American mountain villages off the beaten path.
Less-touristed mountain villages in America, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Nevada City
This photogenic compact town in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, Nevada City sits along a waterway in mountain terrain with a compact central core…
Crested Butte
A compact Colorado mountain town spread across a snow-covered valley, with a dramatic peak rising directly behind it, a lively café and dining scene well abo…
Margaretville
This small village on the edge of Catskill Park in upstate New York, Margaretville sits on the water in mountain terrain and supports a modest but real café…
Saranac Lake
The largest community within New York's Adirondack Park, Saranac Lake sits on Lake Flower — a wide stretch of the Saranac River — with mountain terrain on al…
Corning
This small city on the Chemung River in upstate New York, Corning is best known as the headquarters of Corning Incorporated, the Fortune 500 glass and cerami…
Yachats
Modest Oregon coastal village with a disproportionately strong café and restaurant scene and a photogenic shoreline right on the Pacific, Yachats sits at the…
Republic
A tiny waterside village in Ferry County, Washington, Republic was once the largest mining camp in the Republic Mining District and home to the "Hot Air Line…
Port Angeles
A waterfront town on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles sits on the Strait of Juan de Fuca with ferry service to Victoria, British Columbia, and mo…
Boothbay Harbor
A photogenic coastal village in Lincoln County, Maine, with a waterfront setting and a café and restaurant scene that is unusually rich for its size.
Wiscasset
This tiny waterfront village on Maine's Mid Coast, Wiscasset is known for its early architecture, an unusual concentration of historic churches for its size,…
Yreka
The county seat of Siskiyou County in northern California, Yreka sits near the Shasta River in mountain terrain and holds the Klamath National Forest Interpr…
Logan
This small West Virginia city sits along the Guyandotte River in the mountains of Logan County, serving as the county seat.
Marion
Founded in 1844 and named for Revolutionary War general Francis Marion — the "Swamp Fox" of guerrilla warfare — this pocket-sized North Carolina county seat…
Red Bluff
This compact California city on the upper Sacramento River, Red Bluff served as the last steamboat stop — the so-called Head of Navigation — during the Gold…
Trinidad
A compact Colorado city on the historic Santa Fe Trail, Trinidad sits in mountain terrain at the edge of Las Animas County and is home to Trinidad State Coll…
Ely
Founded as a stagecoach station on the Pony Express and Central Overland Route, Ely is a little county seat in the mountains of White Pine County, Nevada, th…
Wawona
This little community situated entirely within Yosemite National Park, Wawona sits alongside the South Fork of the Merced River with mountain scenery in ever…
Buckhannon
A little West Virginia city on the Buckhannon River, known for the West Virginia Strawberry Festival held each May and home to West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Toledo
A pocket-sized Oregon town on the Yaquina River with a walkable central core of cafés and restaurants, Toledo sits a short drive from the beaches of the Cent…
Glenville
This compact county seat in the West Virginia mountains sits along the Little Kanawha River and holds an unusual concentration of churches for a village its…
Red River
This small resort town in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Red River sits along the river that shares its name and offers a café and restaurant scene…
Sierra City
Small hamlet in the canyon of the North Yuba River in California's Sierra County, Sierra City sits at high elevation along State Route 49, close to the mount…
Elizabethton
Elizabethton, the county seat of Carter County in Tennessee's mountain terrain, carries an outsized place in early American history: it was the site of the W…
Lava Hot Springs
This pocket-sized Idaho resort town on the Portneuf River draws visitors to its natural hot springs, which feed pools suited for bathing, and to a turbulent…
North Adams
Home to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art — the largest contemporary art museum in the United States — this little Berkshire County city has built…
Warm Springs
Franklin D.
Port Townsend
Port Townsend's Victorian streetscapes, concentrated along the northeast tip of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, earned the city's historic district designati…
Lakeview
Billing itself as the "Tallest Town in Oregon," Lakeview sits high in the Warner Mountains at the edge of the state's high desert country, with Goose Lake cl…
Galax
A compact Virginia mountain town with a walkable brick-fronted main street, forested ridgelines rising on all sides, and a small-town core that hosts outdoor…
Spencer
The county seat of Roane County, West Virginia, Spencer sits alongside Charles Fork Lake in mountain terrain and hosts the annual West Virginia Black Walnut…
Cornwall-on-Hudson
A modest Hudson River village in Orange County, New York, with scenic mountain terrain in the surrounds and a waterfront position on the west bank of the river.
