoid people is April to May and September to November. Now, let's take a look at the other top picturesque locations on the list.

In second place is Lake Michigan, which has a hashtag count of 2,788,904. With a length of 307 miles and a width of 118 miles, Lake Michigan is the third biggest lake in America and the fifth largest in the world – not to mention, it’s home to an abundance of natural habitats. Just remember though, it's very seasonal. Lake Michigan has some brutal winters. 

Clearwater Beach is in third place with a total of 1,298,877 Instagram hashtags. The white sand is undoubtedly one of the main attractions of Clearwater Beach, located near Tampa in Florida.

In fourth place is Lake Superior, which has 1,157,663 hashtags on Instagram. Known as the largest freshwater lake in the world, which is situated on the border between the U.S. and Canada, Lake Superior contains 10% of the world’s freshwater. Due to little organic material, the water is incredibly clear. 

Taking the fifth spot is Lake Ontario, which has 1,007,124 Instagram hashtags. Another of the Great Lakes family on this list, Lake Ontario’s shoreline is 712 miles long when the islands are included, of which there are a staggering 1,864. 

Waikiki Beach places sixth, with 969,640 Instagram hashtags. Due to Hawaii’s ocean water being nutrient deficient, places like Waikiki Beach boast magnificently blue water – and on top of this, the beach boasts a tropical climate and an array of palm trees. 

Lake Norman ranks in seventh place, which has 640,978 hashtags on Instagram. Lake Norman is the largest man-made lake in North Carolina, and the lake has plenty of spots for locals, or even visitors, to dock their boats and view the sunset on an evening. 

Next on the list is Lake Huron in eighth place, which sees a total of 560,434 Instagram hashtags. Lake Huron, which is the fourth largest lake in the world, has many stunning dunes and wetlands alongside plenty of lighthouses. To make it even more of an Insta hashtag, is home to over 30,000 islands. 

Lake Powell follows in ninth place, with 456,329 hashtags on Instagram. Located between Utah and Arizona, Lake Powell offers beautiful canyon views with stone sculptures of cliffs and towers. Unlike the Great lakes listed above,  there's constant sunshine and warm weather. 

In tenth place is the Mojave Desert, which has 429,066 hashtags on Instagram. Occupying over 25,000 square miles, the Mojave Desert is located in Southern California, with other portions belonging to Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Take selfies with towering mesas, sand dunes, and Joshua Trees, the Mojave Desert is undoubtedly a spectacular location. 

Gavin Glick, Co-Founder of Storyboards, commented: “With the top 10 landscapes being located in various states, including Florida, Hawaii, and North Carolina, it shows that Americans are spoilt for choice when it comes to stunning scenery. However, it’s interesting to see that seven of the top 10 landscapes are all lakes, suggesting that Americans favor this type of landscape over any other.”