Best Rural Area of Each State Part 1
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- Опубликовано: 2 сен 2022
- Examining the rural parts of each state to determine which is the best overall rural area. Criteria for the list include being authentic to the surrounding culture and not having major outside influences in terms of exurban development or over-tourism. This is Part 1 of this series that covers the back half of the states in alphabetical order, Montana-Wyoming.
If you would like to purchase a pin for the viewer wall map or just to support the channel, please visit www.patreon.com/geographyking.
4:45 Image by Chris Thomas. Check out his RUclips channel for drone footage of the Cumberland Plateau region in Tennessee.
/ @highabovetn
Album displayed:
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: "Flying Microtonal Banana" (2017)
Hey guys. Part 2 of this video is coming next week. It's already finished but I'm going to be road tripping next week and wanted to time-release it so something gets posted while I'm traveling. Try to contain your excitement. I see you shiver with antici
pation
Love the Rocky Horror reference (and this video) For Rhode Island you showed my hometown!!! Saw my pre-school in the second picture lol
Frankenfurter is that you?
Interesting on the dry(ish) states, you picked parts that were wetter and trees were part of the natural vegetation.
Sweet Transvestite is the best song in the movie
Thanks, Kyle. Have fun and stay safe :)
You have a knack for making the EXACT hyper specific types of videos I geek over. One of my favorite channels on RUclips.
You said it perfectly
💯
Perfect Comment. I feel the same way
FR
I feel ya
Lifelong resident of Scottsbluff-Gering, Nebraska. The rugged western terrain here is stunning. Visitors to the area will always comment that they had no idea Nebraska offered this type of landscape.
My dad's side hails from Morrill, mom moved there in high school and met dad! The Wildcat Hills are very nice, a friend had family with private land there and we used to go there a lot to sled in the winter, or just enjoy the area.
My wife and I traveled up from Santa Fe through Taos along the back roads and then up to southwest Colorado in Durango. It was awesome to see how the topography changed from desert uplands to grass lands to forested mountains. Very touristy of course but we expected it.
Durango is a very expensive and touristy for sure, but heading in any direction from there, it quickly becomes much much less.
Awesome video, Kyle! As a Wisconsinite, my favorite rural area of the state is the "Driftless Region" in the southwest corner of the state, near Illinois and Iowa. It's a region full of beautiful rolling hills and small towns. I like Door County but it's honestly a bit too touristy for my liking. Most of the towns are jam packed throughout the summer and fall.
Yeah, I agree. This is a very macro-level analysis.
Yes!
I agree. Door County is definitely nicer...but I don't consider it as rural as as the Driftless. If we count more touristy area, then Bayfield County/Lake Superior coast would also deserve consideration for one of the nicer rural areas in the state.
@@AaronSmith-sx4ez agreed. I love the Bayfield area and Lake Superior coast too!
Agreed. I think by his own definition Door County has too many tourists
It's refreshing to hear someone speak positively of NM. There is so much natural beauty, rich history, and diverse culture. Love your videos! Keep it up!
Door county is awesome but I would say the SW part of Wisconsin is better, specifically Crawford, Vernon, and Grant counties.
SW Wisconsin is an area known as the Driftless Area where glaciers never made it through and it isn’t as flat as most of the rest of the state. Along with absolutely amazing bluffs along the Mississippi River you get the coulees that create a super hilly area with some amazing views
Yeah, SW WIsconsin fits the criteria better.
Yes! And I would probably say the same area with Minnesota. The Driftless Area spans Wisconsin, Minnesota & Iowa. It's beautiful and, as you point out, the Mississippi River bluffs bordering Minnesota & Wisconsin are truly among the most Romantic areas of the Upper Midwest.
Agreed
The area around Dodgeville and Spring Green and the Wisconsin River is a favorite area and less touristy than Door County. Door County in the fall is hard to beat for beauty, though.
I love the driftless area but my favorite part of Wisconsin is Bayfield county
The King! We love your videos! Thanks again for another awesome video!
