Travel

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SMAL L-TOWN GE TAWAYS

When a free weekend comes along, everyone wants to use it wisely.
And no one knows more great places to spend a getaway than
Midwest Living . We’ve been visiting the region’s small towns for 20
®

years, and our list of the 100 best will guarantee you find the per-
fect place to escape for a little shopping, sightseeing and relaxing.
PRODUCED BY TREVOR MEERS ● REPORTING BY BARBARA MORROW, Midwest Living June 2007 39
KENDRA L. WILLIAMS, KATIE KNOROVSKY AND HEATHER LOEB
100
BEST SMALL-TOWN GETAWAYS

The Midwest has about 8,500 towns with

populations less than 20,000. Practically
speaking, we’ve been looking for the best ones
for 20 years, starting with Midwest Liv-
ing’s first issue in 1987. Our editors have
been on the road ever since. For this list of
the 100 best small-town getaways, we added
another layer of research that spanned several
months and ranked towns in 12 categories:
attractions, vibe, scenery, walkability,
shopping, dining, lodging, arts scene, outdoor
activities, proximity to major cities, multiday
potential and wild card (for special events
such as festivals). We excluded suburbs, and
we didn’t consider livability factors such as
education or employment. It took us years to
compile this list of the best places to visit, but
you’ll need only a weekend in any of these
100 to see why we did.
1

1 Ephraim/Fish Creek, WI
Who needs New England? The Midwest has its own coast-
al charm around the Great Lakes, and our top towns, located
in Door County, are the best examples of it. The 80-mile-long
Door Peninsula extends into Lake Michigan on Wisconsin’s
east side, creating more than 300 miles of coastline. Tucked
into this shore are lighthouses, 30 beaches, five state parks, golf
courses and pretty towns seemingly plucked straight from a
painting. Along the busier Green Bay side, it’s hard to tell
where one white clapboard village wrapped around a blue
harbor ends and another begins. But Ephraim (population:
349) and Fish Creek (population: 200), bookends to Peninsula
State Park, epitomize what’s most appealing.
Visitors rent bikes at the park entrance and ride to water
views, beaches and a lighthouse. Artists inspired by the coun-
ty’s scenery show their work in the two towns’ dozen galler-
ies. Travelers tap into this scene with classes at Fish Creek’s
Peninsula Art School and the newer Hands-on Gallery. Plenti-
ful shopping runs toward high-end boutiques; good food is
equally ample. The signature meal is a fish boil, an outdoor
show with flames billowing around a cauldron of whitefish,
2 Petoskey/Charlevoix, MI
These neighboring resort towns along the
Lower Peninsula’s northwestern shore began
entertaining vacationers who came by steam-
ship more than a century ago. No wonder
they’re so good at it, offering an ever growing
to-do list for travelers and a relaxed attitude.
Petoskey (population: 6,000) climbs hills
along Little Traverse Bay, and Charlevoix
(population: 3,000) nestles between Lake
Michigan and Lake Charlevoix 17 miles south-
west. The beach and harbor are steps from
the 100 shops and galleries of Petoskey’s Gas-
light District and landmark Stafford’s Perry
Hotel. Charlevoix’s boutiques string along the
waterfront. Local restaurants, including An-
dante (fine dining; bay views) and Jesperson’s
(good pie!) deliver memorable meals. In the
warmer months, visitors golf at the Inn at Bay
Harbor, a first-class resort with courses her-
alded as the Midwest’s Pebble Beach.

potatoes and onions. Fish Creek’s White Gull Inn, known for
first-class hospitality and one of more than a dozen lodging
choices in Fish Creek alone, stages one of the best. Top off this
meal with pie made with cherries from the orchards that
flourish in the peninsula’s interior.
3 Galena, IL
The preservation movement in this old
lead-mining town (population: 3,600) has
effectively defined the trend toward small

