Michigan was recognized with another first place recently with the 2011 National Recreation and Park Association gold medal for top state park system in the nation.
Michigan was given the 2011 National Recreation and Park Association gold medal for top state park system. Photo: Trent Strohm (flickr)
This honor comes after Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes was named the most beautiful place in America in August.
The association considers long-range planning, resource management and addressing the needs of park visitors to make its decision. The other four finalist states are North Carolina, Florida and Missouri.
Programs like the Recreation Passport, an optional $10 fee for Michigan drivers that renew their licenses that gives them access to all Michigan state parks, tipped the scales toward Michigan.
Yay Michigan! Yay parks!
Hi Doug,
Thanks for weighing in.
You mention some pretty beautiful places.
However, the reference was to Good Morning America’s “Most Beautiful Place in America.” And Sleeping Bear was indeed named most beautiful, not among the most beautiful.
Governor Snyder is aware SB248 was designed to eventually steal the NRTF for other political uses than the state parks. The $500M in the NRTF is not the way to pay for the bridge to Canada. The Governor supports promoting the state parks, and has been advised to veto SB248.
The Michigan Parks system is now under attack by Michigan Republicans with SB248 to destroy the future expansion of the Michigan state park system. Michigan Republicans are being bought by developer campaign money with objective to eliminate the Natural Resources Trust Fund from buying prime lake front access and natural lands for the “Public Trust”.
Michigan’s state parks are great, but be careful with the other info you present.
You state that Sleeping Bear Dunes was named the most beautiful place in America in August. It was named ONE of the most beautiful places in America, not THE most beautiful place, and the choice was hardly made in an authoritative way. Do you really think that Sleeping Bear Dunes, as lovely and fascinating as they are, are more beautiful than Mount Rainier, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Glacier National Park and so forth? Or even Pictured Rocks?