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| Bear Head Lake State Park | |
|---|---|
 Bear Head Lake from a trail in the campground | |
  Location of Bear Head Lake State Park in Minnesota  Bear Head Lake State Park (the United States) | |
| Location | Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States |
| Coordinates | 47°47′43″N 92°4′12″W / 47.79528°N 92.07000°W |
| Area | 4,373 acres (17.70 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,506 ft (459 m)[1] |
| Established | 1961 |
| Governing body | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
Bear Head Lake State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, providing ready access to outdoor recreation in the Boundary Waters region. It boasts scenery similar to the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, with the added conveniences of road access, modern facilities, and motorboating. The most popular visitor activities are boating, fishing, swimming, and hiking.[2] The park entirely surrounds 670-acre (270 ha) Bear Head Lake and three other fishing lakes. It was established in 1961 in Saint Louis County near Ely, Minnesota. The park also contains the woodlands surrounding the lakes, which gives an entire total of about 5,540 acres. The park also shares a large border with Bear Island State Forest.
In September 2010, Bear Head Lake State Park was voted "America's Favorite Park" in a major online poll.[3] The little-known park, not even among Minnesota's most popular, won in a surprise landslide, capturing 28% of the more than 5.7 million votes.[4] The strong showing was credited to the online fan community of mother and cub black bears, featured on a popular webcam, whose territory included the park.[3]
- ^ "Bear Head Lake State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. January 11, 1980. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- ^ "Bear Head Lake State Park" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. November 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b Smith, Doug; Bob Von Sternberg (September 10, 2010). "Bear Head Lake Park is far north and far richer: The state park near Ely will receive $100,000 after winning a nationwide popularity vote on the Internet". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minn.
- ^ Niskanen, Chris (September 10, 2010). "Bear Head park voted America's best in national online contest - Facebook, and a bear, are keys to victory". St. Paul Pioneer Press. St. Paul, Minn.