Grand Marais has been nominated by social media followers to compete for its second “top town” title in two years.
Outside Magazine asked its Instagram followers to nominate their favorite towns. The results were Grand Marais; Imperial Beach, Calif.; Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; and Billings, Mont. Outside Magazine editors chose 63 towns across the United States to round out the competition.
According to the magazine’s website www.outsideonline.com, “We looked for places with great access to trails and public lands, thriving restaurants and neighborhoods — all while excluding the winners and runners-up from the past three years to make room for hidden gems, underdogs, and towns on the rise.”
The contest is organized by type of town. Towns in four categories – river, culture, beach, and mountain – will compete against each other until there’s one of each remaining. Then they’ll face each other for the overall title.
“Grand Marais is competing in the ‘beach’ category,” says Linda Kratt, executive director of Visit Cook County. “First, we have to win against the other beach towns. Then we’ll compete against winners of other categories. You can vote once during each five-day match-up, so mark your calendars to visit this site (bit.ly/BestTownGrandMarais) by 11 p.m. on May 5-9, May 10-14, May 15-19, and May 20 -27.”
Other beach competitors include Bayfield, Wis.; Fairhope, Ala.; Bellingham, Wash.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Bolinas, Calif.; Cape May, N.J.; Ludington, Mich.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Yachats, Ore.; Miami, Fla.; Duxbury, Mass.; Pacific Grove, Calif.; Islamadora, Fla.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Ketchikan, Alaska.
Outside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. For almost 40 years, it has encouraged its readers to “Live Bravely.” Its mission is “to inspire active participation in the world outside through award-winning coverage of the sports, people, places, adventure, discoveries, health and fitness, gear and apparel, trends and events that make up an active lifestyle.
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