5 of the Prettiest Pacific Northwest Small Towns

5 Prettiest Pacific Northwest Small Towns Less than 8 Hours Away!

When was the last time you visited a small town that was so pretty you thought it belongs in a magazine? That's what the folks at Architectural Digest thought, so they put together a list of 55 small towns in America that are picturesque. Five of those small towns are not so far away. We put the travel times according to that of leaving Central Washington. We used the city of Yakima as the starting point, so make your travel plans accordingly!

Five of the Most Picturesque Small Towns in the Pacific Northwest

1 . Ketchum, Idaho

TRAVEL TIME: 7 hours, 54 minutes

“Small town, Big life!” is the hometown motto for Ketchum. I don’t know what there is to do out there other than the Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival, but it surely looks like a pretty place to be otherwise!

2 . Big Sky, Montana

TRAVEL TIME: 9 hrs, 52 min

I have heard that Big Sky, Montana, is a lovely place. One of my all-time favorite alt electronic pop bands, Venus Hum, named one of their songs Big Beautiful Sky and I always thought it referred to Montana (Narrator: it doesn't). They have golf tournaments out there sometimes because of its gorgeous and remote location.

3 . McCall, Idaho

TRAVEL TIME: 6 hrs, 15 min

After watching Teia Golden’s YouTube video, I now want to go have a vacation in McCall, Idaho! If you go there during the summertime, you can enjoy boating, paddle boating, and waterski activities. If you make the trek during the winter, there is skiing and hanging out at a ski lodge peoplewatching! There is so much scenic and natural beauty in McCall, Idaho, no wonder it made Architectural Digest’s list!

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4 . Friday Harbor, Washington

TRAVEL TIME: 5 hrs, 45 min

Any city with the word “harbor” in it in Washington state is bound to be beautiful. I’ve been to Gig Harbor before and visited a friend’s family who lived in a huge house there on the harbor. You need to have a lot of money to afford living there, that’s for sure! Friday Harbor is a hop, skip, and a jump to the San Juan Islands. You can do whale watching there, too!

5 . Manzanita, Oregon

TRAVEL TIME: 4 hrs, 53 min

If you go to Manzita, Oregon, you’re going there to get away from it all, literally. You are far from the big city life. There’s the Oregon Coast at your beck and call. Forests, beaches, slowing down your stress is the name of the game. You’ll be about an hour and a half away from Portland, so after you calm down from all your woes, you can go have fun sitting in Portland traffic. LOL.

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