ABC: Michigan home to 'most beautiful place in America.'

Posted on August 17, 2011

In a national contest where Good Morning America asked viewers to help them find America’s most beautiful place, this 35 mile stretch of Lake Michigan coastline received tens of thousands of votes – beating out places like Aspen, Colorado; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii; Point Reyes, California and Sedona, Arizona.

In addition to the natural beauty of the area, Good Morning America featured several local businesses, including Hearth and Vine in Sutton’s Bay and Cherry Republic and Crystal River Outfitters, both in Glen Arbor.

Celebrity chef Mario Batali, also weighed in on the virtues of northern Michigan.

“I spent my entire summer here at Lake Michigan because it’s beautiful, because it has farmers, because it has great food artisans, it has great products, it has magnificent fresh water,” Batali said in an interview with Good Morning America.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was established for its outstanding natural features, including forests, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena. The highest dunes spike at 400 feet above the sparkling blue waters of Lake Michigan. Each year more than 1.2 million people visit this Michigan treasure.

For more information on Sleeping Bear Dunes, click here.