Posted on 08/17/2011 9:45:02 AM PDT by Lakeshark
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, tucked away in the northwest corner of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, won the title of "Good Morning America's" Most Beautiful Place in America.
Tens of thousands of viewers voted online for this Michigan park, which is one of the nation's best-kept secrets. The hidden gem boasts 64 miles of beaches along Lake Michigan, two islands, 26 inland lakes, more than 50,000 acres of land, and the monumental sand dunes from which it gets its name.
In June, "GMA" set out in search of the most beautiful places in America. Viewers nominated their favorite places online, sending in thousands of photos from across the country showcasing spectacular sunsets, regal mountaintops and jaw-dropping views, many with awe-inspiring stories to match.
From there "GMA" narrowed the field down to 10 -- Sleeping Bear Dunes, Mich.; Newport, R.I.; Cape Cod, Mass.; Point Reyes, Calif.; Aspen, Colo.; Sedona, Ariz; Destin, Fla.; Asheville, N.C.; Lanikai Beach, Hawaii; and Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
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I am definitely seeing the beauty in these pics people are posting! I didn’t even realize there were naturally sandy beaches there. You’d better be careful or you will be inundated with summer visitors!
When I lived up north near Evart Michigan, Tubing on the Muskegon was pretty much a standard Saturday afternoon activity.
We had someone drop us off 10 miles up stream and float down river right to my back yard.
I agree 100%. There is an amazing park near me, over in Eaton County, that is truly "hidden in plain sight." I have been through more than half of the states, from east to west, north and south, through Canada, through Europe...this one, largely ignored park is so beautiful I actually catch my breath just thinking about it. And the fishing is beyond words. For me it will always be the single most beautiful place on earth.
Gorgeous. I’d forgotten how beautiful Michigan could be (I grew up in Berrien County - Warren Dunes was our closest state park). Too d*** cold in the winter, though, so I’ll stick with a 45-minute drive from one of their other listed beautiful places, Lanikai Beach.
I really can’t think of anyplace in Michigan that’s outside the city limits that I haven’t been very content. As it is, I live in such a tiny town that its country anyway. (150 or so people)
Enjoyed your pictures. The politics and politicians are ugly.
But that can change. (Didn't mean Hope and Change)
Wow, where is that?
We’ve got total GOP control now.
In fact I encourage conservatives to consider moving to Michigan to keep our momentum going. It wouldn’t promise to be easy but we can force Michigan to the right. If it weren’t for our current regulations and taxes, we would be set for an economic boom. We sit on a vast reserve of natural gas and that could spark some real growth if we could get it.
Besides, the liberals are all heading south these days.
-- Fresh water.
Yep, we’re greedy water barons and need to be removed from the the king’s swamp.
I know you are not suppose to be envious, but I am. Great place to live, you are blessed. Keep sharing the pictures, it helps!
You are so right!
Since 2003, every other year I would take one of my daughters on a cross country trip. No real destination, just about 20 days on the road. North trip, south trip, east coast, west coast.
I had left my corporate job in ‘03 and had about a million Marriott points. I have summers off—I am not a teacher, but I work a college sports year schedule.
It was the best time with my kids, whom I was obviously away from during their infant years.
Now years later when I hear them talking about those trips, it really fills my heart.
This is a wonderful country. Stop going to the beach. Stop going on cruises. Go somewhere you’ve never been before. You are missing a lot of great places.
This article just got bookmarked for my trip the year the get out of college.
Well, I've certainly had better weather on the Manitou islands. And a place I named 'Elven Palace' on the west shore of North Manitou was a wonderful camping spot. But my heart is with the rocky wilderness of the northern shore, the brisk breezes, the marble and granite sky of a morning on a northern lake.
It's probably miserable up there 7 months out of the year, of course. But I love Isle Royale when I can visit it. :-)
I calculated I covered 500' in 14 seconds flat doing that when I was a teen-ager. That's ~35 ft/second or around 24 MPH. Fastest I ever went without a vehicle. :-)
This is the ONLY one of the finalists I haven’t seen. How did that miss my lists?
So you'd have someplace new to visit!
I had to use the car lights to drive up the road to Maroon Bells. When I got there before dawn, there were already about 50 photographers setting their tripods up at the edge of the lake.
We were a few days past the fall color peak as some of the aspen trees in the distance had already lost their leaves. When the sun hit the trees on the right shore later in the morning, the leaves there got a lot brighter, but the left bank of the lake was in deep shaddow.
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