This was a different concept than what you usually do, but definitely worth the watch. I also like how you went backwards alphabetically. I enjoy all of your content. I hope you’ll do a ranking of all the 1 and 2 digit interstates from worst to best one day. Always a dedicated fan of your channel
How can there be a “best interstate”? Heavy traffic going back-and-forth. Disgusting.
Thank you!
@@sethtenrec Some are more scenic than others.
All I know is that highway 5 after the Grapevine all the way to Redding is probably the worst ever. so boring with nothing interesting to see at all, flat
I went to NW Nebraska for college, from the east there is a lot of flat farmland, but when you cross the timezone line, that all changes.
I love this channel so much man. I spend the last 45 minutes-hour of most of my nights bingeing your videos before bed. Thank you for everything!
Love this video topic, King! You should do a ranking or tier list of the National Parks
I enjoy your list. Look forward to Part 2.
Another awesome video! I love the info. And the visuals that give an idea of what the natural landscape looks like.
Just wanted to say this is such a great idea and I'm very happy you are making these videos
Excellent video, very much enjoyed it
legitimately my favorite channel, and perhaps always will be
thank u for doing what u do
I appreciate the kind words.
Awesome video as always! Love it! Idea for a video -- Best City in Each California County
This was a really neat video. Can’t wait to see what you have to say about my state in part 2!
I watch your videos while eating dinner most nights, thanks for all of the hard work & keep it up! you’re my friends and I’s go to when it comes to geography. also excellent taste in music, love seeing that King Gizz - Flying Microtonal Banana vinyl in the background
Looking forward to Part 2!
Curious what you’re gonna pick for Alaska
Informative and fun to watch. Thanks for the vids. Subscribed.
Door County. It is really tourist driven in terms of its economy. Best time to visit the weeks before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. The Lake and Bay sides have very different feels to them. HY 42 follows the Bay side and is a lot of small towns oriented towards tourism. Lots of art galleries and pottery studios. Nice place overall to just chill out for week or more.
I agree. While Door County is very beautiful, it is perhaps the most dependent on tourist dollars in the state, aside from the Wisconsin Dells. If he is looking for a beautiful area of the state that isn't as dependent on tourists and isn't as depressed, perhaps The Driftless area would have been a better place. There are a few more places I could list. It kind of sounded like from the way Kyle talked about it, the Door Peninsula may have been the only real rural area he visited.
@@evilproducer01
Parts of Door County really do have a very rural feel. My wife and I have been going up for about 16 years. We prefer early or later in the season. The summer. Forget it. But since the pandemic is things have changed. Lots of restaurants have cut back on their hours. Even being reduced to increasing the amount of days they are closed. Mainly because they can't get staff. One of our favorite places in Egg Harbor is closing for good this weekend or last weekend.
But get off of the beaten track and things really are much more laid back.
We'll have to try the dtiftless area. Haven't spent much time out in that part of the state.
Probably the #1 Chicago tourist destination in Wisconsin.
Bayfield county and the apostle islands is my favorite rural Wisconsin spot.
@@cycoOJfan89 it is very beautiful.
Ive gotta wait? Well, Ill have you know that after inquiring with you last week about doing an ABQ video, I am now watching this video in an ABQ hotel room! Labor Day holiday in lovely New Mexico. Great video, Kyle..
Great! Lots of new info. Good work. Can't wait to see part 2. The states of my area are mostly in the 1st half of the alphabet.
Great show
good job!!! enjoyed your work!!!
I have just recently come across your channal and enjoy it. I have had a few good laughs while watching your flag, state sign and license plate episodes.
Love this, very useful
Great video idea!
Loved this video Kyle, spot on Fredericksburg, beautiful area…NM too…Taos is hands down my favorite.
Looking forward to part 2 and FL. I think the Panhandle has a lot of untouched beauty. Also waiting on your rankings on best places to retire 🙃
I’m hoping I can do it in NM
Very cool idea for a video. As a current resident of NW NJ, I gotta say it is just lovely up here.
