8 Best Small Towns To Visit In The Southern United States

The Southern United States runs a wide range of small towns worth a weekend: Appalachian mountain villages in North Carolina and Georgia, Arkansas Ozark resort towns, Kentucky bourbon distilleries, Louisiana strawberry country, Florida Spanish-colonial port cities, and Greek fishing villages on the Gulf Coast. The eight towns below are the standout picks from each regional tradition. Start with Blowing Rock for Blue Ridge Parkway scenery, or St. Augustine for the oldest continuously occupied European-founded city in the continental US.

Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Blowing Rock sits in the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Watauga County. The town takes its name from The Blowing Rock, a cliff overhang at roughly 4,000 feet of elevation with a 1,500-foot drop into the Johns River Gorge. Regional winds funnelled up the gorge can genuinely return light objects thrown over the edge (hence the name). The in-town area has a walkable Main Street with boutique shops, galleries, restaurants, and the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum. Tweetsie Railroad nearby runs heritage steam-train rides through a 1860s-themed park. The area supports whitewater rafting in warmer months and serves as a base for nearby Grandfather Mountain.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Eureka Springs in the Arkansas Ozarks has functioned as a resort town since the late 1870s, when the local mineral springs drew health-seekers. The downtown is a preserved Victorian-era landscape built into the hillsides, with narrow winding streets that are essentially pedestrian-only in the historic core. The town is on the National Register of Historic Places and was recognised as a "Distinctive Destination" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Beyond the architecture, the Thorncrown Chapel (a 48-foot glass-walled chapel designed by E. Fay Jones in 1980 and named one of the American Institute of Architects' top buildings of the 20th century) sits in the woods outside town. The Crescent Hotel (1886) operates as a haunted hotel with regular paranormal tours.

Helen, Georgia

Helen sits in the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains and was rebranded as a Bavarian Alpine town in 1969 in a successful effort to revive a struggling lumber town. Every commercial building in the compact downtown now wears a Bavarian facade. Oktoberfest runs from September through early November with the longest run of any US Oktoberfest. Nearby, Unicoi State Park offers lakefront camping, hiking, and fishing. Chattahoochee National Forest surrounds the town with trails leading to Anna Ruby Falls (a twin waterfall) and Raven Cliff Falls. Hardman Farm State Historic Site preserves the Nacoochee Indian Mound burial site and the 1870 Hardman Farm homestead.

Manteo, North Carolina

Manteo sits on Roanoke Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Roanoke Island is the site of the first attempted English colony in North America, established in 1585, which vanished by 1590 in what history calls the Lost Colony (the first permanent English colony was Jamestown in 1607). The fate of the Lost Colony remains one of America's enduring historical mysteries. Roanoke Island Festival Park covers this story with exhibits, a replica 16th-century ship (Elizabeth II), and costumed interpreters. The Elizabethan Gardens preserves period-appropriate plantings. Downtown Manteo's compact historic district holds independent bookstores, boutiques, and the waterfront. Outer Banks Distilling in town produces Kill Devil Rum, named after nearby Kill Devil Hills.

Maysville, Kentucky

Maysville sits on the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky, roughly an hour from Cincinnati or Lexington. The town is best known today for its bourbon heritage: Old Pogue Distillery is a sixth-generation family bourbon producer, with roots going back to the late 19th century, offering tours and tastings in town. The historic Russell Theatre (built 1930) is a beautifully preserved movie palace. The town's historic Cox Building houses the tourism office and a gift shop. The riverfront location on the Ohio offers views and walks, and Maysville's arts community is active around the downtown galleries and antique shops.

Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Ponchatoula is the oldest incorporated city in Tangipahoa Parish in southeastern Louisiana, just north of Lake Pontchartrain and not far from Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The town's name comes from a Choctaw word commonly translated as "hair hanging" in reference to the Spanish moss draping the ancient oaks throughout the area. Ponchatoula has built its modern identity around strawberry farming (the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival each April draws tens of thousands), and the town bills itself as "America's Antique City" thanks to its concentration of antique shops in the historic downtown. The Ponchatoula Country Market in the restored historic train depot is the anchor for local crafts, antiques, and handmade items.

Saint Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine was founded by the Spanish in 1565 and is the oldest continuously occupied European-founded city in the continental US. The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, built between 1672 and 1695 of coquina (a shell-based limestone unique to the Florida coast), is the oldest masonry fort in the continental US and still stands in near-original condition. The downtown's cobblestone streets, lined with Spanish moss-draped live oaks and Spanish Renaissance architecture, hold independent shops, craft breweries, distilleries, and the Columbia Restaurant (a Cuban-Spanish institution with multiple Florida locations, but the St. Augustine location is on St. George Street). Henry Flagler's 1888 Ponce de Leon Hotel is now Flagler College, open for public tours of its Tiffany stained glass and grand dining hall.

Tarpon Springs, Florida

Tarpon Springs is a Gulf of Mexico town about 45 minutes north of St. Petersburg, famous for its Greek sponge-diving industry that began in the early 1900s when Greek divers from the Dodecanese Islands were recruited to work the sponge beds. The town has the highest percentage of Greek-Americans of any US city, and the sponge-diving industry still operates today. The historic Sponge Docks are the main waterfront district, with Greek bakeries (try Hellas), tavernas, sponge shops, and dive boats. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral downtown is a stunning Byzantine-style church. The Tarpon Springs Performing Arts and Cultural Center runs concerts and theatre year-round. The town's Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Eight Towns, Eight Southern Traditions

These eight towns cover the Southern United States' distinct regional identities: Blue Ridge mountain town in Blowing Rock, Ozark Victorian resort in Eureka Springs, Appalachian Bavarian-themed village in Helen, Outer Banks island town in Manteo, Ohio River bourbon town in Maysville, Louisiana strawberry country in Ponchatoula, Spanish colonial Florida in St. Augustine, and Gulf Coast Greek community in Tarpon Springs. Each brings something specific and local to the visit.