Beatty
Photo by Mikayla Whitmore for Thrillist
McMinnville
Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
Wamego
Jamestown
Willow Creek
cassadAga
Photo by Joleen Zubek for Thrillist
Find more Hidden Gems here.
Credits
Editors: Tiana Attride, Danielle Hallock, Vanita Salisbury
Production: Pete Dombrosky
Writers: Tiana Attride, Robin Catalano, Megan Eaves, Danielle Hallock, Matt Kirouac, Nicole Rupersburg, Vanita Salisbury, Terry Ward
Special Thanks: Pete Dombrosky, Helen Hollyman, Meghan Kirsch, Tom McKee, Tony Merevick, Audra V Pace, and all our freelance writers
Creative Director: Audra V Pace
Art Director: Manali Doshi
Photography Director: Drew Swantak
Senior Designer: Grace Han
Project Manager: Morgan Fowler
Copywriter: Ned Riseley
Senior Photographer: Cole Saladino
Photographers: Sage Brown, Kalen Goodluck, Chris Mongeau, John David Pittman, Mikayla Whitmore, Joleen Zubek
Photo Editor: Joleen Zubek
Director of Audience Development: Kisai Ponce
Audience Development Manager: Hassan Spruill
Social Media Manager: Abby Maddigan
Social Media Producer: Dee Williams
Audience Development Coordinator: Kierra Hearne
SEO Coordinator: Caroline Boden
SEO Manager: Gina Percival
Honestly, we could all use a little more spontaneity & novelty in our lives right now.
And while it might not be as easy to island-hop through the Mediterranean or elbow your way through a crowded karaoke bar in Tokyo, we’re here to remind you that you don’t have to travel somewhere far-flung to find the unexpected and memorable. Sometimes, the hidden gem just down the road is even more exciting. Across the US, there are small towns with some far-out history and culture—places where UFO sightings are a daily occurrence, Bigfoot roams the vineyards, and the ghost of mob boss Al Capone haunts the halls. These eight under-the-radar destinations with distinct personalities and unique local histories lie within a few hours of a major city—right under your nose, but just far enough away to feel like an adventure.
The Gateway to Death Valley Is Lined with Ghost Towns, Saloons, and Desert Hikes
Feel Alive on Route-95: Where Clown Motels, UFOs, and Donkeys Abound
The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Death Valley National Park
Our Sommelier Recommends Pairing Your Glass of Wine with a UFO Sighting
Weirdos Unite: The Alien Festival You Didn’t Know You Needed
Every Year, This Truffle Festival in Oregon Goes to the Dogs
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Wamego, Kansas
Definitely in Kansas: The Oz Museum Is Your One-Stop Shop for Memorabilia
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Rifle: A Church Steeped in Abolitionist History
Turns Out Bigfoot’s Hometown Is in Northern California
How One California Small Town Became the Sasquatch Capital of the U. S.
Big Feet Can Mean Only One Thing… Big Trees
Welcome to Cassadaga, the Psychic Capital of the World
How One Florida Spiritualist Started Talking to Ghosts
This Haunted Hotel Is the Gathering Place of Florida’s Psychic Community
Yes, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Is a Real Place
Wander Otherworldly Dunes in America’s Strangest National Park
Will This Tiny Desert Town Determine the Future of Space Travel?
Named after a 1960s radio game show, this desert town is known for its natural hot springs and spacey fun: It’s home to Spaceport America, whose facilities are shaping the future of commercial space travel, and sits in close proximity to the Very Large Array, the Alamogordo Space Murals Museum, and the dreamy White Sands National Park.
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Forget Roswell: This Pacific Northwestern town just an hour from Portland is home to the greatest alien story America’s ever known—a bizarre (and still not disproven!) set of occurrences celebrated every year at the citywide McMinnville UFO Fest, the second-largest festival of its kind in the US. Also on the menu: Willamette Valley wine, truffle hunting, olive oil festivals, and more.
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This Underrated National Park Was Once Al Capone’s Favorite Weekend Trip
Vapor Rises from the Ground in This Arkansas Vacation Town
Keep Your Clothes On: This Beloved Brewery Was Once a Bathhouse
The Gangster Museum of America Takes Us Back to When Mobsters Ruled Spa City
Hot Springs
Photo by John David Pittman for Thrillist
Dating back to 1832 as federally-protected land, Hot Springs is technically the nation’s first national park. What warranted protection? Forty-seven thermal springs, soothing everyone from Elvis to Babe Ruth to mobsters Al Capone and Owney “The Killer” Madden. Now the city that sprung up around the park is home to thoroughbred racing, documentary films, the only brewery in a national park, a gangster museum, and plenty of natural state nature. And you can still get pruny like a mob boss in one of the mineral spring-fed bathhouses.
