Appreciating all that makes America special

Travel: Small Towns (2)

 

Small towns aren't without their problems, but they typically don't include high crime, pollution, gangs, and other blights on modern city life. Uploaded by fuzzygalore.smugmug.com.

A year ago, I featured some of America’s best small towns as Great American Things. Even then, I realized that there were so many worthy of inclusion, that post would be the first of several to come. Here is number two. As I said then, “People who’ve grown up in cities, or who’ve become accustomed to city living, think small towns are a thing of the past. But they’re very much real, and very relevant, today.”

Here are some more of America’s greatest small towns:

Cayucos, California

A beach town halfway between L.A. and San Francisco, Cayucos has the mountains on one side and the surf on the other. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Cayucos, CA. Uploaded by beachsiderentals.com.

Wallace, Idaho

Although most of the silver mining towns in the panhandle of Idaho are deserted, Wallace remains vibrant and beautiful in its mountain setting.

Wallace, ID. Uploaded by pics4.city-data.com.

Rockland, Maine

You don’t have to come for the North Atlantic Blues Festival in July, or the Maine Lobster Festival in August. But don’t you want to?

Rockland, ME. Uploaded by dgrin.com.

Whitefish, Montana

Come to ski at Whitefish Mountain Resort, or to enjoy the lakes and rivers that make this town in the Northern Rockies a sportsman’s paradise.

Whitefish, MT. Uploaded by oldtowncreative.com.

Port Royal, South Carolina

This lowcountry town has a remodeled historic district and a boardwalk along the Beaufort River. It evokes the hospitality of the Old South while being revitalized for the 21st century.

Port Royal, SC. Uploaded by ratcliffhomes.com.

Vevay, Indiana

Here’s a town that’s turned being small into a virtue. And yet, it has a rich wine culture and a casino. (By the way, it’s pronounced VEE-vee.)

Vevay, IN. Uploaded by wikimedia.org.

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Long a favorite retreat of the well-to-do of New York and Philadelphia, Doylestown has rebuilt itself into a center for history and art.

Doylestown, PA. Uploaded by images.topix.com.

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4 Comments

  1. Aw, this was a really great post. In theory I’d like to write like this also – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done.
    Thanks 🙂

  2. Ahhhh, Port Royal! Where did you get that photo of my house!!!! 🙂

  3. and you do know that it’s in Bu-fort county, not Bo-fort like the town in NC

  4. Gorgeous towns! I come from a small town and love to visit them.