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Educate HROT about a great small town you've visited/lived

DaveSnedeker

DaveSnedeker

HR All-American
Mar 12, 2007
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Town must have less than 75,000 residents. I'll start.

Bozeman, Montana. Was fortunate enough to spend a week in Bozeman this past June. Hiking and fishing is great, very nice restaurant and bar scene, with a couple of breweries located in and around town. Montana State University located there, too. Yellowstone about an hour and half away. Highly recommend.
 
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St. Joe, Iowa. Grandparent lived close to there; Schmitty's store for a soda was a treat when you were 7.

Lots of others - Bode, Algona, Humboldt, Templeton, Manning, and Carroll.

Great small towns.
 
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Estes Park, Colorado.........great place to stay when
you visit Rocky Mountain National Park. This scenic
town of 6,000 is surrounded by mountains and filled
with great restaurants. It has a golf course, and an
amusement park.
 
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DaveSnedeker said:
Town must have less than 75,000 residents. I'll start.

Bozeman, Montana. Was fortunate enough to spend a week in Bozeman this past June. Hiking and fishing is great, very nice restaurant and bar scene, with a couple of breweries located in and around town. Montana State University located there, too. Yellowstone about an hour and half away. Highly recommend.
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Ski there every winter. I love Bozeman.
 
You can hate me all you want but for a family there is no better place in Iowa to live than decorah.
 
Pella.
If your not Dutch, you’re not much.
Nice town. Money and manufacturing. Tax base. 6100 residents as I grew up there. Greatest mayor in the state for several years ( my dad). A tad conservative for my taste, but the precinct I lived in did occasionally vote Democratic.
Solid school system.
Thank God for Central College.
Not so much for Pella Christian.
 
joelbc1 said:
Pella.
If your not Dutch, you’re not much.
Nice town. Money and manufacturing. Tax base. 6100 residents as I grew up there. Greatest mayor in the state for several years ( my dad). A tad conservative for my taste, but the precinct I lived in did occasionally vote Democratic.
Solid school system.
Thank God for Central College.
Not so much for Pella Christian.
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My twins will be FR at Central this year. And while I get why some don't like it, but it is a great town.

San Luis Obispo, CA. Fantastic downtown area, mountains and trails everywhere, including a few within the city limits, the Pacific 10 min away, great weather, friendly people, great wineries and breweries nearby. Oh, and my best friend lives out on the north side not far from Cal Poly. Probably the only place I go for Army business that I would live in.
 
SSG T said:
My twins will be FR at Central this year. And while I get why some don't like it, but it is a great town.

San Luis Obispo, CA. Fantastic downtown area, mountains and trails everywhere, including a few within the city limits, the Pacific 10 min away, great weather, friendly people, great wineries and breweries nearby. Oh, and my best friend lives out on the north side not far from Cal Poly. Probably the only place I go for Army business that I would live in.
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Tell them not to drink beer in the park they renamed for dad! ;) Hopefully they will enjoy their time there.
 
HawkeyeShawn said:
Have you ever been there? I have 3 times. It’s nice, but it’s not great, IMO. My favorite small town in OR is Newport. It’s absolutely beautiful. Close enough to Portland if you need the big city, but far enough away to escape the city problems.
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HawkeyeShawn said:
Have you ever been there? I have 3 times. It’s nice, but it’s not great, IMO. My favorite small town in OR is Newport. It’s absolutely beautiful. Close enough to Portland if you need the big city, but far enough away to escape the city problems.
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Newport is gross compared to most other coastal cities. Corvallis is often times listed on best places to live lists. So I'd say it's great for 50,000 people or less.
 
joelbc1 said:
Pella.
If your not Dutch, you’re not much.
Nice town. Money and manufacturing. Tax base. 6100 residents as I grew up there. Greatest mayor in the state for several years ( my dad). A tad conservative for my taste, but the precinct I lived in did occasionally vote Democratic.
Solid school system.
Thank God for Central College.
Not so much for Pella Christian.
Click to expand...
I might know your dad. Is he in the furniture industry?
 