Also known as the Gateway to Death Valley, this former boomtown is one of a few in Nevada not immediately abandoned after the gold rush came to an end. Today, instead of treasure-hunting hopefuls, you’ll find rustic saloons, towering sand dunes, desert hikes, neighboring ghost towns and open-air museums, and a whole population of friendly, wandering burros.
Just an hour from the Pacific Coast and the titan-sized trees of Redwood National Park, the tiny mountain town of Willow Creek has a big secret: This is the Bigfoot capital of the world. Along with excellent outdoor adventures, you’ll find everything from a Bigfoot m useum, a Bigfoot festival, and the Bigfoot Scenic Highway to local orgs like the NorCal Squatchers, dedicated to learning the truth about the world’s most famous cryptid.
Wamego was founded as a railroad town in the mid-1800s. Today you’ll still find a train in City Park, though it’s bright yellow, and mostly caters to those below 4 feet tall. Actual historic remnants include a rural abolitionist church, whose formation helped prompt the Civil War, and a prairie town with original buildings that could easily double as a movie set. For real Hollywood memorabilia, however, ease on down the yellow brick road. At the end is the Oz Museum, which houses the largest public collection of Oz artifacts in the world.
Once upon a time, the founding of Cassadaga was foretold during a seance. Mediums convened here and formed a spiritualists association in 1894, and today the town is still a camp to commune with the dead. There’s a haunted hotel and the Devil’s Chair in the local cemetery, where those who rest on the stone bench may get a visit from the devil. Skeptics, believers, agnostics, and the curious are all welcome to come peer through the veil and make contact with the other side.
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This Underrated National Park Was Once Al Capone’s Favorite Weekend Trip
Vapor Rises From the Ground in This Arkansas Vacation Town
Keep Your Clothes On: This Beloved Brewery Was Once a Bathhouse
Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more
Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more.
Photo by Kalen Goodluck for Thrillist
Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more.
Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more.
Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more.
Photo by Mikayla Whitmore for Thrillist
The Gateway to Death Valley is Lined with Ghost Towns, Saloons, and Desert Hikes
Feel Alive on Route-95: Where Clown Motels, UFOs, and Donkeys Abound
The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Death Valley National Park
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Also known as the Gateway to Death Valley, this former boomtown is one of a few in Nevada not immediately abandoned after the gold rush came to an end. Today, instead of treasure-hunting hopefuls, you’ll find rustic saloons, towering sand dunes, desert hikes, neighboring ghost towns and open-air museums, and a whole population of friendly, wandering burros.
Photo by Sage Brown for Thrillist
Our Sommelier Recommends Pairing Your Glass of Wine with a UFO Sighting
Weirdos Unite: The Alien Festival You Didn’t Know You Needed
Every Year, This Truffle Festival in Oregon Goes to the Dogs
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Forget Roswell: This Pacific Northwestern town just an hour from Portland is home to the greatest alien story America’s ever known—a bizarre (and still not disproven!) set of occurrences celebrated every year at the citywide McMinnville UFO Fest, the second-largest festival of its kind in the US. Also on the menu: Willamette Valley wine, truffle hunting, olive oil festivals, and more.
Photo by John David Pittman for Thrillist
This Underrated National Park Was Once Al Capone’s Favorite Weekend Trip
Vapor Rises From the Ground in This Arkansas Vacation Town
Keep Your Clothes On: This Beloved Brewery Was Once a Bathhouse
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Dating back to 1832 as federally-protected land, Hot Springs is technically the nation’s first national park. What warranted protection? Forty-seven thermal springs, soothing everyone from Elvis to Babe Ruth to mobsters Al Capone and Owney “The Killer” Madden. Now the city that sprung up around the park is home to thoroughbred racing, documentary films, the only brewery in a national park, a gangster museum, and plenty of natural state nature. And you can still get pruny like a mob boss in one of the mineral spring-fed bathhouses.
The Gangster Museum of America Takes Us Back To When Mobsters Ruled Spa City
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Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
Follow The Yellow Brick Road to Wamego, Kansas
Definitely in Kansas: The Oz Museum Is Your One-Stop Shop for Memorabilia
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Rifle: A Church Steeped in Abolitionist History
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Wamego was founded as a railroad town in the mid-1800s. Today you’ll still find a train in City Park, though it’s bright yellow, and mostly caters to those below 4 feet tall. Actual historic remnants include a rural abolitionist church, whose formation helped prompt the Civil War, and a prairie town with original buildings that could easily double as a movie set. For real Hollywood memorabilia, however, ease on down the yellow brick road. At the end is the Oz Museum, which houses the largest public collection of Oz artifacts in the world.
