12/22/2025
Voting begins January 1st!!! Vote for Baraga State Park in the 2026 State Park Madness tournament on the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center page! Vote for us and your other favorite to advance to the finals! You can vote in person at the Outdoor Adventure Center beginning January 2nd.
State Park Madness is just one month away!
It's park vs park in this January showdown, and you decide the winner! The State Park Madness tournament will run from January 1-31, and is intended to promote Michigan State Parks and recreation opportunities.
2026 marks a fresh start for the competition. Past winners have been excluded from the list, and all other parks and recreation areas have been added back in! We have randomly drawn the 2026 participants. 32 parks will compete, and the winners will be announced at noon on the final day of each round:
Round 1: January 1-6
Round 2: January 7-11
Round 3: January 12-18
Round 4: January 19-25
Championship Round: January 26-31
Winners will receive the official State Parks Madness trophy and bragging rights for a full year.
Voting begins January 1, at 9 am, on the Outdoor Adventure Center's page and via Microsoft Form (see link below). Visitors to the OAC can also vote in person, beginning January 2.
2026 Parks:
Aloha State Park
Baraga State Park
Brighton Recreation Area
Brimley State Park
Charles Mears State Park
Coldwater Lake State Park
Craig Lake State Park
Fisherman's Island State Park
Fort Custer Recreation Area
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park
Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park
Harrisville State Park
Interlochen State Park
Ionia State Recreation Area
Island Lake Recreation Area
JW Wells State Park
Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park
Lake Hudson Recreation Area
Lakeport State Park
Metamora-Hadley Recreation Area
Mike Levine Lakelands Trail State Park
Muskallonge Lake State Park
Negwegon State Park
Newaygo State Park
Petoskey State Park
PJ Hoffmaster State Park
South Higgins Lake State Park
Tippy Dam Recreation Area
Van Buren Trail State Park
Waterloo Recreation Area
William Mitchell State Park
William G. Milliken State Park
Link to Microsoft Form voting (Round 1, opens January 1 at 9am): https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=h3D71Xc3rUKWaoku9HIl0fOAZTriXZdPpYGyjWAo5UZUNEswMktUT0hTTUVSU0g5WFowOUxNWVRLNy4u
Previous winners include:
Tahquamenon Falls State Park (2018)
Bald Mountain Recreation Area (2019)
Port Crescent State Park (2021)
Holland State Park (2023)
WJ Hayes State Park (2024)
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (2025)
(The competition was not held 2020 or 2022)