Valier, MT. Population is about 450. The high school has about 55 students grades 9-12. About 25 miles east of the Rocky Mountain Front with a large irrigation reservoir (Lake Frances) on the edge of town. Occasionally grizzlies and other hungry critters follow the streams down from the mountains, especially in the spring. Right on the edge of Blackfeet Rez. For about two years after moving back to Iowa, I laughed when Iowans complained about the wind.
41daa7a9b6f083b43d751d07fa5ae2a4.jpg
 
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DaveSnedeker said:
Town must have less than 75,000 residents. I'll start.

Bozeman, Montana. Was fortunate enough to spend a week in Bozeman this past June. Hiking and fishing is great, very nice restaurant and bar scene, with a couple of breweries located in and around town. Montana State University located there, too. Yellowstone about an hour and half away. Highly recommend.
Click to expand...
I spent one night there a few years ago, and it was really fun. Several buddies and I were on a post high school trip to Glacier National Park. We finished our hiking adventure and drove to Bozeman, where we were lucky to get a motel room because the collegiate rodeo championship was in town. We went to a pizza place / bar and sat down to order dinner and some beers. The waitress asked us how old we were, and looked at us with a raised eyebrow as we all said, "18". The last guy was one of my best friends to this day who literally raised his hand and said, "I'm 19 ma'am". She shook her head and walked off, only to return a few minutes later with a pitcher and some glasses, which she refilled all night long.
Rodeo dudes are fun to drink with.
 
Tom Paris said:
I like that whole area up there...Bayfield...Ashland...
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Agreed. Bayfield is awesome. That whole stretch from Bayfield west through Superior and Duluth, and then up the North Shore is awesome. Several great parks to hike in within a short radius, and, of course, all the activities on Lake Superior. Very cool restaurant scene in Bayfield.
 
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Salida, Colorado. It's a small mountain town of about 6000 people that the Arkansas River flows through and it is surrounded by 14,000 ft. peaks. The Monarch ski area is just outside of town. Lots of outdoor recreation opportunities including mountain biking, rafting, hiking, camping, etc. And a great little place for breakfast on Hwy 50 called Patio Pancake.
 
HawkeyeShawn said:
Have you ever been there? I have 3 times. It’s nice, but it’s not great, IMO. My favorite small town in OR is Newport. It’s absolutely beautiful. Close enough to Portland if you need the big city, but far enough away to escape the city problems.
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I've been to Newport twice as part of two week long stretches along the coast. I'd like to suggest going down to Crescent City, CA, if you ever have the chance. There are some great restaurants, two wonderful state parks, and it's the northern gateway to Redwood National Park.
Newport was okay, but a little on the big side, and pretty crowded. We have also stayed about 50 miles south in Florence, and had an excellent time. You are in the heart of the Oregon Dunes, there are miles of beaches, a couple of nice parks, and a very vibrant restaurant scene.
Fly into Portland and you are in Florence 3 hours later. Spend a few days there, and then drive to Crescent City. The whole coastline is chock full of wonderful parks to explore. You can do it in a day, but two days would let you see a lot more.
 
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lucas80 said:
Agreed. Bayfield is awesome. That whole stretch from Bayfield west through Superior and Duluth, and then up the North Shore is awesome. Several great parks to hike in within a short radius, and, of course, all the activities on Lake Superior. Very cool restaurant scene in Bayfield.
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We stayed in this creepy old hotel on Superior...pretty cool place.
Hotel Chequamegon...
7433967052_b71787fcdb_b.jpg
 
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Vang Vieng, Laos.

Population 25,000. On the Nam Song River. Gorgeous scenery. It could be one of those eco-tourism places with kayaking, mountain climbing, hiking, cycling, all that.

Instead, it's a "backpacker" stop. Tubing down the river is the main attraction. Stopping at bars. Booze. Drugs. Tubing. Bars. Drugs. Zombie backpackers watching Family Guy and Friends. Locals making a buck yet, yet disturbed by the visitors.

Just a crazy clash of culture. Not fun to be associated with yet fun to participate in.

Used to be a lot crazier but has been toned down over the last several years due to tourists dying from doing stupid shit in the river.
 
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