The best small towns to visit in America on this list are Telluride, Bar Harbor, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Jackson Hole, Sedona, Beaufort, Kennebunkport, Grand Marais, Mystic and Dripping Springs. Every one had fewer than 15,000 residents at the 2020 census, and each has a draw you cannot find in a bigger city.
Updated October 11, 2026.
Years of road trips teach you how to read a small town fast. Park once, walk the main street for twenty minutes, and you know whether the place has a pulse or just a gift shop. The good ones give you a reason to stay past lunch. Every town below does.
Telluride, Colorado
Telluride had 2,607 residents in 2020 and sits at about 8,750 feet in the Colorado Rockies. The old mining town became a National Historic Landmark District on July 4, 1961, so the Victorian main street is the real thing. The ski area installed its first lift in 1972. Two festivals started in 1974, the Telluride Film Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which is why the town fills up in summer and early fall as well as winter.
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor counted 5,089 people in 2020 and was incorporated as Eden in 1796, then renamed in 1918. It is the gateway to the largest parts of Acadia National Park, including Cadillac Mountain, and the park’s Hulls Cove Visitor Center sits in Hulls Cove, one of the town’s villages. A fire that started on October 17, 1947 destroyed 67 cottages, five grand hotels and more than 10,000 acres of the park. In summer, a high-speed ferry called The CAT runs to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in about three and a half hours.
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel has 3,220 residents and became a city in 1916. It long went without street numbers or home mail delivery, and the city council only voted to create street addresses in July 2024. The town’s general plan calls it a village in a forest overlooking a white sand beach, which is an accurate pitch. Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, founded in 1770, holds the grave of Junipero Serra, who died in 1784. Clint Eastwood served as mayor from 1986 to 1988.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The town of Jackson had 10,760 residents in 2020, and the valley around it is Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort opened for the winter of 1965-66 and lists 2,500 in-bounds acres, a 4,139-foot vertical drop and an average of 458 inches of snow a year. Grand Teton National Park covers about 310,000 acres and draws more than two million recreational visitors annually. The National Elk Refuge borders town and runs horse-drawn sleigh rides in winter to see the herd.
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona had 9,684 residents in 2020, the third-largest population on this list after Beaufort and Jackson. Founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1988, it sits at 4,360 feet and straddles the line between Coconino and Yavapai counties. The red rock walls that surround it are the reason people come, so plan trails for early morning in summer. Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is 26 miles away, which makes a road trip from the Grand Canyon region practical.
Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is the largest town here, with 13,607 residents in 2020. The British founded it in 1711, making it the second-oldest city in South Carolina after Charleston, and 304 acres of it form a National Historic Landmark. The Big Chill and Forrest Gump were both filmed here. Nearby Hunting Island is the most visited state park in the state. The National Park Service’s Reconstruction Era National Historical Park has its visitor center in the Old Beaufort Firehouse and includes the Penn Center, which began in 1862 as the Penn School, one of the first schools for freed slaves, and moved to its St. Helena Island campus in 1864.
Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport had 3,629 residents in 2020 and dates to 1653, when it was incorporated as Cape Porpus. It took its current name in 1821. Dock Square, about a mile up the Kennebunk River from the Atlantic, holds the shops, galleries and seafood restaurants. Walker’s Point, first built by George H. W. Bush’s grandfather George Herbert Walker, is the Bush family’s summer estate. Goose Rocks Beach, Colony Beach and nearby Kennebunk Beach cover the sand, and the Christmas Prelude begins in late November or early December.
Grand Marais, Minnesota
Grand Marais is the smallest town on this list, with 1,337 residents in 2020. It is the county seat and the only municipality in Cook County, on the northwestern shore of Lake Superior. The Gunflint Trail, a National Scenic Byway, starts here and heads northwest into the Boundary Waters. The 1896 Lightkeeper’s House is now the Cook County History Museum, and the Grand Marais Art Colony holds its arts festival each early July. NOAA says aurora can spread over most of the United States during major geomagnetic storms, so a clear, dark night this far north gives you the best odds.
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic had 4,348 residents in 2020. Its shipyards built more than 600 ships over 135 years, starting in 1784. Mystic Seaport Museum opened in 1929 and keeps four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. The town’s drawbridge carries U.S. Route 1 over the Mystic River, and restaurants line both banks. The 1988 film Mystic Pizza took its title from a real pizza shop in town.
Dripping Springs, Texas
Dripping Springs had 4,650 residents in 2020 and incorporated in 1981. It is about 23 miles west of Austin on U.S. Route 290. In 2014 the International Dark-Sky Association named it a Dark Sky Community, the first in Texas. The area is known as a brewery, distillery and winery destination, which makes it an easy day trip that ends with a very dark sky.
What are the best small towns to visit in America?
Which of the best small towns are good for winter trips?
Telluride and Jackson Hole are the strongest winter picks. Telluride’s ski area has run lifts since 1972, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort averages 458 inches of snow with 2,500 in-bounds acres. Grand Marais suits winter visitors who want aurora, since NOAA says clear, dark skies and a strong geomagnetic storm are the conditions that matter.
What are the best small towns for history?
Beaufort leads, founded in 1711 with a 304-acre National Historic Landmark and National Park Service sites tied to Reconstruction. Telluride’s historic district became a landmark in 1961. Mystic holds a maritime museum opened in 1929, and Carmel has a mission founded in 1770. Each lets you walk through the period itself, not a reproduction.
What are the best small towns for stargazing?
Dripping Springs holds a Dark Sky Community designation from 2014, the first in Texas. Grand Marais sits far enough north on Lake Superior to catch aurora during strong geomagnetic storms. Both work best on clear, moonless nights, away from town lights. Check the NOAA space weather forecast before driving for an aurora.
Which is the smallest of the best small towns here?
Grand Marais, Minnesota, is the smallest at 1,337 residents in the 2020 census. Telluride is next at 2,607, then Carmel-by-the-Sea at 3,220. Beaufort, South Carolina, is the largest at 13,607, still under the 15,000 limit used for this list.