The best of small town USA?

[nwhoopfan]

Late to the party. These are all fairly small, some are more touristy than others so can feel busy at times. Most of them are on the way to hiking destination so that's part of the appeal to me.

Bishop, CA
Crescent City, CA
Cannon Beach, OR
Bandon, OR
Manzanita, OR
Leavenworth, WA (faux Bavarian village)
Winthrop, WA (faux old western)
Bozeman, MT
Livingston, MT
Stanley, ID (it's so small it's barely there, but the central location for various outdoor activities is great and it's the anti-Sun Valley)

and since Canadian towns have been broached, several I've enjoyed are Nelson and Invermere, both in BC

 

[DarthGrumpy]

For under say 50,000, here are a few towns I have been to (not in any order)...

1. Bar Harbor ME
2. Camden ME
3. Portsmouth NH
4. Hanover NH
5. Burlington VT
6. Provincetown MA
7. Great Barrington MA
8. Newport RI
9. Mystic CT
10. Greenport NY
11. Sleepy Hollow NY
12. Ithaca NY
13. Cooperstown NY
14. Saratoga Springs NY
15. Lake Placid/Saranac Lake NY
16. Princeton NJ
17. Wildwood NJ
18. State College PA
19. Rehoboth Beach DE
20. Annapolis MD
21. Chapel Hill NC
22. Ashville NC
23. Charleston SC
24. Savannah GA
25. St. Augustine FL
26. Sarasota FL
27. Ann Arbor MI
28. Traverse City MI
29. Golden CO
30. Steamboat Springs CO
31. Bend OR
32. Napa CA
33. Monterrey CA
34. San Luis Obispo CA
35. Santa Barbara CA
36. Sedona AZ
    
    
    

 

[uconn1999]

FREDERICKSBURG, TX
The town of Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and got its name after Prince Frederick of Prussia. As you can guess, this had to do a lot with the fact that the area was settled mostly by German immigrants. The town is the seat of Gillespie County and it is the one of very few places where you can still hear “Texas German”, a very peculiar version of German language, now spoken mostly by older residents.
The entire downtown area of the town is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its historic downtown is just one of the reasons why Fredericksburg is such a popular tourist destination. For instance, its many microbreweries which started popping up in mid-1990s are also a big part of the town’s appeal.
Furthermore, the town and the area around it boast innumerable peach orchards, wildflower fields, herb farms, lavender fields and vineyards that people cultivate. Most of these people also run little B&Bs and you can find great accommodation that will also involve some work on the property. If you wish, of course.

The National Museum of the Pacific War is located in Fredericksburg, Texas, the boyhood home of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Nimitz

20 minutes to Enchanted Rock, 15 minutes to Luckenbach

You might even find some BBQ nearby