Minnesota’s Bear Head Lake State Park near Ely has won a $100,000 contest naming it “America’s Favorite Park.” The park garnered 28% of the 5.7 million votes cast by the public in the America is Your Park campaign sponsored by Coca-Cola.
The Timberjay has the full story HERE. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources media release on the honor is HERE.
The campaign, which ran from July 29 to August 31, invited Americans to vote online for their favorite state or national park. The campaign’s goal was to encourage families to be active outdoors this summer and to help their favorite park win funding to build, enhance, or restore recreation areas in the parks.
“This is an incredible honor,” Jen Westlund, manager of Bear Head Lake State Park, said. “We’re very grateful to everyone, both in Minnesota and nationwide, who voted for Bear Head Lake State Park. I’m not surprised that this remote park on a beautiful 674-acre lake received such an outpouring of support, given this state’s strong conservation ethic.”
Bear Head Lake State Park’s award will be used to fund construction of a trail center where hikers, paddlers, snowshoers, and families can gather before heading outdoors to explore the park, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources which manages the park.
Bear Head Lake State Park, which has about 100,000 visitors a year, received more than 1.6 million votes in the campaign, finishing ahead of many larger and busier parks. Great Smoky Mountains National Park finished runner-up in the contest.
Find more information on Bear Head Lake State Park HERE.