Spokane, Davenport, Dubuque, Pittsburgh also winners

After voting closed on the USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice contest for Best American Riverfront, fans of Wilmington, N.C. no doubt breathed a huge sigh of relief. They waged a tight but winning battle against Spokane, Washington for the top spot and landed the #1 slot after a frenzied weekend of voting.



Beautiful 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 forgets it's actually a river city.



Spokane, in far eastern Washington, sits on the Spokane River, and offers residents and visitors a large riverfront park in the heart of downtown.



The full list of winners for Best American Riverfront is as follows: