Magazine lists country's coolest small towns
MAGAZINE POLL | Three Midwest towns crop up on Top 10 list of the country's coolest small places
Life in the big city isn't always easy. Traffic jams. Crowded sidewalks. And if you're lucky enough to find a parking spot, you'll need a slot machine's worth of quarters to feed it.
When you can sing along, verse for verse, with a blaring car alarm, you know it's time to get away. The perfect place to find refuge? A small town.
1. Owego, N.Y. (not Oswego)
2. Rockland, Maine
3. Grinnell, Iowa
4. Vevay, Ind.
5. Huntingdon, Pa.
6. Onancock, Va.
7. Jim Thorpe, Pa.
8. Mineral Point, Wis.
9. Silverton, Ore.
10. Port Royal, S.C.
Source: BudgetTravel.com
Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine recently named the country's 10 coolest small towns, as chosen by more than 100,000 voters at BudgetTravel.com.
To qualify, a town had to have a population of less than 10,000. It also had to be the kind of place where you could find a great cup of coffee, and the art galleries outnumbered country stores.
Turns out three of the 10 winners are right here in the Midwest, which makes them an easy escape next time that car alarm starts wailing.
Home to one of the country's leading liberal arts institutions, Grinnell College, the town is known as the Jewel of the Prairie.
You'll find most of the downtown buildings -- many more than a century old -- listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Architectural gems range from restored Queen Anne and Greek Revival homes to Louis Sullivan's Merchants National Bank, one of the "jewel box" banks the Chicago architect designed late in his career.
"Here we are, this town of 9,000, and we have 12 buildings designed by internationally known architects," said Bill Menner, who heads Grinnell's downtown development organization. A Grinnell resident for nearly two decades, Menner nominated the town for Budget Travel's contest.
"Their definition of a cool small town was not a town that has lots of country kitsch," Menner said. "They wanted quirky, funky, cool small towns, and that's what Grinnell is."
Sandwiched between the Iowa and Skunk rivers, Grinnell is long on green space, with eight local parks and a trio of lakes. The Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning farmers markets attract vendors from around the state.
Grinnellchamber.org
The first thing you should know about Vevay: It's pronounced VEE-vee.
The second thing you should know: The 1,650 or so residents of this southern Indiana community are too darn nice to give you a hard time if you mispronounce it.
An abundance of artists live in Vevay, an Ohio River town settled by the Swiss, who came to tend to the grape fields.
Grapes are a big deal here. The year's hallmark event is the four-day Swiss Wine Festival (Aug. 27-30), featuring Indiana wine tastings, parades, cheerleader competitions, riverboat rides and grape stomps.
"We're the birthplace of the first U.S. commercial winery in America," said Kendal Miller, spokeswoman for Switzerland County Tourism in Vevay. "[Vintner] J.J. Dufour started in Kentucky and didn't do too well there, so he moved over the river and came here."
There's only one stoplight in town but plenty of historic buildings, including a couple of B&Bs: the Rosemont Inn and Schenck Mansion.
If you're looking to stay somewhere a little different than your typical bed and breakfast, you can pack light and camp nearby at Drakes Ridge Rustic Nudist Retreat.
Vevayin.com
Tucked among the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin, Mineral Point is in the state's "driftless" area, so called because the land was untouched by glaciers.
This made it relatively easy to harvest minerals, such as lead and zinc. Miners from Cornwall, England, flocked here, leaving an indelible mark on this European-feeling town.
Limestone Cornish cottages make up Pendarvis State Historic Site, where costumed guides lead the way through this restored miners settlement. Restaurants serve Cornish pasties (meat and vegetable pies in a flaky crust), and the local brew pub, Brewery Creek, pours a refreshing ale. If you have too many pints, just spend the night. Brewery Creek is also a B&B.
Nearly two dozen artists have studios in Mineral Point. Pottery, glass blowing, painting, sculpture -- it's all here, and the best time to see it is the third weekend in October, during the annual Fall Art Tour.
Aspiring artists of all ages come year-round to Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, a picturesque campus that holds hands-on weekend workshops.
Another bonus: This town of roughly 2,600 people is close to Spring Green, making it easy to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and to take in an al fresco performance at the magical American Players Theatre.
Mineralpoint.com
BudgetTravel.com is currently taking nominations for the coolest small towns of 2010. To suggest a candidate, go to budgettravel.com/bt-srv/coolestsmalltowns/nominate_2010.html.