40 Midwest Living June 2007

 11. South Haven, MI Beaches
that stand out even on Lake
Michigan within walking
distance of downtown and
inns; fresh foods at the edge
of wine country.
12. Leland/Suttons Bay, MI
On the Leelanau Peninsula
near Traverse City, a recipient
of the lake’s bounty: fresh
fish, views and local wines.
13. Lanesboro, MN A haven
for cyclists and other lovers of
the peaceful outdoors with
the Root River trail, plus good
food, inns and productions at
the Commonweal Theatre.
14. Shipshewana, IN An
epicenter of the simple
farming life, with hearty
Amish-style food, furniture,
9. Stillwater, MN 10. Mackinac Island area, MI 15. Elkhart Lake, WI 18. Lake Geneva, WI quilts and other crafts.
15. Elkhart Lake, WI A mix
that surprisingly works: classic
Victorian town with the four-
FOR ROMANCE 5. Saugatuck/Douglas, MI
diamond Osthoff resort and a
road-race course with 400
annual events.
16. Nebraska City, NE New-
comers don’t expect the
striking Lied Lodge and the
farm of Arbor Day founder J.
Sterling Morton; plus shops
downtown and riverboat
rides in nearby Brownsville.
17. Custer City, SD Growing
towns reinventing themselves. Framed by like an Old West boom town,
northwestern Illinois hills, the business dis- gateway to the Black Hills’
trict’s century-old buildings now house more best: Custer State Park;
than 90 shops filled with antiques, home Mount Rushmore; Crazy
accessories and art. Some 50 inns and hotels Horse Memorial.
welcome travelers, and restaurants serve 18. Lake Geneva, WI Prom-
seemingly every taste. And the effect is enade like the Victorian
spreading to surrounding towns like Savan- socialites who founded this
na. If Main Street or the many festivals get pretty resort town—on the
too crowded, escape with a hot-air balloon 21-mile path around the lake,
BEST
ride, carriage tour, spa treatment or pottery past grand estates.
class, part of a new hands-on arts scene. 19. Lindsborg, KS May be
more Swedish than Sweden
4
(in an old-timey way), with
authentic crafts, foods and
festivals. Strong arts scene
includes Bethany College.
20. Pella, IA Go Dutch with a
gingerbread-trimmed down-
town, pastries, a re-created
village and 80,000 tulips
blooming for May festival.
21. Northfield, MN The town
still proud of defeating Jesse
James (celebrated at a huge
fall festival), with lots more
going for it, including shops
and two picture-perfect
college campuses.
22. Spring Green, WI Inspir-
ed arts scene includes Frank
Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin home
and studio and a world-class
outdoor theater. Weirdly
appealing House on the Rock
is nearby.
23. Hill City, SD Another
Black Hills boom in progress,
with a growing group of art
galleries as well as 1880s
steam train rides.
24. Hermann, MO German
village that feels like it’s on
the Rhine is hub for Missouri
River wine country and
cyclists’ beloved Katy Trail.
25. Marshall, MI It takes a
weekend to see all the
significant buildings (850) in
this designated National
Historic Landmark District.
(See the Honolulu House!)
26. Ely, MN A wear-your-
hiking-boots-to-dinner spirit
energizes this jumping-off
point for Boundary Waters
canoe trips. Plus wolf and
bear centers, resorts and
chefs gone North Woodsy.
27. Grand Marais, MN A
onetime fishing village
between the North Woods
and Lake Superior draws both
outdoorsy types and a big
community of working artists.
28. Deadwood, SD Old West
aura mostly intact despite a
huge gambling scene; also
winter sports and stunning
Black Hills scenery.
29. Atchison, KS How did
Amelia Earhart ever leave her
pretty hometown on the
Missouri? One clue: She never
saw Nell Hill’s popular home
furnishings shops.
Midwest Living June 2007 41
100
BEST SMALL-TOWN GETAWAYS
REMOTE LUXURY 7. Bayfield, WI
4 Madison, IN
26. Ely, MN 44. Park Rapids, MN 51. Cottonwood Falls, KS
Towering limestone bluffs and the Ohio
River frame picturesque Madison, an old
48
riverboat port of 12,400 so tied to the past,
133 downtown blocks are on the National
Historic Register, with buildings dating to
1817. Antiques dealers fill the district, which 30. Medora, ND Western-
has served as a model for preservation of theme-park of a town,
other towns. A brick river walk leads visi- gateway to Theodore Roo-
tors close to touring riverboats that regularly sevelt National Park; Medora
dock with loads of vacationers, and a stroll Musical celebrates TR’s spirit.
through Madison’s hilly streets provides 31. Hannibal, MO Fact and fic-
glimpses of lush gardens around grand old tion blur in Mark Twain’s
homes, some converted to inns. Drives out hometown on the Mississippi
of town meander to several award-winning with tours of his home, Tom
wineries, some of the area’s best bike trails Sawyer’s cave, riverboat rides
and Twain shows.
and Clifty Falls State Park, where seven
waterfalls flow. BEST 32. Cedarburg, WI National
Register limestone buildings
as sturdy as the work ethic of
their German builders, now
holding shops and galleries.
5 Saugatuck/Douglas, MI
33. Berlin, OH Another Mid-
west Amish hot spot, with
These side-by-side Lake Michigan shore villages tours, crafts shops and homey
are so artsy, residents take for granted having their restaurants.
portraits painted. Their likenesses hang in one of 34. Nauvoo, IL Restored
the 40 galleries that liberally mingle with an appeal- buildings and reenactors in
ing collection of boutiques. Visitors not only find onetime Mormon enclave on
original art adorning studio windows, but also they the Mississippi. Also a winery
get accustomed to encountering sculptures on al- and historic hotel.
most every corner in Saugatuck (population: 35. Amana Colonies, IA Seven
1,050) and Douglas (population: 1,200). Art- villages preserve a communal
ists set up easels among the swimmers and society’s spirit with dining,
sunbathers enjoying the crescent of white museums and shops.
sand to capture Oval Beach (considered 36. Marietta, OH Historic sites
one of the country’s best) on canvas. and old-time crafts in area’s
Summer also brings an acclaimed film fes- first permanent settlement;
tival and jazz- and chamber-music series. lots of boutiques and river
cruises, too.
37. Frankenmuth, MI “Little
Bavaria” with chicken-dinner
restaurants, world’s largest
Christmas store (Bronner’s)
and year-round festivals.
38. Decorah, IA Bluffs and
clear streams surround a
college town known for its
major Norwegian-American
museum and outdoor sports.
39. Corydon, IN Indiana’s
original capital with a vibrant
town square including a 55-
year-old soda fountain; on
Ohio River Scenic Byway.
40. Abilene, KS The town
Eisenhower credited with
making him who he was.
Tours of his museum, home
42
and library. Also, a re-created
cow-town complex.
41. Chesterton, IN Near
Indiana Dunes and home of a
huge Wizard of Oz festival.
42. Nisswa, MN A hub for the
vacation area around central
Minnesota’s lakes; don’t miss
summer’s weekly turtle races!
43. Eagle River, WI Summer is
for lakeside resorts; winter is
for snowmobiling on
extensive trail system.
44. Park Rapids, MN So laid-
back, you wouldn’t guess it’s
surrounded by busy lake
resorts; near Mississippi head-
waters at Itasca State Park.
45. Ste. Genevieve, MO
Amazing French Colonial
architecture in one of the
oldest settlements west of the
Mississippi River.
46. Mineral Point, WI Artists
working among preserved
buildings in an 1820s Cornish
lead-mining town.
47. Green Lake, WI Quintes-
sential Wisconsin lake town
scene: water sports and
supper clubs.
48. Coshocton, OH Living
history at Roscoe Village with
rides aboard horse-drawn
boats on the Ohio-Erie Canal.
49. Weston, MO A time
capsule of a town rich in pre-
Civil War history with shops,
museums and old homes.
50. Wabasha, MN Eagle
watching on the Mississippi
including the National Eagle
Center; where Grumpy Old
Men was filmed.
51. Cottonwood Falls, KS Tiny
but cool base for exploring
the Flint Hills; high-end
lodging/dining at Grand
Central Hotel, plus live music
at Emma Chase Cafe.
52. Chadron, NE Home of Fort
Robinson, site of key Western
events; Pine Ridge landscape
100
BEST
BEST SMALL-TOWN
SMALL-TOWN GETAWAYS
GETAWAYS
60. Logan, OH A gateway to
the rolling woodlands of
southern Ohio’s Hocking Hills.

6Nashville, IN
So-called progress never quite made it to
Nashville, the seat of Brown County, a ha-
61. New Harmony, IN Historic
buildings, an inn and labyrinth
recalling communal life.
62. Arcola/Arthur, IL Shops
ven of hills and forests 55 miles south of
selling Amish everything, plus
Indianapolis. That’s fine with the artists who lots of places for hearty food.
live and work in studios tucked amid the
67
63. Port Washington, WI
town’s 250 shops and the countryside. The A lighthouse guarding a Lake
artists’ colony founded by Indiana painter Michigan harbor; lakeside
T.C. Steele, who was drawn by the vistas with hiking, biking and golf. lodgings and dining.
that seem to spread from every hilltop, cel- 53. Williston, ND See a 64. Rocheport, MO Shops,
ebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The restored frontier fort at the inns and cafes catering to
woodsy setting around Nashville (popula- historic junction of the Yellow- cyclists on the Katy Trail.
tion: 1,000) also suits hikers and others who stone and Missouri rivers. 65. Baraboo, WI Location.
explore nearby Brown County State Park, 54. Lebanon, OH An antiqu- Location. Location. Near the
Indiana’s largest. (See story on page 19.) ers’ mecca, and home of 204- Dells, Circus World Museum

7Bayfield, WI
and 500-foot cliffs in Devil’s

23. Hill City, SD 30. Medora, ND 31. Hannibal, MO 65. Baraboo, WI

year-old Golden Lamb Inn.
55. Red Wing, MN A quaint Lake State Park.
Lake Superior adventure awaits visitors FOR FAMILIES 8. Put-in-Bay, OH Mississippi port with restored 66. Centerville, IN An
to this town of 600 on the Bayfield Penin- St. James Hotel and tours of antiquing hotbed featuring
sula. Like jewels tossed into the sapphire famous Red Wing pottery. buildings from the early-1800s
water, the 22 Apostle Islands lie just offshore. 56. New Glarus, WI A little bit heyday of the National Road.
On summer days, Bayfield’s harbor is full of of Switzerland, including 67. Fort Scott, KS A frontier
kayaks and tour boats going to and from the Alpine architecture and Heidi fort with 20-plus restored and
beaches, lighthouses and campsites in the and Wilhelm Tell weekends. re-created buildings.
legendary archipelago. More relaxed explor- 57. Ashland, WI Home to 68. Cambridge, OH Near glass
ers ride ferries to Madeline Island, the only Northern Great Lakes Visitor factories, shops and museums
Center, ferries to the Apostle as well as Salt Fork State Park,
inhabited Apostle, which offers shops, a re-
Islands and a serious eco- Ohio’s largest.
nowned beach, a museum and places to eat.
conscious ethic. 69. McGregor/Marquette, IA
The shops, inns and restaurants of Bayfield
58. Hudson, WI Inns, antiqu- Neighboring towns appeal-
look down from hills along the lake. The
ing and outdoor activities in a ingly situated along the
surrounding peninsula is marked by pay-on- Mississippi; river views in Pikes
pretty town in the St. Croix
your-honor berry and apple stands and an River Valley. Peak State Park.
absence of chain stores. Most summer nights 59. Okoboji/Spirit Lake, IA 70. Valentine, NE A cowboy
bring performing arts under the old-fash-
BEST

Hubs for Iowa’s “Great Lakes” spirit prevails in a town that’s

ioned Big Top Chautauqua tent. region with small amusement the base for canoe trips on
parks, golf and more. the famed Niobrara River.
71. Seymour, IN The “Small

8Put-in-Bay, OH
Town” John Mellencamp
sings about; an art center and
A storybook family getaway is just a ferry ride away from northwest Ohio’s hiking in Jackson-Washington
Lake Erie shoreline. Only boats connect South Bass Island and its town of Put- State Forest.
in-Bay (population: 128) to the mainland, so most visitors leave cars behind. That 72. Granville, OH Hilltop Deni-
usually reduces the traffic noise among shops and restaurants to no more than son University looks down on
the hum of golf carts and jingle of bells on rental bicycles. Family attractions fill a New England-style town.
the island, including museums, cave tours, fishing charters and a 1917 carousel. 73. Bishop Hill, IL Descen-
For the best area view, climb the 352-foot Perry’s Victory and International Peace dants of settlers preserve a
Memorial, a white column commemorating a U.S. victory in the War of 1812. Swedish-American Utopian
community’s legacy.
74. Yellow Springs, OH Funky
shops and cafes in a free-
spirited college town near a
75-mile bike path.
75. Detroit Lakes, MN A
resort town favoring a folksy,
relaxed mood.
76. Elsah/Grafton, IL Historic
buildings, antiques shops and
inns along the Mississippi.

44
100
BEST SMALL-TOWN GETAWAYS important fossil dig and a wild
horse sanctuary.
84. Council Grove, KS Santa
Fe Trail sites; near Tallgrass
Prairie National Preserve.
85. Scottsbluff, NE Tastes of
Oregon Trail life at the
namesake bluff, Chimney
Rock and pioneer museums.
86. Zoar, OH A Utopian
community revisited, with the
help of reenactors.
87. Greencastle, IN DePauw
University anchors a town
near Parke County’s famed
covered bridges.
88. Valley City, ND A stop
along Sheyenne River Valley
National Scenic Byway.
89. Pierre, SD Tours of the
Capitol and memorials, Lewis
and Clark history, plus vast

9 Lake Oahe.
90. Oberlin, OH Home to
Oberlin College, two notable
77. Manistee, MI Victorian
37. Frankenmuth, MI 48. Coshocton, OH 56. New Glarus, WI 94. Jamestown, ND

museums and the 14-acre

9Stillwater, MN
downtown connected to Lake Tappan Square.
Michigan by a boardwalk. 91. New Ulm, MN Music,
The timber of the St. Croix River Valley 78. Carthage, MO Civil War
on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border built festivals and shops selling
and Route 66 sites; George imports in what the U.S.
the fortunes behind Stillwater’s Victorian Washington Carver’s home. Census labeled the country’s
FOR FESTIVALS 21. Northfield, MN

mansions, and the forests and craggy river 79. Copper Harbor, MI Along
valley still supply scenery visitors love. The one of the region’s best
town (population: 17,200) about 20 miles east drives, a Lake Superior harbor
of Saint Paul lures travelers with an irresist- and lighthouse tours.
ible mix: a dozen inns and a historic down- 80. Alto Pass/Jonesboro, IL
town sprinkled with antiques shops and Rustic towns providing a base
bookstores that bring collectors from all over for outings in southern Illinois
the world. Short drives lead to notable Shawnee National Forest and
towns, including Marine on St. Croix and a growing wine scene.
Taylors Falls. Train and riverboat tours are 81. Fulton, MO An arresting
staples. Plus, Stillwater offers one of the re- vibe at Westminster College,
gions most surprising boat tours: St. Croix site of Winston Churchill’s
cruises in a gondola built in Venice, Italy. “Iron Curtain” speech and a
Berlin Wall segment.
“most German city.”
92. Arrow Rock, MO The
1834 Arrow Rock Tavern and
the respected Lyceum Theatre.
93. Keokuk, IA Bald eagle-
watching and a lock and dam
on the Mississippi.
94. Jamestown, ND Western
history at a frontier village and
buffalo museum.
95. Cambridge, WI Lake
Ripley and the “Salt-glazed
Pottery Capital of the World.”

10Mackinac Island area, MI

96. Ogallala, NE Real-life
82. Munising, MI Laid-back cowboys hanging out in a
It’s become a cliche to say that arriving neighbor to Lake Superior and base for visitors to Lake
by ferry at an island’s harborside village is Pictured Rocks National McConaughy’s white beaches.
BEST

Lakeshore. 97. Kimmswick, MO Twenty-

like stepping back in time. But it’s so true at
83. Hot Springs, SD At the five shops and 94 people in
Mackinac Island, that you’ll wonder if the
Black Hills’ southern edge, an this Mississippi hamlet south
idea originated on this Gilded Age holdover.
The queen of Victorian Era resorts, the of St. Louis; summer riverboat
white-columned Grand Hotel, occupies a rides from St. Louis.
bluff over the waters between Michigan’s 98. Chesaning, MI July’s
peninsulas. Because cars are banned, the sig- Showboat Festival brings big-
nature sound is the clip-clop of horses’ name performers.
hooves. Visitors take carriage tours, ride 99. Dyersville, IA The Field of
Dreams movie site in a
bikes, taste famous fudge and tour the 1700s
cornfield; also farm toy, doll
fort. Back on the mainland, explore the is-
and woodcarving museums.
land’s gateways, St. Ignace (population:
100. Mantorville, MN Historic
2,700) and Mackinaw City (population: 860),

89
buildings, bike trails and
linked by the five-mile Mackinac Bridge.
drama at local theater. ■

46 Midwest Living June 2007