Saw you posted the second one, but realized the first one was still in my watch later, so here I am before I watch part 2! Nice!
Edit: I'd have to agree with the Finger Lakes for New York. One of my favorite places I've ever been. Camping at Cayuga Lake State Park and fishing out on Cayuga lake is really nice. The whole scenery up from Ithaca (and the rest of New York to be fair) is gorgeous. I've been to Auburn too, a nice northern town.
You have impeccable taste in music judging from the record you displayed for this one. 🤘🏻
Part 2!!! Thank you🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Love your content and "nerdy" approach to geography. I do take exception a little bit to your choice of Nevada area: have you spent any time in Elko County? There are wonderful wild places there, it's big and wide open.
Great video Kyle.
Great idea for a video!
I had to guess what you would say for Tennessee, and I figured it had to be the area between Cookeville and Chattanooga. Glad I was right! Route 111 and 127 is such a beautiful route to drive. Greetings from Cookeville!
hey, i see that copy of Flying Microtonal Banana in the bottom left! great album!
This was amazing! I wonder how "affordable" these areas are to live as well. Lol. Seriously thanks for posting these gems! I ALWAYS seeing anything that shouts out more rural areas since other media seems to like to pretend it doesn't exist even though it's really the majority of land in the U.S. Lol. Thanks again. Can't wait for part 2!
I can say this I'm from NY just east of Syracuse and the finger lakes region while its very nice kind of expensive I wouldn't say its really rural NY. Rural Ny is farms methheads and small shitty citys where the people think they are from the hood but really the town has like 5k people in it
@@TheMerrittbadge Okay? That seemed incredibly condescending and unnecessarily reductive. Strangely enough those "shitty" small towns probably didn't start out that way and few people are actually willing to explain what caused the "decline" of those small town as opposed to bashing and demeaning them. But I DO agree the finger lakes areas DOES look beautiful. Picture-esqe even. Lol.
@@TheMerrittbadge It’s all about perspective. I’m from NYC but went to college in Ithaca. The Finger Lakes region definitely felt rural to me. I will agree though, there’s definitely some parts of upstate NY that are more rural.
@@khrashingphantom9632 What caused the decline? I’m genuinely curious
@@dlazo32696 In some areas it's often the result of a place being a "company town" so when the primary company leaves the town economy collapses around it since the whole town is often employed by and built around said company or industry. Knowing Better did pretty good piece on this if you wanna check it out. I WILL say Geography King is GREAT at telling you WHERE something is (obviously lol.) and the culture around it. That's one of the main reasons I love this channel so much.
Thanks Kyle. I would like to see a video about what you think about the coming water shortage
Thank you for sharing this especially with pictures of rural America 👍😁 I get to see places in other states that realistically
I probably won’t get to visit. And many of them are very beautiful! 😊👍🌷
Finally some content I can get behind
Hey King, you must travel a great deal. Thanks for your research and very interesting site. I love America! Gary from Ontario, Canada.
I was so surprised by NW Nebraska when I was on a road trip to Lincoln! The people were so kind, cute towns, and I had no idea Nebraska had such pretty scenery like that
The northern part of the state is a confluence of so many types of environments, with the Rockies, the Badlands, the Sandhills, and the Loess Hills. The joke is that Nebraska gets called flat even though near half the state is nothing but rolling hills.
@@DeveusBelkan I like Nebraska a good deal. I have really only gone through it twice, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Anyone who says Nebraska is flat has never been to Florida, or off i80.
Fort Robinson was the army's last remount station, closing after training thousands of dogs and pack horses for WW2, and now a state park, west of Crawford. Toadstool geological park to the north. Mari Sandoz birthplace. In Chadron, the Mari Sandoz high plains heritage center and the museum of the fur trade. Agate fossil beds south of Harrison.
