U.P. wilderness beats Niagara Falls, Hocking Hills on USA Today state park ranking

Lake of the Clouds within Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park ranked No. 4 for USA Today's 10Best state park category. Pictured here is the park's iconic Lake of the Clouds overlook. (Photo Courtesy of Tyler Leiprandt and Michigan Sky Media LLC. | Michigan DNR)Tyler Leipprandt and Michigan Sky Media LLC

ONTONAGON COUNTY, MI -- The vast beauty and wild nature of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula took out major competitors on the USA Today 10Best poll for best state parks across the nation.

The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park landed at No. 4 on the ranking.

The poll highlighted the Porkies’ 60,000 acres of lakes, rivers, and virgin forest.

The top three state parks were New York’s Letchworth State Park in the No. 1 spot, Florida’s Blue Spring State Park at No. 2 and Minnesota’s Gooseberry Falls State Park at No. 3.

After coming in second in 2015 behind Letchworth, the Porkies campaigned hard for the top spot this time, park manager Mike Knack said. The park was also runner-up in 2017 for USA Today’s Best Michigan Attraction.

Even so, the love is much appreciated for the Yooper spot to be highlighted on a national scale again.

“We are a very loved park with a very strong group of followers and visitors,” Knack said. “We’re always grateful that people support us and want to showcase us.”

RELATED: Porkies visitor center closes for $1M renovation to modernize the 1980s building

USA Today pulled together a list of heavy hitters including Niagara Falls State Park in New York, Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio and Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas.

USA Today experts picked their top 20 out of the 10,000 state park units across the country. Readers voted in the poll and narrowed the list down to a top 10.

Niagara Falls and Hocking Hills both got eliminated by voters while Big Bend Ranch landed at No. 7.

RELATED: Porkies crowned Michigan’s favorite state park this year, beating Ludington

The Porkies already proved themselves once this year, taking the crown for the State Park Madness bracket run by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

It’s an outdoor enthusiast playground with camping on the shores of Lake Superior, 90 miles of hiking trails, seasonal kayak rentals, mountain biking, and in the winter, access to the Porcupine Mountain Winter Sports Complex

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Lindsay Moore

Stories by Lindsay Moore

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