Silver City: Coolest Small Towns, N.M.

By Maria Finn
August 6, 2007
0709_rtsilvercity
courtesy Bear Mountain Lodge
A little bit hip and a little bit homey, this up-and-coming town guarantee a fun detour on your next road trip. You'll be browsing the local real estate pages before you know it.

Silver City, N.M.


Population: 10,545
Nearest City: El Paso, Tex., 154 miles

In New Mexico's southwest corner, Silver City isn't the kind of place people just stumble onto. Silver miners sought it out in the late 1800s, and more recently the town's Old-West charm and high-desert location made it a magnet for outdoorsy and creative types.

The historic district is home to casual restaurants, like Nancy's Silver Café, that put the area's green chiles to good use (514 N. Bullard St., 505/388-3480, huevos rancheros $7).

Outside town, The Nature Conservancy runs Bear Mountain Lodge, a hacienda adjacent to birding, biking, and hiking opportunities in the Gila National Forest (505/538-2538, bearmountainlodge.com, from $125). "You can choose the pace at which you want to live," says Jess Gorell, an artist and filmmaker who relocated from L.A. four years ago and teaches at The Bakshi School of Animation and Cartooning (109 N. Bullard St., 505/534-9291, thebakshischool.com), around the corner from the adobe galleries on Yankie and Texas Streets.

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10 Coolest Small Towns, Mo.

Parkville, Mo. Population: 4,059 Nearest City: Kansas City, Mo., 10 miles As Jennifer Stanton is telling how she ditched her corporate job in 2003 to open Wines by Jennifer in a circa-1903 house, the Park University clock tower chimes: "That's my mantra to remind me to slow down and enjoy life," she says (405 Main St., 816/505-9463, winesbyjennifer.com). On Wednesday's Diva Night at Jeff and Lynn Anderson's River Rock Reserve, ladies enjoy fun stuff like free neck massages with their River Bottom cocktails; by day, the space reverts to a café (6325 Lewis St., 816/505-3663, riverrockcoffee.com). "We're just 10 minutes from downtown Kansas City," says Jeff, "but I feel like any minute someone's going to ask me to help with a barn raising." Didier Combe, the proprietor of Café des Amis, thinks Parkville is like a village in his native France: "After the last dinner is served, we often sit on the deck with friends and guests" (112½ Main St., 816/587-6767, cafedesamiskc.com, rack of lamb $26). Over at The Power Plant Restaurant and Brewery, Angelo Gangai gives his beers historical monikers like Southbound Nut Brown, named after the trains that roll past (2 Main St., 816/746-5051, powerplantbrews.com). One caramely ale, Steamboat Stout, makes a dandy float when poured over vanilla gelato from The Sweet Guy (10 Main St., 816/505-2788, thesweetguy.com). At Bentley Guitar Studios, Mark Bentley has been teaching folks--and now their kids--guitar for nearly a decade (122 S. Main St., 816/746-9772, bentleyguitars.com). The Saturday jam sessions here have become so popular, they've taken over the sidewalk.