Gooseberry Falls State Park Up For Title Of Best State Park In US

Minnesota's most popular state park is in the running to be named among the best in the country, basically making official what a lot of people already know. The park needs your help, though, to claim that official honor.

Gooseberry Falls State Park on Minnesota's North Shore, just north of Two Harbors, is among the finalists in the USA Today's vote to name the 10 Best state parks in the country.

As Minnesota's most-visited park annually, the Minnesota DNR says Gooseberry draws over three-quarters of a million visitors each year. The most recent statistics report 758, 417 people visit annually, which is more than 200,000 more visitors than the next-most visited state park in Minnesota.

This time of year (springtime) is among the most popular for visitors, with the waterfalls really roaring from spring snowmelt. This video was just captured earlier this week, showing off how awesome it looks right now!

Gooseberry is Minnesota's only contestant in this year's "10 Best" vote, going up against some heavy hitters of the nearly 10,000 state parks around the country.

Most of the parks in the running to win this year's vote are not in the Midwest, though there are a couple of parks in this year's competition in nearby states. Among them are Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek, Wisconsin and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Ontonagon, Michigan.

I'm a little surprised Custer State Park in South Dakota isn't in the running, as it has some pretty epic, near national park-like vibes. Maybe I shouldn't complain about a strong contender not being in the competition against my local favorite though, haha!

Voting is going on now though 11 am on Monday, May 11. The winning state parks will be announced on Wednesday, May 20. If you want to vote, you can do so here on the USA Today 10 Best website.

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As of the time I am writing this article, Gooseberry is in the lead, with regional parks Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in 6th place and Peninsula State Park in 9th. This is bound to change, so make sure you get your vote of support in!

Best Minnesota State Parks To Avoid Big Crowds

While iconic state parks like Itasca, Gooseberry, and Fort Snelling draw massive numbers of visitors each year, there are a lot of awesome state parks and recreation areas around Minnesota that offer fantastic outdoor or camping experiences without the high number of visitors. Give these a look!

Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper