Located on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness is the country’s most beautiful state park, according to on the website Yelp.com.
The online publication Travel Lens analyzed app reviews of more than 6,000 state parks to determine the champion, which also happens to be Michigan’s largest state park. Nearly 90 percent of Yelp reviews of Porcupine Mountains referenced its beauty, . The local news site noted that Porcupine Mountains outranked Waiʻānapanapa State Park in Hawaii, which came in at No. 8 on the list. Nearly 55 percent of Yelp reviewers mentioned the Hawaiian park’s stunning landscapes.
Parks in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Washington, and Colorado also made the top ten.
The Porcupine Mountains are also growing in popularity, with a 112 percent Google search increase in the past year, according to Travel Lens.
The wilderness area spans 60,000 acres and sits on the shoreline of Lake Superior. It includes , as well as more than 90 miles of hiking trails and campgrounds.
This fall, staff began making infrastructure improvements to the park after receiving $1.4 million through the American Rescue Plan. The money will be used to resurface roads, modernize the visitor center, and replace ski lifts.
Ron Olson, head of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, this summer that the state’s parks have seen large increases in visitation and camping over the past two years.