Mitchell pass. Scottsbluff natl monument, and legacy of the plains museum in Gering, roubadeaux pass, chimney, jail, courthouse rocks, windlass hill (Oregon trail sites)
Wildcat hills south of Gering, grasslands south of that.
I'd have just said the entire panhandle.
Hey! I really enjoyed watching these!!!
I might suggest an idea, what about the best looking cop/state trooper vehicles from each state!!! I’ve seen some really cool designs over the years!
Your picks for NC and NH are two of my favorite places in the country to visit!
As a South Central PA boy, I was in hearty agreement with your choice for the Keystone State! Love the content on your channel!
Great work here Kyle!! 😀 Keep up the good work on this channel! 😀
If anyone ever gets the chance to visit the Eastern Shore of Virginia, it truly is a beautiful place. Cape Charles is such a nice summer vacation getaway. Most Virginians don’t even know about this part of the state and had no idea what to expect when I went but it really is nice and different from the rest of the state. The beaches are practically untouched.
Great video
Howdy Kyle, another great video. Many thanks.
Wow I grew up in that portion of South Dakota and never thought it was the nicest part, this video was refreshing
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Godvbless you and your family.....🙏❤🙏❤🙏🙂😊
nice king gizard album!
Flying Microtonal
That first picture for Ohio is my hometown. I recognized it immediately. Very good video. 👍🏻
I spent several weeks on a work assignment in Albuquerque, and we went to Taos several times. It's a beautiful place, with a lot of art galleries, and some excellent food.
For Florida in the next video, I gotta say where I grew up east of Ocala Nat forest from Deland to Palatka is an underrated area. There are tons of beautiful springs, great hiking and camping country, and lots of fun things to do along the St John's river or the gazillion lakes in the area.
I live in Bellingham, the closest metropolitan area to the San Juan's in Washington. I often take a ferry out to them to spend a weekend, beautiful spot.
Love that part of Vermont. Go there once or twice a year, I recognized one of the streets you pictured. For PA, idk about that area. Maybe it’s because I lived nearby, but I couldn’t wait to get out.
Amazing video idea
I actually live in that triangle in a town called Crossville. One thing to note is Crossville and Cookeville have been seeing A LOT of growth recently due to Nashville and Knoxville pricing people out of those areas. Crossville has seen a lot of development recently including a new Bucees travel center that opened this year and the widening of US 127 and Interstate Drive to 4 lanes. Needless to say IDK how long these places will remain small
Door County is 100% dedicated to tourism. No one lives there just to live there. They serve the tourist industry and most of them leave during the off-season leaving the entire county a ghost area. Also, you mentioned Whitefish Bay, which is actually in Milwaukee County and is a wealthy suburb there.
All I know is that the searchers all say they would’ve made whitefish bay if she had put 15 more miles behind her…
There’s another whitefish bay in wisconsin with a state park
Absolutely agree. I was born in Sturgeon Bay and have a lot of family in that area. For the most part in the summer it's just people from Illinois coming up to spend their money. But outside of the summer it's a pretty quiet place and not a lot of jobs or industry for the locals outside of just retail and other non skilled labor (outside of the shipyards). People with money have retirement homes there, or have a cottage/summer home.
That’s what’s nice about the Finger Lakes of NY, there are actual towns there year round, although it is very rural and the towns were never big to begin with so they didn’t have far to fall (not a whole lot of industry). It is not a “tourist vibe” area, you don’t have to be wealthy to enjoy a vacation there.
@@sethtenrec Whitefish Bay is in the SE part of Lake Superior. The other Whitefish Bay is a suburb of Milwaukee located along Lake Michigan
Nice, i’ve had family in Tahlequah and Hamilton. Can’t wait for part two and see my state, although I have a suspicion…
I really love your channel man, as a European it really gives me a good look at what the US is really like
Knew you were gonna pick Finger Lakes! I'm from the edge of that region and the Southern Tier and I totally agree with the choice. It's a beautiful part of the state where you can see a lot of amazing towns and nearby wineries.
Also completely agree with the San Juan Islands of Washington. Was there in the summer of 2019 and loved every minute of it.
