{"id":1052,"date":"2017-05-08T12:25:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-08T16:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/?p=1052"},"modified":"2018-01-31T11:23:43","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T16:23:43","slug":"the-20-best-small-towns-to-visit-in-2017-from-remote-hideaways-to-coastal-harbors-discover-the-towns-that-topped-our-list-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/uncategorized\/the-20-best-small-towns-to-visit-in-2017-from-remote-hideaways-to-coastal-harbors-discover-the-towns-that-topped-our-list-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2017  From remote hideaways to coastal harbors, discover the towns that topped our list this year"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"by-line\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>As noted by\u00a0<span class=\"author-name\">Jackie Mansky with additional research by Lauren Johnson and Jesse Sparks on<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"edition\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"pub-edition\">smithsonian.com<br \/>\n<\/span><time class=\"pub-date\">May 2, 2017<\/time><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"edition\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"edition\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"edition\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1061\" src=\"http:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/istock-478509504.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1072\" height=\"717\" \/><br \/>\n<strong>Rockland Harbor Breakwater Lighthouse <span class=\"credits\">(shakzu \/ iStock)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Your favorite small town probably doesn\u2019t look quite like how Norman Rockwell drew it. Small towns may be united by their modest population sizes, but they\u2019re remarkable for their diversity of character. And so for the sixth-annual round of Smithsonian.com&#8217;s America\u2019s Best Small Towns, we set out on a quest to find 20 great slice-of-life (and if you\u2019re Rockland, Maine, also award-winning slice-of-pie) small towns\u00a0full of unique flavor<\/p>\n<p>To help us on our task, we once again consulted geographical information company Esri (which sorts towns with a population under 20,000) to identify tiny towns chock full of local culture, history and natural beauty. We then narrowed down our list to pinpoint the destinations that are especially worth making the trip to this year\u2014whether they\u2019re celebrating a special birthday, commemorating a famous resident or happen to be smack on the path of the \u201cGreat American Eclipse.\u201d\u00a0\u200b<\/p>\n<p>Our top 20 picks range from\u00a0the well-traveled\u00a0to the offbeat, but each town shares a special something that makes it ripe for discovery in 2017. Happy travels!<\/p>\n<p>Rockland was first called<a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=Xpx6WoPz7xIC&amp;pg=PA16&amp;lpg=PA16&amp;dq=Catawamtek+rockland&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=lwxH3JMnQn&amp;sig=lVnlYkcKSlEZKjaq4afhEL9JDFU&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi5ism0w7DTAhXo64MKHeP0DQwQ6AEIQjAG#v=onepage&amp;q=Catawamtek&amp;f=false\">\u00a0Catawamtek<\/a>\u00a0by the Abenaki people. The word means a \u201cgreat landing place\u201d and it\u2019s a sentiment that still rings true today for the many who seek out the charming fishing community. During your stay, check out the local businesses on the town\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocklandmainstreet.com\/About\">\u00a0beloved Maine Street<\/a>. There you can learn about Maine\u2019s \u201csea parrots\u201d at the Audubon\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/projectpuffin.audubon.org\/visit-us\/project-puffin-visitor-center\">Project Puffin<\/a>\u201d and catch a show at the historic<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocklandstrand.com\/\">\u00a0Strand Theatre<\/a>. Afterward,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lighthousefoundation.org\/what-we-do\/programs\/lighthouse-tours\/tour-rockland-breakwater-light\/\">tour the lighthouse<\/a>\u00a0and soak in the natural beauty of midcoast Maine.<\/p>\n<p>Rockland\u2019s\u00a0lighting has long made the picturesque seaside town a place for artists. This year, one artist in particular is getting the Rockland shine: Andrew Wyeth. In honor of the painters 100th birthday, Rockland\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/www.farnsworthmuseum.org\/wyethexperience\">\u00a0Farnswoth Art Museum<\/a>\u00a0is hosting an exhibition that will include rare and privately held works, showing off the range and scope of the artist who never stopped being influenced by Maine.<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to browse the rest of Farnsworth\u2019s massive collection when you\u2019re there\u2014contained within its walls you\u2019ll find an authoritative look at the development of art in the state. The museum pairs well with the forward-looking<a href=\"http:\/\/cmcanow.org\/\">\u00a0Center for Maine Contemporary Art<\/a>\u00a0and the<a href=\"http:\/\/artwalkmaine.org\/rockland-first-friday-artwalk\/\">\u00a0First Friday Art Walk<\/a>\u00a0on Main Street, where the next<a href=\"http:\/\/cmcanow.org\/event\/alex-katz-small-paintings\/\">\u00a0Alex Katz<\/a>\u00a0just might be showing.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re in Rockland for the summer, come for the famed<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mainelobsterfestival.com\/festival-info\/\">\u00a0Maine Lobster Festival<\/a>. The five-day bash, which turns 70 this summer, started out as a local festival and has evolved into a huge tradition of great eats and<a href=\"http:\/\/knox.villagesoup.com\/p\/lobster-festival-donates-to-four-local-nonprofits\/1638581\">\u00a0giving back<\/a>\u00a0to great local causes.<\/p>\n<p>If you can\u2019t make it out for the crustacean celebration, never fear. The festival recommends getting your fix year round at<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelobstershack04841\/\">\u00a0The Lobster Shack<\/a>\u00a0or the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thelandingsrestaurant.com\/\">\u00a0The Landings<\/a>. Lynn Archer\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/thebrasscompasscafe.com\/\">\u00a0Brass Compass Cafe<\/a>, a Rockland staple, which is home to<a href=\"http:\/\/maine.eater.com\/2013\/7\/18\/6400531\/the-most-famous-club-sandwich-in-maine\">\u00a0the mighty \u201cKing of Clubs&#8221; lobster club<\/a>, is also worth saving room for. If you\u2019re not squeamish, you can check out how your dinner makes it onto your plate by setting sail on a Rockland<a href=\"http:\/\/www.captainjacklobstertours.com\/\">\u00a0lobster boat tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t leave Rockland without trying a bite of pie. The town didn\u2019t earn the nickname \u201cPie Town USA\u201d by the Food Network for nothing. The honor is thanks in large part to the \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.foodnetwork.com\/restaurants\/me\/rockland\/pie-moms-at-the-berry-manor-inn-restaurant\">Pie Moms<\/a>,\u201d the mothers of the owners at the beautiful<a href=\"http:\/\/www.berrymanorinn.com\/\">\u00a0Berry Manor Inn<\/a>\u00a0who serve up a mean slice of mixed berry. You can try their pie along with plenty of others, savory and sweet, at Rockland\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/mainetoday.com\/news\/get-pie-eyed-at-the-rockland-pie-tour\/\">\u00a0annual pie-a-thon<\/a>\u00a0in January. For true believers, the Berry Manor, as well as the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.limerockinn.com\/\">\u00a0LimeRock<\/a>\u00a0and<a href=\"http:\/\/www.oldgraniteinn.com\/\">\u00a0Granite<\/a>\u00a0historic inns offer packaged pie lodging specials to complete a pie-fect experience.<\/p>\n<p>Read more: http:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/travel\/20-best-small-towns-visit-2017-180962925\/#IxpZZEK78JCRQrcv.99<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As noted by\u00a0Jackie Mansky with additional research by Lauren Johnson and Jesse Sparks on smithsonian.com May 2, 2017 Rockland Harbor Breakwater Lighthouse (shakzu \/ iStock) Your favorite small town probably doesn\u2019t look quite like how Norman Rockwell drew it. Small towns may be united by their modest population sizes, but they\u2019re remarkable for their diversity [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bartlettwoods.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}