DOOR COUNTY – We all know that Door County is an extremely popular destination for visitors in the summer – heck, all you have to do is watch the traffic go up and down State 42 or 57 every weekend between Memorial Day and mid-October.
But now the public can use their vote to prove to the nation that the peninsula is one of the most popular and best places to visit in summer.
That's because Door County is one of 20 candidates in a USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice 2024 Online Poll which asks readers to vote for the best summer travel destination in the country. Polling is open until 11 a.m. Central Time on May 13, and voters can vote once per day in each of the different categories polled.
A panel of travel experts selected summer vacation spots across the United States for review, and USA Today 10Best editors narrowed the field to the 20 finalists vying for the award. The winner and top 10 vote-getters will be revealed on May 22.
In recognize Door County as a candidate, survey website 10Best cited the peninsula's 300 miles of shoreline; numerous art galleries; five Wisconsin state parks; numerous opportunities for hiking, biking, paddleboarding, kayaking, fishing or water skiing; and the robust craft beer and wine scene.
For Door County to win, or even make the top 10, it will have to beat out some of the most famous summer vacation spots, as well as a few lesser-known spots, from one end of the country to the other. At the deadline, Door County was in 12th place.
The Peninsula's competitors in this poll include:
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Mackinac Island, Michigan, with its horse-drawn carriages instead of cars;
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Bar Harbor, Maine, an art, shopping, dining and cruising destination at the entrance to Acadia National Park;
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Badlands National Park and the Black Hills region of South Dakota;
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The South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona;
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The beach destinations of Catalina Island, California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Ocean Town, New Jersey; Ocean Town, Maryland; San Juan Islands, Washington; and Gulf Shores and Ocean Beach, Alabama;
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Capitol Reef Country in Utah, with Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks in the immediate vicinity;
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Sevier County, Tennessee and Swain County, North Carolina, on the north and south sides of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, respectively;
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The Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, home to many wineries and vineyards;
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Cody, Wyoming, the “Rodeo Capital of the World” and near the southeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park;
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Outdoor activities in the Laurel Highlands region of southwestern Pennsylvania;
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The eclectic mix of outdoors, wildlife, city life and indigenous history in Juneau, Alaska;
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Sandusky, Ohio, with its famous Cedar Point amusement park and downtown attractions;
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Florida's Space Coast, home to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, on the Atlantic Ocean.
If Door County wins this poll, it won't be the first time it has won a USA Today 10Best poll. In 2019, the peninsula was voted by the top 10 readers as the nation's best destination for fall foliage.
The same year, a survey of baby boomers conducted by the AARP Travel Center ranked Door County as one of the The 12 Best Fall Vacation Destinations for Seniors in the United States, based largely on autumn landscapes. And last fall, an articon on the Voyages à Découvert site listed Door County among its “20 Best Places in the United States for Fall Colors“.
To vote, visit 10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel and select the “Best Summer Travel Destination” button.
VScontact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
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This article originally appeared in the Green Bay Press-Gazette: The public can vote for Door County as the best summer destination in the United States
