Small Towns Near Big Cities
Small Towns Near Big Cities
New Orleans, Louisiana; Reno, Nevada and Monterey, California have a long list of attractions and appeals for visitors.
Beyond the frantic fun and frivolity of the annual New Orleans Mardi Gras, Reno’s clutch of casinos, and Monterey’s seaside setting, big cities have far more to offer.
Most travelers drawn to those and other metropolitan areas throughout the country fail to include small towns in their itinerary that are a short drive away and have much to offer. From chapters of history to collections of antique automobiles to covered bridges, these towns provide a welcome and often overlooked add-on or alternative to their nearby neighbors.
New Orleans’ neighbors have much to offer
Covington and Mandeville, Louisiana, a convenient commute from New Orleans, trace their founding back to the early 19th century. They served as popular weekend destinations for well-to-do city residents; vestiges of that history remain.
In Covington, these include the HJ Smith & Sons General Store and Museum, which has been family owned and operated since 1876. Among the items on display are a 1920s gas pump, old farming tools, and a hand-operated wooden washing machine.
A place of pride in Mandeville, founded in 1834, is the green space laid out by the town’s organizer. It features a walking and biking path, grand historic homes, and groves of ancient oak trees overlooking Lake Pontchartrain. Hints of New Orleans live during concerts and music jams at the Dew Drop Jazz and Social Hall, dating back to 1895. Adding to the small-town connection is a paved rails-to-trails path that connects Covington, Mandeville, and several other towns.
Go beyond Nashville for candies, cookbooks, and quilts.
Different pages from the past are turned at other towns worth a side trip. At the T.B. Sutton General Store in Granville, Tennessee, about an hour's drive from Nashville, browsers and buyers check out old-fashion candies and toys, classic cookbooks, and other items of past eras since the 1880s.
Among must-sees at the Pioneer Village attraction is a quilt collection, a historic barn packed with old farm equipment, and a collection of cars dating back to the 1920s.
South Carolina’s fishing villages and more
The heart of Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina, a suburb of the popular Myrtle Beach vacation destination, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Founded in 1731, it served as a busy port, hang-out for pirates and site of early American rice plantations. Today it’s a commercial and recreational fishing village where red drum, king mackerel and flounder are among the plentiful catches.
Monterey, California, and Ashville, North Carolina, have nearby fishing and wonderful wildlife.
Another community known for fine fishing is perched near the other US coastline. Moss Landing, 20 miles north of Monterey, California. Charter boats take anglers to spots teeming with salmon, bass, albacore, and other denizens of the deep. The pristine white sand at Moss Landing State Beach attracts sun worshippers and swimmers. Wildlife watchers venture into the Elkhorn Slough (pronounced slew), home to sea otters, sea lions, and a virtual aviary of birds.
The Nantahala River, famous for outstanding trout fishing, whitewater rafting, and scenic Fontana Lake, are water features associated with Bryson City, North Carolina, a tiny enclave sitting an hour away from Ashville. They contrast with the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which contains some of the highest peaks in the eastern part of the United States and has been the most-visited national park for many years.
Despite its small size (population about 1,500) this little mountain town boats an excursion train, rich Cherokee Native American culture, and the Road to Nowhere. This six-mile-long street offers views of mountains and Lake Fontana and ends at a quarter-mile-long tunnel that used by horseback riders and hikers carrying a flashlight.
The appeals of golden wines and a gilded capitol dome
Dahlonega, Georgia, a short drive from Atlanta, is another Appalachian Mountain town with two major claims to fame. Its foothills’ location and grape-friendly growing conditions produce award-winning wines. It has the state's highest concentration of vineyards, wineries, and tasting rooms.
The golden hue of local white vintages echoes the local’s gold-related history. In 1828, more than two decades before the Western Gold Rush, the largest deposits of that precious metal east of the Mississippi River were discovered in the area. One reminder of those heady days is the shining dome of Georgia’s Capitol in Atlanta, which owes its sheen to the Dahlonega gold of which it’s made.
Indianapolis neighbors have covered bridges.
A different kind of covering attracts visitors from nearby Indianapolis and elsewhere to Rockville, Indiana, a little town with a big allure. It’s not only home to what’s said to be the most photographed span in the Midwest, the Bridgeton covered bridge, but it also is a perfect starting point for exploring Parke County, the self-proclaimed “Covered Bridge Capital of the World.”
Of a previous total of 53 roofed viaducts, 31 remain intact. The oldest dates back to 1856, while the 245-foot Bridgeton bridge was built in 2006 after its predecessor had been destroyed by fire. Rockville is a good starting point for finding and photographing these throwbacks to earlier times during the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, which takes place each October or at any time of year.
This is but a sampling of small towns with big attractions that vie with those available in larger cities not far away. You might wish to check ahead of your next trip in the United States to learn if one or more of these hidden gems is worth a detour.
Victor Block
After gallivanting throughout the United States and to more than 75 other countries worldwide and writing about what he sees, does, and learns, Victor Block retains the travel bug. He believes that travel is the best possible education and claims he still has much to learn. He loves to explore new destinations and cultures, and his stories about them have won many writing awards.
