Gateway Towns
Medora, North Dakota: Gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Population 125, until summer hits. Then Medora transforms into a Western variety show at the edge of the Badlands.
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Joshua Tree, California: Gateway to Joshua Tree National Park
Bohemian desert town with a crochet museum in a photo booth and a honky-tonk where Paul McCartney plays unannounced sets.
Forks, Washington: Gateway to Olympic National Park
One of the rainiest towns in the lower 48, gateway to the Hoh Rainforest, and yes, where Twilight is set.
Marathon, Texas: Gateway to Big Bend National Park
Four hundred people, one legendary hotel, and some of the darkest skies in the continental United States.
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Gatlinburg, Tennessee: Gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The gateway to America's most visited national park. Pancake houses, moonshine distilleries, and 12 million annual visitors.
Talkeetna, Alaska: Gateway to Denali National Park
The base camp for Denali climbers. Cat mayors, flightseeing tours, and a two-block downtown at the foot of North America's tallest peak.
Estes Park, Colorado: Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park
The Stanley Hotel, 3,000 elk, and the highest continuous paved highway in America. Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Hot Springs, Arkansas: Gateway to Hot Springs National Park
The national park is in the city. Bathhouses, gangster history, and thermal springs on Central Avenue.
Springdale, Utah: Gateway to Zion National Park
The park wraps around the town. Walking distance to Zion's south entrance, free shuttle, dark skies.
Beatty, Nevada: Gateway to Death Valley National Park
Wild burros, cheap gas, and a 40-minute drive to Furnace Creek. Beatty is Death Valley's scrappy eastern gateway.