Small Towns, Big Magic America’s endearing towns and villages serve up leisure at a more measured pace. BY DEBRA BOKUR Gear Up: The Old Souls outfitters on Main Street in Cold Spring, New York PHOTO: © CHERYL FLEISHMAN | DREAMSTIME.COM
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rom sleepy Southern villages lined with blossoming magnolias to mountain hamlets hosting quirky festivals, small towns are enjoying their day in the sun. Popular television shows like HGTV’s Home Town, filmed in beguiling Laurel, Mississippi, make millions of people aware of the charms of non-urban life. It turns out an ever-growing demographic is more than happy to trade the prospect of bright nights and city lights for more local, personalized experiences — a preference that applies not only to where real estate roots are planted but to where tourism dollars are spent. Set upon the banks of the Hudson River an hour north of Manhattan — and easily reachable by direct train from Grand Central Terminal — the sweet little town of Cold Spring, New York, looks like a film set, whatever the season. From the picturesque train station with its track-side restaurant to the ice cream parlor just across the street, the riverside gazebo and the fun
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mix of high-end branded shops and locally owned stores filled with unique wares, Cold Spring offers an easy city getaway or a serene destination all on its own. Much like Cold Spring, the waterside town of Narragansett, Rhode Island, lies an easy distance from a city (this time, Providence) but feels as though it’s a million peaceful miles away. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Narragansett boasts more than 18 miles of beaches and nearby hiking areas with routes that include Whale Rock Trail and Black Point Trail. You can order a cabinet (Rhode Island’s take on a milkshake; coffee-flavored is a local institution) and a “stuffie,” featuring local clams called quahogs, then stroll over to the stone Towers on the waterfront to count the sailboats. Later, enjoy a sunset cocktail at The Coast Guard House restaurant, located between The Towers. Maybe it’s an essence of connectivity — an innate feeling of “I could belong here”— that makes small towns so enticing. Sometimes, it isn’t just
