The Best Small Town to Visit in All 50 Statess

Here's CA's BEST:

(since we're heading to the coast you may want to stop here)

California: San Luis Obispo

Population: 46,730
In the state with a full 10th of the US population, finding one small city to call “best” is nearly impossible. You’ve got the tiny towns of wine country like Sonoma, Napa, and Buellton. The Scandinavian charm of Solvang. The food in Healdsburg. Turlock.

So what puts SLO on top? Well, the setting for one. Nestled in the hills of California’s fabled Central Coast, it’s only a short trip to Hearst Castle, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Morro Bay, and wine country. But even if you don’t leave the city, there’s plenty to see -- the public art is better than in many large cities, including creatively decorated utility boxes and a 70-foot alley covered in bubblegum. A trip on the first Friday of the month lets you experience Art After Dark, a stroll through SLO’s finest galleries and performance spaces. Go in the summer and you’ll catch a free concert in the Spanish-colonial Mission Plaza. Forty miles of hiking and biking trails extend from the center of Downtown, so you can explore that gorgeous coastline from something other than your car. -- M.M.