# Remote and/or exotic towns/settlements/areas in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530 "2013-09-10T22:03:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/21 "2013-09-11T09:38:11Z")
Gay towns? Key West. On that same theme, Dry Tortugas National Park might be the most remote national park in the system, requiring a several hour ferry from Key West, which is rather isolated to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/22 "2013-09-11T10:30:12Z")
Well, Provincetown is pretty gay. I was thinking if buying some property in Shelter Cove, CA. It’s the perfect spot to survive a nuclear holocaust. Wiinds tend to be westerly, so fallout won’t be much of a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/23 "2013-09-11T17:11:33Z")
Pago Pago ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/24 "2013-09-11T17:21:50Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Two small towns with only one access road: > > Kaskaskia, Illinois, can only be accessed via State Route 15 from US 61 - in Missouri. > > Grand Isle, Louisiana, can only be accessed via State Route 1 - a three hour drive from New Orleans. Nice beaches and the warmest water I’ve ever been in. How about zero access roads? [Stehekin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stehekin,_Washington), Washington - 75 year round residents, great scenery and hiking. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/25 "2013-09-11T17:23:42Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > For example, other than perhaps San Francisco, are there any “gay towns”? Massachusetts has Provincetown, MA which is a trek to get to at the tip of Cape Cod if you drive and is well-known for being highly gay. It also has Northampton, MA (Lesbianville, USA). ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/26 "2013-09-11T17:33:23Z")
[Smith Island, Maryland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Island,_Maryland), is an interesting little place in the middle of Chesapeake Bay near the Virginia border. You can get there by boat from Solomons, MD or Crisfield, MD, both of which are pretty out-of-the-way themselves. It’s worth the trip just for the lunch at the restaurant where the boats land. Rent a bike or a golf cart and explore the whole island. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/27 "2013-09-11T17:33:37Z")
There are a whole bunch of islands off the coast of Maine that are only lightly inhabited, sometimes in the single digits. A few of them have regular ferry service so it isn’t too hard to reach them as a visitor if you really want to. Come to think of it, Northern Maine has plenty of really remote areas in general even on the mainland. See the Cranberry islands for some examples: [http://cranberryisles.com/visiting.html](http://cranberryisles.com/visiting.html) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/28 "2013-09-11T17:41:59Z")
You could hit all of the [Extreme Points of the United States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_the_United_States), or the towns nearby them. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/29 "2013-09-11T17:56:26Z")
> [@jsquire](#): > > On that same theme, Dry Tortugas National Park might be the most remote national park in the system, requiring a several hour ferry from Key West, which is rather isolated to begin with. I love the Dry Tortugas, but no way is the most remote park in the system. Isle Royale has fewer visitors at 16,009 anually. but one of the National Parks in Alaska, Kobuk Valley, averages less than 1000 visitors a year, IIRC. Dry Tortugas gets about 60,000. [least visited national parks](http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/national-parks-124040809#slide-5) ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/30 "2013-09-11T18:05:29Z")
The northwestern edge of the Great Midwest Prairie (so that would be eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming [basically all of Wyoming is pretty void of human life], and western North Dakota) is really freaking remote. I lived in a town of 500 people in southeastern Montana that required you to drive 45 minutes in either direction before you could reach a grocery store. If my memory serves, I once drove the 3-hour trek to Gillette, WY without once encountering another car on the road. There are a few destinations out there in the general vicinity that would make the trip worth it – Devil’s Tower in WY, Spearfish Canyon/Mt. Rushmore in western SD, for two. The drive from Sheridan, WY to Cody, WY is one of the most beautiful roads in America (the Big Horn Scenic Byway). You’d be near Yellowstone, too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/31 "2013-09-11T18:22:03Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I love the Dry Tortugas, but no way is the most remote park in the system. Isle Royale has fewer visitors at 16,009 anually. but one of the National Parks in Alaska, Kobuk Valley, averages less than 1000 visitors a year, IIRC. Dry Tortugas gets about 60,000. > > [least visited national parks](http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/national-parks-124040809#slide-5) He could also take a look at [Aniakchak National Monument](http://www.nps.gov/ania/index.htm), a place I’ve always wanted to visit, but never got to. No indigenous people, only accessible by small float plane, Aniakchak is an extinct volcano, with a 6-mile wide caldera. They do rafting trips down the river that originates in the caldera and exits through the canyon created when the volcano blew. This is a truly remote and unique place. One of the first people to explore it thoroughly was Bernard Hubbard, S.J., who wrote a couple of books about his explorations of Southwest Alaska in the early part of the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/32 "2013-09-11T18:46:37Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > [Supai, Arizona](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supai,_Arizona). Although it’s adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park and it only takes a couple hours to get _close_ to it from Flagstaff, Wikipedia calls it the most isolated community in the continental U.S. You can only get there by helicopter or foot/animal (around 10 miles) once you reach the plateau it’s located under. Mail goes out by mule train every week. > > Culturally, they aren’t isolated more than the average Indian tribe since they make money from tourism, (combined of course with the differences from city life that come from being in an isolated small town.) > > I have a feeling this physical isolation is partly on purpose, because on some maps there is a Jeep trail that leads to Supai. So there may have been a road there at one point that could have been improved but at some point they decided to just close it. Then again it may have been from the Grand Canyon park itself and I think there was a legal challenge the Supai Tribe had to go through to get as much land as they currently have back. Supai is my favorite place in all the world. I have been there dozens of times. Currently, I have spent 54 days of my life there and I hope to spend more than 1 year total of my life in that canyon. In fact, I first came to Las Vegas to hike down there and moved here in part because it was close to Supai. There is no Jeep trail down there, just a footpath that is also used by mules and horses. The hike to the village takes 3-4 hours depending; the helicopter ride is about 8 minutes. Hiking out can take anywhere from 3-6 hours. This canyon is hands-down the most beautiful place I have ever been. It is not easy to get to nor easy to hike from the campground to the Colorado, but it is my absolute favorite thing in the world to do. It is a breath-taking and breathtakingly beautiful journey; I think I have made that hike about 40 times. If you are not an experienced backpacker, please plan your trip carefully and consult people who are experienced. The canyon can be a dangerous place if you don’t know what you are doing. People who are afraid of heights should think three or four times before making this their destination. ETA: [Here is a picture I took of Havasu Falls, which is at the campground head, back in 1998 or so](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/snowboarderbo/media/HavasuFalls1.jpg.html). It was taken from the trail. I have many (literally hundreds) of photos I have taken down there over the years. I have been in all seasons, but spring (April & May) is my favorite time to be down there. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/33 "2013-09-11T19:01:56Z")