Get Marooned on This Quintessential New England Island
How a Scuba Diver Found Thousands of Sunken Ships Around a New England Island
Shipwrecks and Top Secret WWII Sites Await on the Island of Moonrise Kingdom
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At sea level, Jamestown has all the lighthouses, lobster boats, rocky shorelines, and shingled cottages you could ever want out of New England. But below the surface, you’ll find thousands of sunken shipwrecks surrounding this island and numerous secret WWII labs underground. Like a scuba diver rising from the ocean or the plot from Moonrise Kingdom—which was filmed here—there’s more going on beneath the charming, orderly appearance.
Photo by Joleen Zubek for Thrillist
Welcome to Cassadaga, the Psychic Capital of the World
How One Florida Spiritualist Started Talking to Ghosts
This Haunted Hotel Is the Gathering Place of Florida’s Psychic Community
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Once upon a time, the founding of Cassadaga was foretold during a seance. Mediums convened here and formed a spiritualists association in 1894, and today the town is still a camp to commune with the dead. There’s a haunted hotel and the Devil’s Chair in the local cemetery, where those who rest on the stone bench may get a visit from the devil. Skeptics, believers, agnostics, and the curious are all welcome to come peer through the veil and make contact with the other side.
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About the Town
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About the Town
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Hot Springs National Park is both the smallest and the oldest national park in the country, dating back to 1832. “America’s Spa” has 47 thermal springs, which were once beloved by mobsters Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Owney “The Killer” Madden. Now the city is home to a documentary film fest, thoroughbred racing, the Garvan Woodland Gardens, the Mid-America Science Museum and Superior Bathhouse Brewery. And you can still get pruny like a mob boss in one of the mineral spring-fed bathhouses.
About the Town
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About the Town
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About the Town
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About the Town
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About the Town
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About the Town
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Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more
Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more
new mexico
NEw Mexico
truth or Consequences
nevada
truth or Consequences
Oregon
truth or Consequences
arkansas
truth or Consequences
Kansas
truth or Consequences
rhode island
truth or Consequences
florida
Oregon
arkansas
Nevada
california
kansas
florida
coming soon
coming soon
coming soon
coming soon
Photo by Sage Brown for Thrillist
Photo courtesy of Kathryn Elsesser
Rhode Island
Jamestown
Photo by Chris Mongeau for Thrillist
Select a story below or click on about the town to learn more
Get Marooned on This Quintessential New England Island
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How a Scuba Diver Found Thousands of Sunken Ships Around a New England Island
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Shipwrecks and Top-Secret WWII Sites Await on the Island of Moonrise Kingdom
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At sea level, Jamestown has all the lighthouses, lobster boats, rocky shorelines, and shingled cottages you could ever want out of New England. But below the surface, you’ll find thousands of sunken shipwrecks surrounding this island and numerous secret WWII labs underground. Like a scuba diver rising from the ocean or the plot from Moonrise Kingdom—which was filmed here—there’s more going on beneath the charming, orderly appearance.
Close this window to read the articles
About the Town
Photo by Chris Mongeau for Thrillist
Photo courtesy of Chris Mongeau
Photo by Chris Mongeau for Thrillist
Photo courtesy of Chris Mongeau
Ian Dagnall / Alamy Stock Photo
Getty Images/YayaErnst
Getty Images/Esteban Martinena Guerrero
Vineyard Perspective/Shutterstock
Photo courtesy of Kathryn Elsesser
Photo by Chris Mongeau for Thrillist
Photo courtesy of Chris Mongeau
Photo by Chris Mongeau for Thrillist
Photo courtesy of Chris Mongeau
Big Feet Can Mean Only One Thing…
Big Trees
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How One California Small Town Became the Sasquatch Capital of the US
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Turns Out Bigfoot’s Hometown Is in Northern California
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Just an hour from the Pacific Coast and the titan-sized trees of Redwood National Park, the tiny mountain town of Willow Creek has a big secret: This is the Bigfoot capital of the world. Along with excellent outdoor adventures, you’ll find everything from a Bigfoot museum, a Bigfoot festival, and the Bigfoot Scenic Highway to local orgs like the NorCal Squatchers dedicated to learning the truth about the world’s most famous cryptid.
willow creek
california
Ian Dagnall / Alamy Stock Photo
Getty Images/YayaErnst
Getty Images/Esteban Martinena Guerrero
Vineyard Perspective/Shutterstock
Photo by Sage Brown for Thrillist
Photo by Sage Brown for Thrillist
Photo by Sage Brown for Thrillist
Photo by Sage Brown for Thrillist