Budget Travel- America’s Top Ten 10 Small Towns

10 Coolest Small Towns in America 2011

The winners in our sixth annual celebration of great hometown  escapes may be short on people, but they’re long on personality. Small  wonder—the 437,480 votes from Budget Travel readers cheering on their  favorites can’t be wrong.

September 2011  issue  |  Subscribe to the Budget Travel Magazine

 
Lewisburg, W.Va. (Winner 2011): This speck on the map in the  Greenbrier River Valley lays claim to one of only four Carnegie Halls in the  world. Here is a view of the town square from the roof of City  Hall. Population: 3,830.

Astoria, Ore. (Winner 2011): Astoria has always been on the  frontier, both the Lewis and Clark variety (they set up camp here in 1805) and  the geographic (it sits both at the mouth of the Columbia River and in a teeming  temperate rain forest). Population: 9,477.(Justin Bailie)

Clayton, N.Y. (Winner 2011): Some shore communities take their location for granted. Not so with Clayton, where most activities, from fishing to visiting the Antique Boat Museum, seem to revolve around the water. Population: 1,978. (Stephanie Adams)

Eureka Springs, Ark. (Winner 2011): This late-1800s Victorian spa retreat is known for everything from its Queen Anne–style B&Bs and its shows to its historic downtown. Population: 2,073.(Michael Mohr)

La Pointe, Wis. (Winner 2011): The residents of La Pointe, a  quiet, North Woods enclave of artists on Lake Superior, take pride in waving  hello to everyone they pass—even when they’re driving. Population:  309.(Daniel Shea)

Phoenicia, N.Y. (Winner 2011): Phoenicia may look like a  one-street river town sandwiched between hills in New York’s Catskills, but it’s  got a bookish, cosmopolitan vibe in its soul. Population: 309. (Jean-Paul Bernard)

Newtown Borough, Pa. (Winner 2011): This small town is close  enough to Amish Country that it’s not unusual to see horses-and-buggies. It’s  also home to the nation’s oldest movie theater, Newtown Theatre, in operation  since 1906. Population: 2,384.

(Jean-Paul  Bernard)

Cedar Key, Fla. (Winner 2011): This two-square-mile hamlet  130 miles north of Tampa produces the best clam chowder outside of New England.  It’s also America’s second-largest producer of farmed clams. Population:  896.(Stephanie Adams)

Ripon, Wis. (Winner 2011): You won’t find a more utopian  college town than Ripon, where students and professors form an integral part of  the community. Population: 7,733. (Daniel  Shea)

Greensburg, Kans. (Winner 2011): After a 2007 tornado  destroyed 95 percent of Greensburg, those who stayed vowed to build the  ecofriendliest town ever. In place of cornfields and barns, you now see wind  turbines, LED streetlights, and art galleries galore. Population:  777.

(Michael Mohr)

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