[Kiryas Joel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiryas_Joel,_New_York) is by no means remote (it’s not far from NYC) but I think it would fit your other requirements. It’s a predominately Hasidic village, the primary language is Yiddish, it’s one of the youngest towns in the US, and also one of the poorest. On a somewhat similar note, there are a number of towns in Maine that are [predominantly French-speaking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language_in_the_United_States#Francophone_communities), though it may not seem all that exotic all the way up there near Quebec. [Gibsonton, Florida](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibsonton,_Florida) is known as a retirement town for circus/sideshow performers. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/34 "2013-09-11T19:03:30Z")
Oh, and of course there are the Amish towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio…well-known, yes, but definitely different, especially the ones off the tourist path. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/35 "2013-09-11T19:09:42Z")
A bit of a different response to your question, but maybe of interest… [Kaiserslautern](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiserslautern)is a city of about 100,000 people in southwest Germany. On top of that there are about 50,000 Americans living there, associated with the US military, and making up the largest concentration of Americans outside the US. So it’s kind of an American “town,” but in a unique setting… ---
**Author:** ![aesop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@aesop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aesop)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/36 "2013-09-11T19:18:52Z")
[Cedar Key, Florida](http://www.cedarkey.org/) It’s nowhere near the Florida Keys. In fact it’s nowhere near anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/37 "2013-09-11T19:20:07Z")
One unusual set of “remote” locations are the various small islands in New York City. Some of them like [City Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Island,_Bronx) and [Roosevelt Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island) have communities which are relatively isolated considering they’re in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world. Others are uninhabited. [Mill Rock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_Rock), for example, used to be a city park that was accessible by boat but the city closed the park fifty years ago and let it “go back to nature”. Or [North Brother Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Brother_Island,_East_River), which was the sight of a city-run hospital that also was closed back in the sixties. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/38 "2013-09-11T19:28:34Z")
I’m kinda partial to [Lajitas](http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/bigbend_lajitas.php?gclid=CIe25KqIxLkCFY3m7AodkAYAVg). It’s in the Texas Big Bend, lonely, remote, harsh and stunning beautiful desert. Terlingua is just down the road a piece if you need some groceries. Another is [Homer, AK](https://www.google.com/search?q=homer,+ak&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=oMMwUtqlLIfc2QW9vICYDA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1158&bih=296&dpr=1). While it’s Tom Bodette’s ‘End of the Road’, it’s not impossible to get to but you can’t go far past it. It is though fairly _exotic_ in a mountainous, glacial, artsy, ginormous halibut kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/39 "2013-09-11T19:44:39Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Another is [Homer, AK](https://www.google.com/search?q=homer,+ak&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=oMMwUtqlLIfc2QW9vICYDA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1158&bih=296&dpr=1). While it’s Tom Bodette’s ‘End of the Road’, it’s not impossible to get to but you can’t go far past it. It is though fairly _exotic_ in a mountainous, glacial, artsy, ginormous halibut kind of way. It’s known for being a more liberal, artsy community than most of Alaska, although there are some end-of-the-roaders there, also. Katchemak Bay is gloriously beautiful. Lots of tourists in the summer, though, taking fishing and touring charters off the Spit. It’s also where Jewel Kilcher was from. For someone who wants to be more of a loner, it’s not a bad place. Lots of kayak water, hiking areas, wildlife, etc. There’s a shorebird festival there every year. The town of [McCarthy, AK](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthy,_Alaska) (pop 30) might fit the bill. You can actually drive there via the old McCarthy Road off the Edgerton Highway. Very scenic, located near the headwaters of the Copper River and next to the now-defunct [Kennecott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennecott,_Alaska) Copper Mine. There are a few tourist-oriented businesses in the town and a charter air service. A flight down the Copper River to Cordova is money well spent. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530/40 "2013-09-11T20:02:22Z")
I came here to mention Stehekin, Washington, and the francophone communities of northern Maine but they’ve been mentioned already. How about the towns in Alaska that can be driven to from Canada but not from the rest of Alaska. They are [Skagway](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagway,_Alaska), [Haines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haines,_Alaska), and [Hyder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyder,_Alaska). There’s a settlement in Maine called [Estcourt Station](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estcourt_Station,_Maine) that you can’t get to by public road except through Quebec. You can, however, get there from the rest of Maine on private logging roads if you pay a fee. Some of the houses were built before people knew where the boundary was and they turned out to straddle it. The people who live in those houses have a dispensation to cross the border to get to the bathroom without reporting to the border services. On a similar note, there is a [library](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskell_Free_Library_and_Opera_House) that straddles the border between Stanstead, QC, and Derby Line, VT. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-and-or-exotic-towns-settlements-areas-in-the-us/668530.md?page=3)