I brake for small towns. In my travels documenting roadside Americana across the land, I visit hundreds of small towns a year and devote much of my free time, including every vacation, to exploring them.

They are, without a doubt, the backbone of America, and I say this as a proud resident of New York City and an admirer of urban spaces. The American small town is one of our finest inventions, an incubator of talent and beauty, and an intergenerational gift that shapes our collective identity.  

Few things in life are more thrilling than approaching and finally entering a small town that’s new to me. I get butterflies in my stomach, and my hands clam up a bit at the wheel. It’s like Christmas morning, with the wrapped presents concealing a joyous mystery.  

As I spot the main drag, my eyes dart, and my mind asks so many questions. Is the downtown thriving, or do the storefronts offer mute testament to a more prosperous past? Are there classic restaurants or diners? Are there any good neon signs or quaint vintage storefronts? What (and who) are they most proud of here? What are the finest — and most modest — homes like? Is there a quirky attraction here — the world’s first or biggest something or other? What industry is, or, in the case of the forlorn town, was, the big deal here? Is access to nature the industry? What would the light — and the trees — be like on a crisp October afternoon?   

In short, what gives this town its sense of place?  

The questions are endless, and even the smallest town can intrigue me for hours. If I like it enough, and I often do, I resolve to return, and in time, I feel a twinge of longing for it.

Pulling into a small town is the easiest thing I do on a road trip. The hardest is passing one by without stopping, usually because I’m pressed for time because I have a “more important” place to go.

That’s nonsense, of course. That small town off the exit is the most important thing on the trip. I can’t tell you how often I’ve driven past that beckoning billboard or disregarded the hint of intrigue offered by the words “historic downtown this exit.” I invariably regret it and turn around, at least for a quick look. 

Almost always, there’s something remarkable or at least thought-provoking to be found, something I’m better for having experienced. Maybe there’s a passing conversation at an antique shop or a diner with a person who, I’d like to think, might become a friend were I to live there one day. I leave excited and hopeful for what other wonders may exist a few exits down the highway. 

And sure enough, there will be another small town, another friend to make, another place to call home — at least for now — and another memory to cherish.

It’s easy to fall for small towns for all those reasons and more. We crave them, we need them, they are part of us, and they are extensions of home.

I suspect you’ll feel that way about the ones Travel + Leisure is sharing with you, too. 

— Rolando Pujol, The Retrologist

Best Small Beach Town

Winner

Paia, Maui

Perfect year-round temperatures. Warm waters. Rainbow-splashed skies. Endless stretches of sand in every imaginable color. Hawaii may be far (2,400 miles from the mainland U.S.), but once you visit its beaches, it’s hard to resist the pull back. Of the eight major islands, Maui stands apart with its mix of ritzy, resort-lined, sugary shores and historic beach towns imbued with genuine aloha spirit. The old town of Lahaina, Maui’s tourism beacon, was reduced to ash by wildfires in 2023. As its waterfront rebuilds, the spotlight has shifted to Paia, a former plantation town on Maui’s North Shore just a 10-minute drive from the airport.

Barely 7.5 square miles, the Bohemian town is hugged by a string of golden, crescent beaches fringed by swaying palms and almost always dotted with lazing sea turtles. Families love the calm, protected lagoon at Baby Beach, tucked away at the western end of Baldwin Beach Park, exhibitionists bask in the sun on clothing optional Secret Beach, and the sporty set come here from around the globe to surf, kitesurf, windsurf, and wingfoil at beaches like Tavares and Ho’okipa. Even if you don’t surf, the bluff above Ho’okipa Beach offers the island’s best seat to watch the sun melt into the craggy ridges of the West Maui Mountains.

— Jen Murphy

Best Small Mountain Town

Winner

Island Park, Idaho

Ask any avid angler about fly fishing destinations out West, and there’s a very good chance they’ll tell you all about the renowned waters of Henry’s Fork — a tributary of the Snake River and one of the greatest trout fisheries in the United States. While the river is over 110 miles long, running from Big Springs to where it meets the South Fork of the Snake River, several of the most popular sections are found in Island Park, Idaho. 

