Michigan named the best place for fall foliage

Fall foliage in Michigan - Photo by Madison Shealy

Those of us who live in Michigan know how spectacular the leaves around these parts get every autumn. Now, however, it looks like the rest of the country has discovered this portion of what makes Michigan magical.

For the third year in a row, Michigan has been named the best place in the United States to see fall foliage in Nikon's fall foliage competition. While the Great Lakes State came in first place again, New York came in second place while Colorado placed third. There were also some impressive entries from California, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Utah in this contest.

“Now in its fourth year, this campaign continues to provide a platform for people to show their state pride through photography that displays the natural beauty of our country, while also highlighting the uniqueness of autumn in each individual state,” explained Lisa Baxt, Associate General Manager of Communications, Nikon Inc. in a prepared statement.

I could fill this blog with words about how spectacular the fall colors are in Michigan. However, I think it's best to let the pictures speak for themselves. They, after all, are why Michigan has been named the best place for fall foliage three years in a row.

Fall in Michigan - Photo by Thomas Bos

I love this photo by Thomas Bos. It perfectly captures the beautiful colors that are found across Michigan every season. Adding a dog into the photo really gives a sense of scale to this scene.

Michigan road in autumn - Photo by Shannon Hart

This photo of a Michigan road in the fall by Shannon Hart is spectacular. In my opinion, there's something about a long stretch of empty road that invites one's imagination to ponder what is just over that hill or around the next bend.

I believe this is one of the reasons why we as humans are natural explorers of our environment. The fact that the road is enveloped by the wonderful colors of fall foliage in Michigan simply takes her photograph to the next level.

More than anything, this photo inspires one to take a long road trip through Michigan.

Michigan river in the fall - Photo by Izzy Cagalawan

I love the fact that Izzy Cagalawan incorporated a gently flowing river in this landscape of fall foliage. I feel that it adds a dimension to this photo that is missing from most other landscape photographs of Michigan.

Michigan is, lest one forget, a state that is defined by water in many ways. There are more than 11,000 lakes throughout the state, according to the Michigan Historical Center. In fact, no matter where one is this state, a person is never more than six miles from a body of water and never more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes.

All of this makes me look forward to 2019 when Michigan will presumably win the Nikon fall foliage competition for the fourth time.