Best Small Towns

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Back to CaliforniaCalifornia's Best Small Towns and Villages

St. Helena: In the heart of the Napa Valley, St. Helena is known for its Main Street. In a horse and buggy, Robert Louis Stevenson and his bride once made their way down this thoroughfare lined with Victorian homes. The Painted Ladies remain, but now they're stores for designer clothing, hardware, bath products, you name it. Come for the old-time, tranquil mood and the food.

Mendocino: An artists' colony with a New England flavor, Mendocino served as the backdrop for Murder, She Wrote. On the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, it's filled with small art galleries, general stores, weathered wooden houses, and organically inclined restaurants.

Arcata: If you're losing faith in America, restore it by spending a few days in this Northern California coastal town. Arcata has it all: its own redwood forest and bird marsh, a charming town square, great family-owned restaurants, even its own minor-league baseball team, which draws the whole town together on many an afternoon.

Nevada City: The entire town is a national historic landmark and the best place to understand Gold Rush fever. Settled in 1849, it offers fine dining and shopping and a stock of the multigabled Victorian frame houses of the Old West. Relics of the Donner Party are on display at the 1861 Firehouse No. 1.

Pacific Grove: You can escape the Monterey crowds by heading 2 miles west to Pacific Grove, known for its tranquil waterfront and unspoiled air. Thousands of monarch butterflies flock here between October and March.

Ojai: When filmmakers needed a Shangri-La for the movie Lost Horizon, they drove to Ojai Valley, with its unspoiled eucalyptus groves and small ranches nestled in soft, green hills. Ojai is the amiable village at the valley's heart. It's a mecca for artists, free spirits, and weary city folk in need of a restful weekend in the country.

Santa Catalina Island: A day trip to the small town of Catalina makes for a most indulgent day: Take a scenic boat ride, shop, snorkel and dive, golf, hike, lick ice cream, get a sunburn, and barhop sans fear of a DUI. Tip: The helicopter taxi is cheaper than you'd expect.

Julian: This old mining town in the Cuyamaca Mountains near San Diego has long been known for its apple harvest, its apple pies, and its charming bed-and-breakfasts. Forest fires in October 2003 shook Julian and the surrounding communities, but from a touring standpoint, most of the area is back to normal. There's plenty of pioneer legacy here, including a local-history museum, an 1888 schoolhouse, and mining demonstrations.