No. For many looking to escape the city, it became a great place this summer to social distance and enjoy the outdoors. 10 of the cheapest U.S. beach towns to buy a home - CBS News And with the cool waterfront breezes, fishing and kayaking on demand, early evening tequila on the dock, and a generally life-affirming vibe beckoning, who are we to argue with that logic? The International Wolf Center and North American Bear Center are probably the most happening spots in town. Just an hour-and-a-half by car from Birmingham, Guntersville boasts nearly 1,000 miles of shoreline on more than 69,000 acres of water. Its very close to pricier Lake George as well as Gore Mountain Ski Resort. Chattanooga, Tennessee. The cold winters allow for hockey and ice fishing, and the warmer months . The undulating vistas of the Smoky Mountains make for an idyllic backdrop to life at Rarity Bay on Tellico Lake. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Located just an hour from Austin, the town and its surrounding lakeswhich are actually dams in the Colorado Riverhave become an increasingly popular second-home destination. The family-friendly area boasts water sports and a drive-in movie theater in the summer months with plenty of hockey, ice fishing and other outdoor winter sports during the colder parts of the year. Cayuga Lake is known for its stunning wine trail and Aurora, nestled right on the shores of Cayuga, is in close proximity to wineries along the lake as well as wineries lining the adjacent Seneca Lake. This waterfront home . Daniel has a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota, with a concentration in Housing and Community . 15 Best Lake Towns in America - Travel + Leisure One perennial rule of summer: Branson, MO, is always one of the highest-ranking lake towns in the nationeven if it did move down a couple of spots, from No. The bucolic town, tucked between Pelican Lake and Lake Kampeska, offers a plethora of water sports like canoeing and water skiing.