OUTDOOR CITIES -- Wilmington, N.C., generated enough votes to edge Spokane this week in a USA TODAY 10 Best Readers' Choice contest for Best American Riverfront.

Wilmington "waged a tight but winning battle against Spokane for the top spot and landed the #1 slot after a frenzied weekend of voting," the online pollsters reported.   

Wilmington lies on the eastern shore of the Cape Fear River, which winds up into easternmost North Carolina from the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to Bald Head Island.  Because Wilmington is associated with the many barrier island destinations for which it serves as a gateway - Wrightsville Beach chief among them - the public often is unaware that it's a river city. 

The Top 10 vote-getting cities for Best American Riverfront are:  

1. Wilmington, N.C.
2. Spokane, Wash.
3. Davenport, Iowa
4. Dubuque, Iowa
5. Pittsburgh
6. Louisville, Ky.
7. Chattanooga, Tenn.
8. Savannah, Ga.
9. Detroit
10. Richmond, Va.

Regardless of the poll, Spokane has a world-class connection to a river.

Think about what our "River Runs Through It" offers to visitors. And ponder what it adds to the quality of life for those of us who live here -- for example:

• Riverfront Park and free festivities such as Pig Out In the Park.
• Foot bridges over the Spokane Falls, a year-round attraction but especially exciting in the refreshing spray of spring runoff.
• The Spokane River Centennial Trail.
• Historic Monroe Street Bridge.
• Tribal powpows.
• Spokane Jazz Orchestra Fourth of July Concert.
• Rotary Fountain.
• Fishing for native redband trout.
• Access for rafters, SUP and other boats with take-outs including the No-Li Brew Pub -- it doesn't get much better than that.