America's Best Up-and-coming Small Towns

Small Towns in the US Southwest — Photo: Mark Peterman

When it comes to wanderlust, Pinterest can be both the cause and the cure. It's a great outlet for organizing and prioritizing your travel bucket list, but it's also a place where you can get lost dreaming for hours as you find hundreds more picturesque places to pin. According to the Pinterest 100, the site's fifth-annual end-of-year look at top trends, travelers are looking at off-the-beaten-path destinations for 2019, and that includes previously overlooked small towns.

Searches for small town travel rose 276 percent in 2018, according to Pinterest. Reps for the site say people are "seeking out small towns for their bucolic views, unique BnBs and low-key R&R." If that sounds appealing to you too, where should you go in 2019?

Lists of America's greatest small towns tend to consist of the usual suspects: Ojai, California; Sedona, Arizona; Taos, New Mexico; Ketchum, Idaho; Marfa, Texas; Woodstock and Hudson, New York; Mystic, Connecticut; and so on. The charm and beauty of these places is undeniable, but the secret's been out for decades. But one of the unexpected byproducts of the renaissance of America's midsize cities has been the emergence of a fresh crop of lovely little towns that have undergone appealing makeovers that make them ideal for a weekend excursion. Here are 10 of the best new contenders to American small-town greatness.

01 of 10

Thomas, West Virginia (population 600)

Small Towns to Visit in the USA Now — Courtesy of Wild; Wonderful West Virginia

The funky music lodge the Purple Fiddle launched the rebirth of this surprisingly beautiful old coal town buried deep in the Allegheny Mountains, which now draws weekenders from Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh. Its main street, formerly deserted, now contains a third-wave coffeehouse, a vintage-record store, a craft brewery, art galleries, and smartly curated antiques shops.

02 of 10

Salida, Colorado (population 5,300)

Small Town American Vacations — Denver Post/Getty Images

This laid-back hot-springs town and ski village in the Rockies three hours south of Denver, has become a year-round retreat for artsy, free-spirited folks who would never go to Vail, even if they could afford it. For visitors, there's the Amigo Motor Lodge, a swanky Southwestern "boutique motel."

03 of 10

High Falls, New York (population 627)

Great American Small Towns — Dorothy Alexander/Alamy

Once called the Williamsburg of the Hudson Valley by the New York Times, this tiny hamlet (where Marc Chagall lived and painted in the 1940s) attracts New Yorkers with its hip vintage stores and urbane comfort food at restaurants like Kitchenette, opened in 2014 by team of restaurateurs previously based in Tribeca.

04 of 10

Tubac, Arizona (population 1,200)

Artist Colonies in the USA — Mark Peterman

An hour south of Tucson, this frontier village and artists' colony attracts transplants from Los Angeles with its traditional pottery shops, well-preserved Spanish fortress, and beautiful nature trails. At night, locals congregate over prickly pear margaritas at The Goods, a much-loved canteen.

05 of 10

Lostine, Oregon (population 300)

Small Towns in the Pacific Northwest — Joni Kabana/Courtesy of Travel Oregon

The luxury furniture designer Tyler Hays raised the profile of this farming community in the foothills of the Wallowa Mountains when he revamped the old country store M. Crow & Co., which now sells collectible furniture and artisanal knickknacks alongside meat, vegetables, and hardware. Now enough people make the trek out from Portland (five hours away) to support a high-concept hostelry, the Kickstarter-funded Jennings Hotel, in an old brick building in the neighboring town of Joseph.

06 of 10

North Adams, Massachusetts (population 13,533)

Small Towns of New England — Douglas Mason/Getty Images

In the years since the 1999 opening of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (better known as MASS MoCA) in a converted complex of old industrial buildings, this small town has gradually reinvented itself as a Berkshires-Based cultural hub that is home to a smart set of galleries, bookshops, cafes, and live-workspaces for artists. The Porches Inn, a boutique hotel in a collection of 19th-century Victorian row houses, is just steps from the prestigious museum.

07 of 10

Paducah, Kentucky (population 25,000)

Revitalized American Small Towns — Mick Flynn/Alamy

Recently named a UNESCO "Creative City," this little town two hours from Nashville and three hours from Louisville presents an interesting case of urban renewal on a small scale: as recently as the 1980s, its classic main street was mostly vacant, but following $100 million in investment and an artist-relocation program, the historic district now generates $200 million in annual tourist revenue. The 1857, a 10-room boutique hotel in a historic building within view of the Ohio River, is a testament to the town's reinvention.

08 of 10

Lititz, Pennsylvania (population 9,388)

Small Town Life — LightRocket/Getty Images

Located in Lancaster County's Amish Country, Lititz (named after a castle in Bohemia) claims to be "America's coolest small town." It makes a decent case with a bevy of choice antique shops and solid eateries along its tree-lined streets, like the Tomato Pie Cafe, a lunch spot in an old trolley stop (the original soda counter has been turned into an espresso bar).

09 of 10

McCloud, California (population 1,101)

Small Towns to Visit Now — Alan Wrigley/Alamy

This old mill town on the southern slope of Mount Shasta, in far northern California has become popular with all manner of nature lovers, from spelunkers to fly fishermen. It's surrounded by more than 1 million acres of national forest and has a busy downtown that's full not only of bike shops and camping outfitters but also great restaurants and cafes.

10 of 10

Mount Dora, Florida (population 12,534)

America's Best Small Towns — UIG/Getty Images

That Old Florida feeling reigns supreme in this historic village about an hour north of Orlando, which is surrounded by a chain of about 1,400 small lakes. Dine on top-notch Floribbean cuisine at 1921 Mount Dora and take in the retro atmosphere from a rocking chair on the porch of the Victorian-era Lakeside Inn, the oldest continually operating hotel in the state, which has been carefully renovated by a new owner in recent years.

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