The best of small town USA?

[Hey Adrien!]

Visited Jim Thorpe,PA for first time in May. Loved it.

 

[auggie22]

Savannah and Charleston are great just like Burlington, Portland (ME) and Missoula are great, but they aren't small towns, well not to me anyway.

Lake Placid
Aspen/Basalt
Whitefish, MT
Durango
Chatham, MA

Newburyport is among the best, imho.

 

[huskyinfl]

Sanibel, FL along. With the west coast keys. Mannasota, siesta, longboat.

 

[NJHusky]

Sanibel, FL along. With the west coast keys. Mannasota, siesta, longboat.

Siesta and longboat are part of Sarasota. Definitely not small towns IMO.

I would add New Hope PA/Lambertville NJ. Quaint shops, good food and the river right between them. Great bike path too

 

[storrsroars]

Haven't been to Newburyport since the 80s... is The Grog still kicking?

Anyway, Oakmont has not be subsumed by Pittsburgh. It's still a distinct area. I don't find it particularly charming, but it has some positive attributes. I like Mt. Lebanon a lot better. And Sewickely is cool as well.

I don't spend a ton of time in small towns while traveling, but here I some I've enjoyed outside New England where I've spend considerable time:
- Calistoga, Healdsburg, Tiburon & Encinitas, CA
- Cedarburg, WI
- New Hope, PA
- Red Bank, NJ
- Banff, AB
- Wayzata, MN (mostly for Lord Fletcher's)
- Bradenton, FL

In the small city category, I've found Duluth surprisingly fun. Also like Easton, PA, but mostly because I have a friend with a brewery there.

 

[bazz&boujee]

Solvang, CA! Small former Danish settlement 2 hours outside of LA

 

[huskyinfl]

Siesta and longboat are part of Sarasota. Definitely not small towns IMO.

I would add New Hope PA/Lambertville NJ. Quaint shops, good food and the river right between them. Great bike path too

Duh, I live there. Savannah and Charleston pass your test but small islands with unique local cuisine and the best beaches - you are pointing out people shouldn't consider them? The difference between siesta key and Newtown in Sarasota. 2 different planets.

 

[Apollo]

Calistoga, CA
Portland, ME
Dubois, WY
Jackson, WY
Billings, MT
Custer, SD
Moab, UT
Nothampton, MA
Watkins Glen, NY
Cooperstown, NY
Mystic, CT
Litchfield, CT

 

[storrsroars]

Duh, I live there. Savannah and Charleston pass your test but small islands with unique local cuisine and the best beaches - you are pointing out people shouldn't consider them? The difference between siesta key and Newtown in Sarasota. 2 different planets.

I even consider Cortez separate from Bradenton.

Star Fish Co. ftw.

 

[NJHusky]

Duh, I live there. Savannah and Charleston pass your test but small islands with unique local cuisine and the best beaches - you are pointing out people shouldn't consider them? The difference between siesta key and Newtown in Sarasota. 2 different planets.

My point was that srq is not a small city...which is the topic of the original post . I love siesta and longboat. I live In Sarasota so feel competent to comment. Never lived in savanah or Charleston

 

[Chin Diesel]

Portsmouth, NH
Hatteras, North Carolina
Bristol, TN
Sea Island, Ga
Marathon Key, Fl
Orange Beach, Al
Asheville, NC
Traverse Cith, MI
Flagstaff, Az
Mojave, Ca
Bowling Green, Ky
Lake Tahoe, Ca/Nv
Twin Falls, Id

 

[Imdone]

Duh, I live there. Savannah and Charleston pass your test but small islands with unique local cuisine and the best beaches - you are pointing out people shouldn't consider them? The difference between siesta key and Newtown in Sarasota. 2 different planets.

I also live in Sarasota - that's three of us in this thread ... I'd say Sarasota is too big to be considered a "small town". But down town does have a small town vibe. As does Siesta Key. I had a place on Longboat - never got any kind of "town" vibe there; just a bunch of beach places owned by people who don't live there.

