EDITOR’S NOTE — To vote in this contest, click on http://tinyurl.com/pdn-best.
PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles won by 296 votes over Bainbridge Island and advanced to the third of five rounds in Outside magazine’s fifth annual Best Town Ever online contest.
When voting closed at 8:59 p.m. Wednesday, the count was 10,671 for Port Angeles, or 50.7 percent, to 10,375, or 49.3 percent, for Bainbridge Island, 72 miles to the south in Kitsap County.
Port Angeles now faces Glenwood Springs, Colo., in the third round of the national contest.
Glenwood Springs beat Whitefish, Mont., to advance to the third round.
The competition
Outside gives this description of Glenwood Springs:
Population: 9,837
House Price: $395,500
Adventure is part of the locals’ genes, what with a whitewater park on the Colorado River; seven world-class ski resorts within 60 miles; nearby hot springs, lakes, caves, and canyons; and a network of forested mountain bike trails and rock climbing routes.
So are beer and good food — breweries, taverns, and restaurants abound.
For Port Angeles, the magazine says:
Population: 19,190
House Price: $201,900
On one side of town, you’ve got Olympic National Park — nearly 1,500 square miles of wilderness for hiking, rafting, and camping.
On the other side is the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where you can hop into a sea kayak to paddle the Whale Trail.
And right in town? Easy access to the Olympic Discovery Trail for more than 60 miles of running or cycling.
Port Angeles won by 28 votes over Santa Barbara, Calif. in the first round of the contest last week.
Voting is now underway between Port Angeles and Glenwood Springs and runs until 8:59 p.m. Monday.
To vote, go to http://tinyurl.com/pdn-best.
Each of the five rounds of voting lasts five days.
They lead to a final showdown in which only two towns will remain. The contest began May 4, and the winner will be announced June 5.
Now 16 towns
Results of the first round narrowed the field of 64 towns to 32.
The second round went to 16. Each of the rounds will cut the list in half, with pairs of towns in each contest.
The voting for Port Angeles has been promoted heavily by members of the Revitalize Port Angeles Facebook group.
Revitalize’s Facebook page resounded with high-fives Wednesday night:
“Dancin’ in the streets!! Wooo whooo! We won!!”
“Way to Go!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I am LOVING all of the great energy and momentum our town is gaining! Amazing new businesses opening, sprucing up everywhere, winning contests . . .we are taking our town back and I love it!!”
How were Port Angeles and the other towns in the contest picked by Outside?
“Picking the [entries] in our fifth annual Best Town Ever contest wasn’t easy,” the magazine wrote.
“We looked for places with great access to trails and public lands, thriving restaurants and neighborhoods, and, of course, a good beer scene — all while excluding the winners and runners-up from the past three years to make room for hidden gems, underdogs, and towns on the rise.”