Thank you!
Good stuff! Where’s part 2?
Couldnt agree more about your choice for Pennsylvania, Franklin county has some of the most pleasant towns I’ve been to! Greencastle, Carlisle, chambersburg, and ESPECIALLY waynesboro are such good little towns
Couldn’t agree more! Love driving 5 minutes out of waynesboro and already being in Amish country to the north!
I’ve spent probably the last 10 years of my life playing around on google maps, and I never knew that Virginia owned that bit of land across the bay
Same here!
It's hard to believe how close you are to the clusters that are DC and Baltimore when on the delmarva peninsula.
This is awesome
Would be cool to see a video like this for Canadian provinces (Lots to choose from)
Also, Manitobans who want to go shopping in the USA drive through that area of North Dakota!
Communist Canada nobody wants to go there
I used to live in Ithaca in the middle of the Finger Lakes region in NY, and I miss it so much. Tons and tons of great hiking in state parks and the boating opportunities were endless. Little less absolute nowhere than you'd find in the central and northern Adirondacks, but it's a fantastic part of the state for sure.
im also from around Ithaca! it's so beautiful. I miss it a ton! looking forward to part 2 for Maine :)
This would of course be politically impossible, but in a perfect world the Finger Lakes would be a preserve with the whole watershed preserved for forest, water and farmland management - like Adirondack Park or Catskills but with further development controlled. Will never happen but we will wish it had been done in 50 years when the lakes have been polluted and the farms gone.
Yup Kyle. Hit the nail on the head for WV and for Texas. Davis is an amazing town, and I make it out there about 3-4 times per year. Truly has that rare combo of remote yet upscale in one of the poorest and run down states in the country. Not to mention the unique climate of this area (Davis is the highest elevation town in WV) that makes it a hub for skiing and for people who want to get up into an alpine climate for fall foliage and amazing scenery. Crazy that a place like this exists only 3 hours from DC.
The hill country of Texas is amazing in every sense of the word. Beautiful scenery and an extremely unique Hispanic-German culture mix. Nothing beats walking around downtown Fredericksburg with a few drinks after hitting enchanted rock and eating at authentic German restaurants. The hill country is the exact spot where the southeast meets the southwest and the southern end of the Great Plains. Very diverse flora and fauna, with cacti, juniper and oaks growing side by side. Some of the cleanest rivers/lakes in the country are located here as well.
Absolutely digging this video, keep it up!
Thank you. My in laws live in WV and we go to Davis and Thomas quite often.
@@GeographyKing Just an FYI from a lifelong WV resident. Davis and Thomas are in Tucker County not Randolph. But they are both nice area's and Randolph is nice too. You did have both counties highlighted though. Love your videos Kyle.
@@GeographyKing Just finished the video and noticed you are including multiple counties, so my apologies sir. About my WV comments
@@GeographyKing glad that you’re able to experience this beautiful part of the country on a regular basis. Definitely check out spruce knob if you haven’t yet- still a few months left to get up to the top before they close the roads down for winter.
We were just down your way not too long ago- hit up Mount Mitchell which is just breathtaking 😍
As a Nevada resident I would probably pick the Ely region. Even though it is near a national park, it is not a popular national park. It's a nice little mountain town iirc. It's been a while since I've been there. Elko is alright and close to the Ruby Mountains.
This is a fun topic. I'm definitely a fan of the small towns along coastal Oregon. Southwestern Montana is beautiful as well.
Curious to see what the second half picks are. My vote for Idaho is definitely Bonners County. Lake Pend Oreille and the mountains are beautiful. Sandpoint is a gem of a small town in an area that has an otherwise rough history and culture. Could be too vacation-y at this point though.
I'm so glad you picked the entire coast for Oregon.
Chattanooga, huh! I was looking for your pick on Tennessee and I gotta agree with you.
