- Travel + Leisure named Boone, NC, the best small mountain town in the U.S. for 2025.
- The publication highlighted Boone’s vibrant culture and recovery from Hurricane Helene.
A month after Asheville made Travel + Leisure’s 2025 list of best U.S. travel destinations, another Western North Carolina town has been recognized by the website.
Travel media website Travel + Leisure publishes travel guides, lists of suggestions and more. On July 18, the Citizen Times covered Asheville’s inclusion among the publication’s best U.S. travel destinations of 2025. The city was chosen based on a survey with more than 657,000 respondents.
In a new study, T+L recognized America’s best small towns across a number of categories including small beach towns, small shopping towns, small food and drinks towns and more. With the help of an expert panel, one WNC town stood out. Here’s what T+L loved, plus the whole list and more.
What to do in Boone, NC
“Rising from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, Boone, North Carolina, hums with a renewed spirit.”
Boone was the winner of T+L’s “best mountain town” category for 2025. Andy Long, chef and co-owner of Over Yonder, was quoted in the entry, describing his love of the town as a place that was “small enough to know your neighbors, big enough to have a vibrant dining and music scene.”
The town’s entry on the list also included a number of suggestions for what to do while visiting Boone. Here’s what writers urged travelers to try:
- Stay at Horton Hotel, which will unveil new luxury suites this fall, 1850 Hotel, which opened in March 2025 on historic King Street or Rhode’s Motor Lodge, for its “mid-century charm.”
- Dine at Asian eateries The Happy Persimmon and CoBo Sushi Bistro.
- Sip at a number of local vineyards.
- Visit exhibitions including Jack Boul: Land, City, Home at The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum.
- Attend events such as “iconic” Tweetsie Railroad’s Heritage Weekend in August.
Best small towns in the US
The full list of America’s best small towns according to T+L:
- Best Small Beach Town – Asbury Park, New Jersey
- Best Small Mountain Town – Boone, North Carolina
- Best Small Lake Town – Ogallala, Nebraska
- Best Small Desert Town – El Centro, California
- Best Small Arts + Culture Town – Sewanee, Tennessee
- Best Small Spa + Wellness Town – Mineral Wells, Texas
- Best Small Retirement Town – Panama City Beach, Florida
- Best Small Family Town – Frankenmuth, Michigan
- Best Small Shopping Town – Taos, New Mexico
- Best Small Food + Drinks Town – Bardstown, Kentucky
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
