National Geographic Guide to Small Town Escapes

by National Geographic Society

Book Overview

This guide to 80 small towns across America includes narratives, plus information on what to do once you're there. National Geographic's expert travel writers have chosen 80 small towns. Each town is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0792275896
• ISBN13: 9780792275893
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: National Geographic Society
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A great guide to take on a road trip

This was one of our "most valuable" books when we took our year long adventure around the USA. The towns they describe are really worth exploring -- they are the way towns used to be in this country. We came back from our adventure and wrote "Live Your Road Trip Dream" to help other road trippers actually get move from the dreaming to the doing for their trip of a lifetime.

Escape for a Season or So

Escape for a Season or So Every so often someone comes along who tells me that if they won "the Lottery" one of the things they would like to do is travel. Well, I would, too, except that I want to do more than just pay a visit, I want to stay a while... perhaps a season or so. This book just whets my appetitie for such travel. I have been to a number of the towns in this book. Just for one example, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is as good as it gets. If you visit Eureka Springs in the Autumn, the trees of the Ozarks are gorgeous. Coming in from the west, you might even see a cloud in the one of the valleys below. You'll probably pass by Thorncrown Chapel which is one like no other. Once in Eureka you'll find the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway and the only church in the world through which you will enter through the bell tower, St Elizabeth's. Ripley's Believe It or Not once mentioned this story. You'll want to stay for more than a visit to Eureka Springs because nearby is the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield just to mention one.This book is about places like this one from one coast to the other. I have visited some of them and they are all just as fascinating. I wish that I could see them all.

Tired of tourist traps? Get this book!

Are you one of those people who hates crowded, commercialized destinations? My idea of a vacation is NOT fighting traffic and waiting in lines and seeing row upon row of tacky giftshops that are all the same. If you want to get off the beaten track a bit (but not totally away from civilization), this is the perfect book to help you plan your family vacation! It lists 77 towns - the maps are great of course, the pictures are captivating, and they tell you what's so great about the town, where to stay, where to eat, and even where to shop, if you're so inclined. I can speak for only two of the destinations listed in the book, but both of them are fantastic. We've been to Ephraim, Wisconsin (in Door County) twice now and we're going back too! The other town we've been to is Ouray, Colorado. Even though we were just passing through there, and only got to stop for lunch, I can see where this town is a great destination all its own. Get this book, pick a location, and pack up the car and you'll have a great vacation!Happy traveling!

NG Guide to Small Town Escapes: Paradise Found

For anyone who enjoys the out-of-the-way small towns and villages, this guide book is a must. It is so well-written that the unique feeling you get about each place compells you to make an actual visit there. A perfect example is the story about Cutchogue, Long Island, New York. After reading so much about the movie stars, the Clintons and other glitterati in the Hamptons on the South Fork of L.I., I was utterly amazed that there is such a small undisturbed rural paradise (at least until this Guide was published)on the North Fork across Great Peconic Bay. The wineries, farm stands, historic sites and great seafood restaurants made our brief weekend visit a true delight. The Guide gave just enough data to locate Cutchogue and its environs to make the drive easy. The Cutchogue residents we encountered were amazingly friendly and helpful in giving directions to a few haunts of the locals that made this a definite "come again" destination. I trust the other places listed in the Guide are equally as wonderful as the one we experienced.