Mountain Blogging Day 4: Small Town Cool

BREVARD - When Budget Travel went looking for "America's Coolest Small Towns" this year, the 6,716 people in Brevard knew they had a very good chance to make the cut.

"It was a natural choice", says Transylvania Community Arts Council Executive Director Tammy Hopkins. "We're surrounded by natural beauty, we're an art hub, we've got outdoor activities and great restaurants. We're a small town, but we're just an hour from Asheville, two from Charlotte, and three from Atlanta. And people from those places love coming here to escape."

Indeed, this little town south of Asheville seems to have it all. It's set in the heart of North Carolina mountain splendor, from Pisgah National Forest to Dupont State Forest to Gorges State Park. There are ample opportunities to hike, camp, kayak, fly fish, or mountain bike. Waterfalls are just about everywhere you turn. Once you're in town, the picturesque streets of downtown Brevard offer great restaurants, shops, and art galleries. The town is home to the world-renowned Brevard Music Center, which hosts a seven week music festival every summer. Even when that's over, residents can often be found jamming inside the Celestial Mountain Music store. There's even an old-timey, one-screen movie theatre hosting first-run films, complete with a gleaming marquee and ticket booth.

Sure enough, Budget Travel's readers and editors, took note. In on online poll of the magazine's readers, Brevard easily placed in the Top Three. Editors said Brevard was full of "Blue Ridge views and Appalachian pride", noting that the little town was the perfect "outpost of authentic Appalachia."

But if you ask residents, it's not just the restaurants, art galleries, music, or even the scenery that makes Brevard one of America's coolest small towns. "It's mostly the people," according to Tammy Hopkins. "I see people having business meetings on the street, I see people with laptops up at Looking Glass Waterfall. it's just a cool place to be and to hang out, and everyone's very friendly."

And they, after all, are the ones who take a scenic small town in Western North Carolina... and make it into one of "America's 10 Coolest Small Towns".