Today Good Morning America announced the winner of the Most Beautiful Place in America. Tens of thousands cast their vote to determine the winner: Sleeping Bear Dunes!
As a native Michigander I can certainly see why Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore would be placed in the top 10. But it’s truly a testament to the passion of area residents and visitors who voted for this midwest treasure over some other fantastic locales.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes hold many treasures, and memories that go back as far as I can remember. Trips to the dune climb when I was a child, when they used to offer dune buggy rides. Endless runs up and down those hills left us scraping sand from our scalp days later. But one of my favorite places in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is South Manitou Island.
We’ve made a tradition of taking the kids out to South Manitou by boat and spending the day exploring the beach, climbing the lighthouse and crusing past the wreck of the Morazan. Looking out over the Manitou passage, and across to Glen Arbor and the face of the Sleeping Bear is a stunningly beautiful vista. And the reason so many of us are passionate about Michigan. The colors of the water may look like the Carribean, but the spirit is Pure Michigan.
I’m thrilled that our region is once again getting the national attention it deserves. We are so lucky to live in this amazing place. What more can I say:
If you’d like to see a few more photographic reasons, check out our Sleeping Bear Dunes Photo Gallery.
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