Quiet rural escapes in America off the beaten path.
What are some less-touristed rural getaways in America, for travelers seeking beautiful places with fewer crowds? Answer
Options include Saluda, a mountain village at the top of the Saluda Grade; Dufur, a farming village in wheat-and-orchard country; and Cass, a white-clapboard hamlet along the Greenbrier River. This page includes 13 options. Click here to see which are close enough to be day trips from major cities like Asheville, Charlotte or Albany.
Dufur
This small Oregon farming village in open wheat-and-orchard country, anchored by a well-preserved early-20th-century brick hotel that hints at the area's agr…
Eagle Harbor
This modest Lake Superior harbor community on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, Eagle Harbor was historically a first stop for supply boats traveling between Sa…
East Glacier Park Village
A compact grid-street hamlet at the forested edge of Glacier County, this compact Montana community sits where open ranchland meets dense pine country, makin…
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…
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…
Douglassville
A little Pennsylvania hamlet where a colonial-era fieldstone church with a historic graveyard sits alongside the water, with upland country close by and a ha…
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…
Thomas
A former coal town in West Virginia's upland country, Thomas lines its main street with solid multi-story red-brick commercial buildings backed by forested h…
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.
Annex
This tiny Oregon farming hamlet where a river bridge anchors a spread of low-rise homes, irrigated fields, and tree-lined lots, making it a quiet rural stopo…
North Westminster
A tiny upland hamlet in Vermont sitting right at the water's edge, North Westminster rewards quiet-seekers with several historic churches and scattered herit…
Mimbres
A small riverside village in New Mexico's Grant County, Mimbres sits directly along the water with upland country close at hand, making it a quiet base for t…
Moffett
This tiny hamlet in eastern Oklahoma's Sequoyah County, Moffett sits right at the water's edge with upland country close by, making it a quiet base for those…
Rural getaways in America: quick answers
Which rural getaways in America can you visit on a day trip from Asheville or Albany?
Valle Crucis and Saluda are among 2 rural getaways on our day trips from Asheville. And North Westminster is among 1 rural getaways on our day trips from Albany.
Which are the highest-rated?
13 are rated gold, including Marlinton, North Westminster, Valle Crucis and Saluda.
Which can you reach by train?
2 of the 13 have a railway station within a 10-minute drive, including North Westminster and East Glacier Park Village.