Oakland
This modest county seat in western Maryland sits close to Deep Creek Lake and the Wisp Ski Resort, with a historic district that makes it one of the more wal…
Gatlinburg
Gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this modest Tennessee resort town sits at the park's edge along U.S.
Saluda
This small North Carolina village near the South Carolina state line sits in mountain terrain and is known for its place at the top of the Saluda Grade, once…
Highlands
Small mountain town on a plateau in the southern Appalachian Mountains, Highlands sits within the Nantahala National Forest in western North Carolina and off…
Frostburg
A pocket-sized Appalachian college town in western Maryland, Frostburg sits along the historic National Road (US 40) and serves as the western terminus of th…
Walsenburg
This modest Colorado county-seat town where a grand sandstone courthouse from 1904 anchors the historic core, with upland mountain country visible on the hor…
Cullowhee
This compact university town on the Tuckasegee River in North Carolina's Jackson County, Cullowhee is home to Western Carolina University, whose 12,000 stude…
Bonners Ferry
A compact Idaho city on the Kootenay River with a modest café and restaurant scene and several historic churches for a place its size, Bonners Ferry is the c…
Stanley
This pocket-sized Idaho hamlet in the Sawtooth Valley sits on the Salmon River, the main tributary of the Snake, making it a base for water access in mountai…
Valle Crucis
This small mountain hamlet in Watauga County, North Carolina, takes its name from the Latin for "Vale of the Cross," a reference to the valley where three st…
Corvallis
A walkable college city on the Willamette River in central western Oregon, Corvallis has a food-and-drink scene concentrated in its centre alongside a notabl…
Salida
A pocket-sized Colorado mountain town on the Arkansas River with a café and restaurant scene that outpaces the town's size, Salida is the county seat of Chaf…
Willits
A small California town at the southern edge of Mendocino County's redwood forests, Willits marks itself as the gateway to that landscape with a repurposed a…
Taos
Taos, in north-central New Mexico, sits between the Rio Grande Gorge and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and has drawn artists and writers since Ernest Blumen…
Arcata
Walkable California coastal town on Humboldt Bay, Arcata has a café-dense centre, a concentration of historic churches, and easy access to mountain terrain i…
Corbin
Corbin is a small Kentucky city on Interstate 75, roughly midway between Knoxville and Lexington in the southeastern part of the state, with a notable concen…
Gold Beach
A small coastal city on the Oregon shore, Gold Beach sits where the Rogue River meets the Pacific — mountain terrain rising behind it, water directly in front.
Nelsonville
Modest village in New York's Hudson Highlands, Nelsonville sits alongside Cold Spring in Putnam County and serves as a starting point for hiking trails throu…
Marquette
A walkable Lake Superior port town with a photogenic waterfront, a centre full of cafés and restaurants, and a concentration of historic churches, Marquette…
Sonora
Founded during the California Gold Rush by Mexican miners from the state of Sonora — which gave the town its name — this small Tuolumne County seat sits clos…
Cass
A tiny white-clapboard hamlet along the Greenbrier River in West Virginia's forested uplands, where tree-lined roads and wooded ridgelines rising behind mode…
Elkins
Small West Virginia city on the Tygart Valley River, Elkins hosts the Mountain State Forest Festival each October and is home to Davis and Elkins College.
Danville
Centre College in this Boyle County, Kentucky town has hosted U.S.
South Williamsport
South Williamsport, a modest Pennsylvania borough on the West Branch Susquehanna River, is best known as the home of the Little League World Series, drawing…
Blairsville
This small mountain village in northern Georgia sits on the edge of Lake Nottely, formed in 1942 when the Tennessee Valley Authority dammed the Nottely River.
Farmington
The county seat of Franklin County in western Maine, Farmington is a pocket-sized university town in mountain terrain with a walkable centre holding cafés, r…
Hancock
Small city on the Keweenaw Waterway in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Hancock is considered a cultural capital for Finnish Americans, home to the Finnish Americ…
Winchester
A walkable Virginia town in the Shenandoah Valley mountain terrain, Winchester has a centre with a concentration of historic churches, cafés, and restaurants…
Marlinton
This little West Virginia town sits on the Greenbrier River and serves as the county seat of Pocahontas County, with mountain terrain close by.