Although I’m always tempted by the possibility of catching a brown or rainbow trout, there was another reason I planned a trip to Island Park in June 2024: Yellowstone Peaks Hotel. A boutique property with 21 freestanding cabins, wood-fired soaking tubs, a dry sauna, and communal cold plunges, the unique hotel concept was dreamed up by part-time Island Park residents and proprietors Mara and Blake Hansen. Their new venture, which welcomed its first guests in May, is located right off Island Park’s famous 33-mile-long Main Street, a stretch of Highway 20 that goes straight through town and north toward West Yellowstone; the road is also commonly referred to as the longest Main Street in the United States.

— Lydia Mansel

Best Small Lake Town

Winner

Harbor Springs, Michigan

Measuring just 1.3 square miles on the furthest reaches of Lake Michigan, the town of Harbor Springs barely qualifies as a radar blip, even for lifelong Midwesterners. Knowing that the best of anything is often overlooked, the lucky lakesiders — including titans of American industry and their families — who have spent time in this historic 19th-century hub of fur and lumber trading are drawn as much to its hush-hush seclusion (bereft, as it is, of any signs of big-city commerce) as they are to its surrounding scenery, unspoiled and ripe for recreation: The turquoise beaches and bays are often likened to the Caribbean, but in color only — the summer temperature of the water tops out at 69 degrees Fahrenheit, making swimming a piercing, but popular, pursuit.

Lakeview bluffs, windblown sand dunes, and jaunty ski hills are easy elevations with sporting payoffs. Enchanting roads through forests of birch, maple, and cedar can be embraced by leafy canopies, like the 20-mile Tunnel of Trees along the M-119 highway. At the southern terminus of this particular scenic byway, just beyond Harbor Springs’ stately neighborhoods of heritage lake cottages that look like architectural layer cakes, an old roadside lodge has been recently resurrected into a stylish inn with strong ties to Michigan’s midcentury-design heritage, just in time to welcome a new generation of travelers to the area.

— Leilani Marie Labong

Best Small Desert Town

Winner

Bisbee, Arizona

With a downtown that looks straight out of a storybook, Bisbee, Arizona, is one of those wonderfully walkable towns that makes you happy to leave the car at the hotel. Local shops and historic hotels line the road, and as the town climbs into the Mule Mountains, narrow stairways — including some that have been transformed into alfresco art galleries — provide European-style foot access. 

Bisbee is home to fewer than 5,000 people, including artists and creatives. It got its start as a copper mining town, a history that remains at the forefront of the town’s identity. Old miners’ cabins still stand in Tombstone Canyon, and the Queen Mine offers tours of its expansive underground chambers. These historical sites are enhanced by a lively, artistic community that provides the community with creative cuisine, galleries, and near-constant live music.

— Evie Carrick

Best Small Arts + Culture Town

Winner

New Hope, Pennsylvania

For a small town with just a few thousand residents, New Hope has an outsize reputation. The Bucks County borough on the edge of the Delaware River is the birthplace of early-20th-century Pennsylvania Impressionism; the location where countless stars of the stage, from Liza Minnelli to Robert Redford, got their start; one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly destinations in the U.S.; and the muse of George Nakashima, a founding father of the American Studio Craft movement whose workshop still operates on the outskirts of town to this day.

While many of the most recognizable names in art and theater have put New Hope on the worldwide stage, a new generation of tastemakers is continuing to give visitors the curtain-up treatment. New Hope is packed end to end with idiosyncratic and intellectual allure, all crammed into just 1.4 utterly charming square miles. Add to that its location, about an hour from both New York City and Philadelphia, and it’s no surprise that modern-day creatives continue to gather here, injecting their own flair to its enduring natural beauty, long-established artistic culture, and quirky charm.

— Jackie Caradonio

Best Small Food + Wine Town

Winner

Elk, California

On a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, you’ll find the tiny town of Elk, California, home to just about 275 residents. This string of houses and hotels straddling the Pacific Coast Highway is often overlooked by travelers en route to Mendocino. But Elk, which lies close to the wineries of Anderson Valley, is making a name for itself in the food and wine world.

Foodies make the trek to Elk from San Francisco to dine at Harbor House Inn’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant, which sits above the Pacific coastline. The Michelin Guide calls the cooking here “highly original,” touting chef Matthew Kammerer’s use of “hyperlocal and foraged ingredients, elevating not only delicacies like sea urchin but also more humble items like seaweed harvested from the nearby coastline or lace lichen plucked from overhanging trees.”

