Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Public voting is now open for the annual “State Park Madness” tournament - with some area parks in the running.

State Park Madness is a competition, similar to March Madness, that involves public voting and pits state parks against each other to survive until the next round.

32 parks are featured in the first round, and people are encouraged to vote for their favorite park to move it to the next round. Five rounds will take place during the month of January.

Different parks are featured every year. The winning park gets bragging rights and a big engraved trophy.

The annual tournament is hosted by the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center, which connects guests to Michigan’s natural and cultural resources. Educational Programmer Emily Grant told WHMI they have a three-story museum in downtown Detroit that allows visitors to try out the outdoors – such as using a kayak or snowmobile in a safe indoor environment. If they like it, Grant says the hope is that they go to a state park and experience the outdoors for real.

Grant said the “State Park Madness” was born as an extension of that mission back in 2018 and it’s grown significantly in popularity since then. She said it started as a chance to talk about the different state parks and share news about what they have to offer.

Last year’s winner was W.J. Hayes State Park in Onsted. Holland State Park won in 2023.

Some parks in the WHMI listening area that are featured in this year’s competition include the Highland Recreation Area, Holly Recreation Area, Pinckney State Recreation Area, Proud Lake Recreation Area, and Ionia State Recreation Area.

The full list of featured 2025 Parks is as follows:

1. Algonac State Park
2. Bald Mountain Recreation Area
3. Bass River Recreation Area
4. Belle Isle Park - Michigan
5. Cambridge Junction Historic State Park
6. Cheboygan State Park
7. Duck Lake State Park
8. Fort Custer Recreation Area
9. Fred Meijer White Pine Trail
10. Hartwick Pines State Park
11. Highland Recreation Area
12. Holly Recreation Area
13. Interlochen State Park
14. Ionia Recreation Area
15. Lake Hudson Recreation Area
16. Lime Island State Recreation Area
17. Ludington State Park
18. Mears State Park
19. Meridian-Baseline State Park
20. N. Higgins Lake State Park
21. Ortonville Recreation Area
22. Otsego Lake State Park
23. Palms Book State Parks
24. Pinckney State Recreation Area
25. Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park - the Porkies
26. Port Crescent State Park
27. Proud Lake Recreation Area
28. Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park
29. Sleepy Hollow State Park
30. Straits State Park
31. Tawas Point State Park
32. Tippy Dam State Recreation Area


People can vote online via the provided link, in-person at the Center at 1801 Atwater Street, or email dnr-oac@michigan.gov.