 

[uconnell]

Wickford, RI, Nantucket, MA. ......ferrylets you off in the center of town. Many fine restaurants and stores. Quite scenic with cobblestone streets( wear sneakers)

 

[HooperScooper]

Portsmouth, NH
Hatteras, North Carolina
Bristol, TN
Sea Island, Ga
Marathon Key, Fl
Orange Beach, Al
Asheville, NC
Traverse Cith, MI
Flagstaff, Az
Mojave, Ca
Bowling Green, Ky
Lake Tahoe, Ca/Nv
Twin Falls, Id

Can you consider some of these small towns? Asheville, NC is a city of almost 100,000 people. Flagstaff is about 75,000. Bowling Green is about 70,000. That ain't small town America. Portsmouth, NH doesn't feel like a small town. Never been to some of the others.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Can you consider some of these small towns? Asheville, NC is a city of almost 100,000 people. Flagstaff is about 75,000. Bowling Green is about 70,000. That ain't small town America. Portsmouth, NH doesn't feel like a small town. Never been to some of the others.

Considering others had already offered up Savannah and Charleston, these fit the bill. One of the things I was looking at was towns a bit away from metro areas. Flagstaff is the only thing within an hour in any direction. So, you get Flagstaff and that's it. Similar to Bowling Green or Asheville.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

newport, block island, ri;
provincetown, pittsfield,ma;
portsmouth,nh/kittery,me;
burlington, vt;
greenpoint, cooperstown, ny;
cape may, nj;
harpers ferry, wv
beaufort,sc
seaside, fl
eureka springs, ark
natchez, ms
fredericksburg, tx
park city, utaaaaaaaaaaaaah
carmel by the sea, ca
anywhere in connecticut

 

[uconnfan68]

Haven't been to Newburyport since the 80s... is The Grog still kicking?

Anyway, Oakmont has not be subsumed by Pittsburgh. It's still a distinct area. I don't find it particularly charming, but it has some positive attributes. I like Mt. Lebanon a lot better. And Sewickely is cool as well.

I don't spend a ton of time in small towns while traveling, but here I some I've enjoyed outside New England where I've spend considerable time:
- Calistoga, Healdsburg, Tiburon & Encinitas, CA
- Cedarburg, WI
- New Hope, PA
- Red Bank, NJ
- Banff, AB
- Wayzata, MN (mostly for Lord Fletcher's)
- Bradenton, FL

In the small city category, I've found Duluth surprisingly fun. Also like Easton, PA, but mostly because I have a friend with a brewery there.

Second Banff, but it was 40 years ago. Spectacular.

 

[methodology]

Second Banff, but it was 40 years ago. Spectacular.

Banff is incredible. That surreal aqua colored water is unreal even more spectacular in person

 

[Yardigan]

I’ve driven through where Deliverance was filmed...I would not suggest visiting lol

On purpose?

 

[superjohn]

Second Banff, but it was 40 years ago. Spectacular.

If we're doing outside the country, that really opens things up.

 

[Dogman69]

Wayzata, MN (great call)
Excelsior, MN
Sausalito, CA
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Whitefish, MT
Breckinridge, CT
Park City, UT
Bristol, RI
Newport, RI
Mystic, CT
Stowe, VT
Hanover, NH

 

[storrsroars]

If we're doing outside the country, that really opens things up.

We of a certain age who traveled often before 9/11 recall when Canada was basically just a really big northern 51st state, with a border crossing that was timed in seconds, not minutes.

And hell, if one is already in Montana, the closest big city is Calgary. Which has a huge rodeo. And it doesn't get more American than that. And someone else already threw Niagara-on-the-Lake up there (which I should've also included as it's a great little stop on way to TO).

Not like I threw Phuket on the list. You can use a car to get to Banff.

 

[auggie22]

Haven't been to Newburyport since the 80s... is The Grog still kicking?

Anyway, Oakmont has not be subsumed by Pittsburgh. It's still a distinct area. I don't find it particularly charming, but it has some positive attributes. I like Mt. Lebanon a lot better. And Sewickely is cool as well.

I don't spend a ton of time in small towns while traveling, but here I some I've enjoyed outside New England where I've spend considerable time:
- Calistoga, Healdsburg, Tiburon & Encinitas, CA
- Cedarburg, WI
- New Hope, PA
- Red Bank, NJ
- Banff, AB
- Wayzata, MN (mostly for Lord Fletcher's)
- Bradenton, FL

In the small city category, I've found Duluth surprisingly fun. Also like Easton, PA, but mostly because I have a friend with a brewery there.

Grog & Thirsty Whale still kicking. Unfortunately the Rockfish is closed.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Carmel CA, second that
Ferndale CA in Humboldt County
New Castle DE
Cumberland MD
Carson City UT
Oxford MS
Eureka Springs AR

 

[bristol rises]

Saratoga, NY in the fall. Parlay Cooperstown and Lake Placid.