— Evie Carrick

Best Small Spa + Wellness Town

Winner

Ouray, Colorado

Hot springs are Mother Nature’s spa. And the area around Ouray is riddled with pockets of steamy, mineral-rich waters. The Ute Indians that settled southwest Colorado’s Uncompahgre Valley called these springs miracle waters and used them for healing ceremonies. During the mining boom of the 1870s, prospectors and miners soaked in the restorative pools to ease the aches of back-breaking work. Today, the area’s half-dozen hot springs soothe the weary muscles of climbers, skiers, and hikers who come to play in the self-proclaimed “Outdoor Recreation Capital of Colorado.” I love a good massage just as much as I love a good soak, and the January debut of the Grotto Spa, located within the recently revamped Western Hotel, is the perfect respite for serious pampering.

Ouray’s location, nestled in a picturesque box canyon surrounded by the snow-capped San Juan Mountains, has also earned it the nickname the “Switzerland of America.” “You feel like you’re spooning with the mountains,” says DeLinda Austin, general manager of Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa and Lodgings. “You’re totally immersed in nature. People arrive stressed and you see the change immediately. The landscape lulls you into a more tranquil state.”

— Jen Murphy

Best Small Retirement Town

Winner

Stuart, Florida

Stuart is a place you stumble upon. It’s not always up there in the most searched for spots in Florida, but really, that’s part of its magic. It’s a rare, true, hidden gem. It’s home to all the usual suspects when it comes to fantastic Floridian destinations, including pristine beaches that are ideal for spending an afternoon (and many are dog-friendly to boot, so long as your pup is leashed), and it has swaying palm trees that guide the gentle and warm breezes right to your cheek, along with a downtown area that’s the ideal mix of shopping, historic sites, and oh-so-delicious dining.

But in Stuart, you’ll find something special you don’t get to experience in many of the state’s larger cities: a true sense of community. Here, everyone says hello to their neighbors. Expect to spend a little extra time at the coffee shop as you chat up the barista, the person behind you in line, and the couple sitting at the bistro table at the exit. Be ready to hear about grandkids and new boats, set up tee times with people you’ve just met, and always be prepared for a bonfire at the beach. The people of Stuart are really into that kind of thing, and they are utter experts at making you feel welcome.

— Stacey Leasca

Best Small College Town

Winner

Clemson, South Carolina

Tucked in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the shore of Lake Hartwell, Clemson is located in South Carolina’s rural Upstate region. The quaint downtown is lined with shops selling purple-and-orange merch, student-filled sports bars, and a crop of new local businesses. I graduated from Clemson University in 2018, fully indoctrinated into Tigers fandom. I grew up on the other side of the state’s biggest rivalry, raised in a University of South Carolina family, but I was drawn to the university’s small-town setting; it felt like a Clemson bubble, where everything was all Clemson, all the time. 

“Clemson is an exceptional college town because it seamlessly blends academic excellence with an inclusive, welcoming community. Our beautiful surroundings, vibrant local economy, and strong school spirit create an environment where everyone can thrive,” Clemson mayor Robert Halfacre says. 

— Elizabeth Rhodes

Best Small Shopping Town

Winner

Round Top, Texas

Pulling into Round Top, Texas, for the first time feels like discovering a hidden gem. It appears almost suddenly after miles of country roads, a drive accented by white fences and sightings of longhorn cattle. Barely a square mile in size, the 87-person town is made up of a collection of historic buildings that house antique and vintage shopping, clothing boutiques, and even a cheese shop, a candy store, and a Hallmark-esque coffee and pie place. 

The New York Times deemed Round Top “the Cotswolds of Texas,” and a local was quoted in CultureMap San Antonio calling it “the next Jackson Hole.” Texas Monthly even gave it the title of “the Aspen of Texas.” But while there are touches of each well-to-do destination throughout Round Top — where the charm of the English countryside meets the Western flair and sky-high real estate prices found in the top U.S. mountain towns — it has a distinct personality and appeal that’s tied to the famed Original Round Top Antiques Fair.

— Lydia Mansel