Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
It does not get more touristy than Myrtle Beach SC
Galena, IL, population 3429, gets 1 million+ visitors a year. For the life of me I don’t know why.
Manitou Springs, Colo. – pop. 4980 in 2000 – odd little artist’s colony at the base of Pike’s Peak. The biggest attraction is Garden of the Gods, which is spectacular even by Rocky Mountain standards.
I think Helen, GA qualifies.
Their Oktoberfest is supposedly the best in the Southeast (not a mecca for Germans and Polka, but hey… you go with what you got).
Cooperstown, NY has already been mentioned, but it’s what I first thought of.
Some others in my neck of the woods not yet mentioned are Block Island (technically, New Shoreham), RI; Woodstock, VT; Manchester / Manchester Center, VT; and Skaneateles, NY. Further afield I could mention Ely, MN (although I’ll agree that Grand Marais is probably nicer) and perhaps Ocracoke, NC.
Moab, Utah.
You won’t regret it.
Mitchell, SD - Mitchell Corn Palace
Dyersville, IA - Field of Dreams
[nitpick]17 Mile Drive[/nitpick]
If Carmel is a bit too twee for one’s taste, go next door to Pacific Grove, CA. Fewer antique shops and precious lunch cafes. It’s claim to fame is that it’s a wintering stop for migrating monarch butterflies, and calls itself “Butterfly Town, USA”, and has a parade every year welcoming the butterflies back. They tend to cut down the butterfly trees to build motels, though, to house tourists who wonder where the butterflies are.
I once spent a weekend in Estes Park, CO’s other creepy hotel. Good times.
There are tons of towns in New Hampshire and Maine with under 10K in population that are considered tourist areas; my own town for example. But I’ll be damned if I have any idea what people are coming up here to do (other than ski during the winter). Yet all summer the campgrounds are full to the brim and businesses raise prices to fleece tourists. Are there really people who live so surrounded by buildings and concrete that merely seeing trees and lakes is exciting?
I had a big post, but the hamsters ate it. Frickin’ hamsters!
Anyway…
Tybee Island, off the coast of Georgia, is basically a resort area with a small permanent town.
So are Macinac Island and Kelly’s Island, in the Great Lakes. There’s also Put-in-Bay, a tourist town on the coast of northeastern Ohio.
Eastern Long Island (in downstate NY) has lots of tourist towns. Almost any of the hamlets or villages in East Hampton would count, as would some of the small towns in Suffolk County, like Port Jefferson.
Gardiner, Montana gets most of its income from being a major entry point to Yellowstone National Park.
Springdale, Utah makes most of its money from tourism. It’s right next to Zion National Park.
Oatman, AZ
Take carrots for the burros. They close Main Street 3-4 times a day to hold gunfights.
Death Valley Junction, CA
Home of the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel.
Baker, CA
It is between Primm and Barstow. Notable highlights would be the Mad Greek restaurant, Alien Fresh Jerky and the World’s Largest Thermometer.
I got a postcard from Solvang, CA once and decided if I was ever in Santa Barbara county I’d go there; it looks very charming. OH, this year’s is it’s Centennial! A hundred years of Danes, wahoo!
I used to think I could be happy living in Springdale, even if my job was just making pizzas. To have Zion as my backyard…what a wonderful thing it would be! After talking with the locals, though, I’m not so sure. There seemed to be a lot of bad blood between the actual residents and out-of-town business owners.
The thermometer, sadly, has been in a state of disrepair for a while. Or has been, at least, when I’ve passed through the last two Decembers. The Mad Greek is definitely worth the stop, though.
Quite charming. Paula’s Pancake House has tasty food. But more importantly, between the 101 Freeway and the actual town of Solvang lies the farm where you can risk your fingers by feeding the emus and ostriches!
You really should give the Oregon Shakespeare Festival its due.
I’ve been there for theater. I’ve never been there for skiing.
Great town, though.
My nomination is Virginia City, NV.
Murrells Inlet, SC
I live about 3 miles from where the marina photo on the wiki page was taken.
More stuff here
If you go to Santa Barbara, check out the Channel Islands - especially if you love the outdoors. The national park info can be found at this link. http://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm
If you are in Washington State, my home town of Port Townsend. It’s under 10k and definitely geared towards tourists. It’s got a lot of Victorian buildings, plenty of nature in the environs (mountains, woods, sea), bunches of artists and some fun festivals mostly in late summer early fall (Kinetic Sculpture Race, Wooden Boat Festival, Film Festival to name a few).
Oh, and there’s Fort Worden, which used to be a military training ground and was where “An Officer and a Gentleman” was filmed. There’s also the remains of a bunker system there which is fun to explore.
Quite a few of these can be found in Upstate NY, especial the Finger Lakes, Adirondack, and Leatherstocking regions.
People have already mentioned Cooperstown and Lake George, which are tourist meccas, but I’ll add…
Watkins Glen: Home to the gorges and waterfalls of Watkins Glen State Park and the Watkins Glen International Speedway. Gateway to the wine country around Lake Seneca.
Corning: Headquarters of the Corning Corporation and their wonderful Museum of Glass, as well as the underrated Rockwell Museum of Western Art.
Old Forge: Basically exists to make money of visitors to Enchanted Forest Water Safari.
Owego: Awarded Coolest Small Town in the United States by Budget Travel Magazine.
Hammondsport: Perhaps the most important winery town in the Finger Lakes, and also home of the Glenn Curtiss Aviation Museum.
Cherry Valley: Not far from Cooperstown, but off the beaten path. Longtime retreat for artsy types, through best known for the historical massacre.