What's your secret "coolest small town" in that region? Briggs did a "Best Small Towns in Tennessee" episode a few months ago and Byrdstown (farther north and east, near Dale Hollow Lake. I rode my scooter over there and checked it out for a day - it was really nice.
Oklahoma - one of your pictures is of my hometown's main street - Tahlequah. It is a great smallish college town with the Illinois River just out of town. I moved out when I was 50 years old - lived there my whole life up to then...4th generation on both sides. Living in Hendersonville, TN now and looking for a nice rural place to escape to!
Thanks!
Crossville in Cumberland county is a nice town. I also like Sparta in White county. Cookeville is larger but is still charming in its own right
I would love to see a “best lake in each state” video if you could! ❤
My vote for California is the area around Lone Pine and Bishop. The high desert is surreally beautiful.
Good call man! Totally true. There are a good number of people who visit to hike Mt. Whitney etc. but I wouldn't call it super touristy.
I was thinking about Sonora, Jackson, and the area around the Mother Lode. But the drive along 395 is nice, too.
@@corvus1374 Oh, yes, the 395. Looking forward to getting out there some time. I like California, but not its coastal cities.
Places like Death Valley and the Imperial Sand Dunes are what I go out there for.
@@corvus1374 Oohhh. Yeah. I drove through there once. It does seem like a neat area!
Unfortunately the town of Lone Pine almost single-handedly makes this undoable. Racist shithole that my gf refuses to go back to. Apparently they're not afraid to throw slurs around in Lone Pine!
Definitely agree with the hill country for Texas. It’s gorgeous and has a lot of charm. Great food, wineries, small town charm, nice hiking, and a few caverns to explore.
Best channel ever!
Aww, was hoping you would get to my state of MA here. Guess I'll wait for Part 2! I feel it's going to be Berkshire (Burke-sure) County though. I know you don't like to mention tourism but Tanglewood deserves a nod. John Williams still makes an annual visit to it because it's that majestic.
I had a feeling you'd choose the Finger Lakes for NY. Thanks. Lived here all my life, and to me it epitomizes what you were getting at, as far as NY goes. You forgot to mention wine though. ;-)
Amazing video and album as always. Is the link to part two on here? I don’t see it.
I really enjoy your content! Interesting and informative! I do have to ask a question, though. What was the meaning behind the comment "Rural, nice and West Virginia are not often words put in the same sentence..." I've gotta admit, that's kinda hurtful. lol
As an native of Upstate NY, I totally think you nailed it with the Finger Lakes region!
My guess was he'd choose the southeast Adirondacks around the Saratoga Springs area. Finger Lakes is a good choice, though.
5:08 That's my hometown of Aberdeen, SD. This is Main Street looking south.
Hey, I live in that part of PA! Just north of the Mason-Dixon in Greencastle.
As a former South Dakota resident, you nailed it.
I already know this one gonna be a banger🔥🔥
but, he barely knew her?
@@z-z-z-z what?
Born & raised in Scottsbluff, NE. Wonderful place to be
I would love to visit that rural part of Nebraska with that very unique topography and pick a random little unnamed lake out of thousands to paddle or float around in
I think you may have mixed up sturgeon bay for white fish bay in the Wisconsin door county choice. Whitefish bay is an upscale area, but it’s a suburb of Milwaukee and far away from door county. Still a great video, cheers!
Fun that you picked Cavalier for your North Dakota town. I live in SW North Dakota. But Cavalier is my back-up plan if SW North Dakota doesn't work out.
I would really like to visit North Dakota. I will be living in Idaho for the next four to eight years, so maybe I will get a chance.
@@dannypipewrench533 The Badlands are pretty, but the areas not near Fargo are in decline, unless there's another oil boom.
@@brianmiller1077 Interesting. I sure would like to go to the Badlands.
Your New Mexico choice is exactly right, since it includes the biggest Boy Scout camp of all, Philmont
I live in the area of Tennessee that you picked. I've been all over but I just love living here.
9:19 aw yeah! I'm from the finger lakes originally and it's so underated, but it's become super touristy