The Coolest Towns in America

Paso Robles and Santa Cruz are among the coolest towns in America, according to new rankings from travel website Matador Network.

Paso Robles came in at No. 13 and Santa Cruz at No. 22 on a list of 25 towns. Greenville, South Carolina took the No. 1 spot followed by Bozeman, Montana; Flagstaff, Arizona; Gardiner, New York; and Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida.

So what makes a town cool anyway? For one thing, they aren’t crazy crowded. In fact, Matador only looked at locales with a population under 100,000 for this list. Natural beauty, opportunities for outdoor activities, and affordability were also big plusses for the researchers.

See the full list here.