The United States is an enigma stuffed inside a mystery peppered with contradictions. The cliches about red states versus blue states, big cities versus small towns fall apart more often than we imagine. Even in some of the country’s most conservative areas, people need an “all welcome, no judgment” place to escape to.
Cute and quirky places, for some reason, attract LGBTQ2S+ people and their allies—go figure. Here are eight friendly small towns across the U.S. you’ll actually want to spend time in, and not only because of the rainbow flags hanging around their downtowns.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, population 2,171
Located in the Ozark Mountains, deep in the heart of the U.S. Bible Belt, Eureka Springs’s first claim to fame was as a Victorian-era resort town, where people came from around the region to bathe in the local springs. There are still 66 springs, nine of which can be visited in conservation areas run by the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission. But the town’s regal architecture also attracts artsy types, including LGBTQ2S+ people. Though there are no gay bars per se, the town hosts three diversity weekends every year, one each in April, August and November, and the town’s biggest nightclub, Eureka Live (35 1/2 North Main St., Eureka Springs) hosts queer nights and drag shows.
McMinnville, Oregon, population 34,666
This county seat, about an hour’s drive south of Portland, in the Willamette Valley, is home to the world’s first Queer Wine Fest, which each June features a street fair, drag performances and a Pride-themed pet parade. The festival’s founder, openly queer Remy Drabkin, also happens to be the town’s mayor. The town also hosts the Wine County Pride street fair every fall. If that’s not enough queer for you, the Capital Pride group in nearby Salem hosts an annual Pride each August, as well as hikes, camping trips and potlucks throughout the year.
Guerneville, California, population 4,747
Booze—specifically wine—seems to be a factor in West Coast inclusiveness. This former logging town, on the Russian River, is about an hour and a half drive north of San Francisco, deep in California wine country. For decades it was a rustic escape for well-to-do San Franciscans including, starting in the 1970s, LGBTQ2S+ people. The key piece of queer real estate, established in 1979, is Rainbow Cattle Company (16220 Main St., Guerneville), one of the most easy-going gay bars you’ll ever saunter into. The other queer beachhead is R3 Hotel (16390 4th St., Guerneville), a 23-room gay resort complex with bar, restaurant and pool. Sonoma County itself has 7.63 same-sex couples per 1,000 households, putting it behind only San Francisco (12.4 same-sex couples per 1,000 households) as America’s gayest metropolitan area.
Bloomington, Indiana, population 79,968
If you’re looking for open minds and progressive policies, university towns will often have exactly what you need. Bloomington, home to Indiana University Bloomington, holds a Pride each August and is home to the cheeky gay bar The Back Door Lounge (207 S. College Ave., Bloomington), which knows how to throw a toga party. Bloomington is also where you’ll find the Kinsey Institute (Lindley Hall 305, 150 S. Woodlawn Ave., Bloomington), which was founded in 1947 by Alfred C. Kinsey to research sexuality, gender and reproduction. Though Kinsey’s methods had flaws, his approach was groundbreaking in its less judgmental approach to queerness and sexual expression.
Ogunquit, Maine, population 1,577
In the mid-1970s, the activist group Maine Gay Task Force launched a series of protests, including one at a bar in Ogunquit that had refused to allow gay people to dance together. The Task Force got its way. Over the years, Ogunquit has gotten even more LGBTQ2S+-friendly. Two gay venues, the club Maine Street (195 Main St., Ogunquit) and the restaurant-piano bar The Front Porch (9 Shore Rd., Ogunquit), plus lots of queer-owned businesses, might seem like overkill in a town with a population of less than 2,000. But remember, the summertime population can swell to 80,000. Midway on the 1.25-mile stretch of the beautiful public beach, called the Marginal Way, you’ll find Section G, known as the “gay section” of the beach, which is friendly and sometimes quite cruisy.
Bisbee, Arizona, population 4,911
Just a 20-minute drive from the Mexican border, three and a half hours south of Phoenix, this hilly former mining town had a population of more than 20,000 in the early 1900s, when it was home to an estimated 47 saloons. Once a party town, always a party town. As it deindustrialized, and prices dropped for charming historic Wild West–style properties, free-spirited artistic people moved in. It’s become a relaxed retreat for Americans in the Southwest. In 2013, the year before Arizona let stand a court decision legalizing same-gender marriage, Bisbee passed a civil ordinance legalizing same-gender unions. Local Pride organizers host a festival in June, as well as co-hosting an annual Halloween festival.
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, population 1,151
This beach town was founded as a Methodist Meeting Camp in the 1870s. One hundred years later, in the 1970s and ’80s, gay men from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Baltimore would come to Rehoboth’s beaches in such large numbers that entire sections of the beach were dominated by queers. There was also a gay-friendly disco where guys danced until dawn. These days there are two LGBTQ2S+ beaches: women are more likely to head to North Shores, while men are more likely to sunbathe at Poodle Beach. As for venues, Blue Moon (35 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach) is a restaurant that each night turns into a gay bar/show bar that does drag, cabaret and bingo.
New Hope, Pennsylvania, population 2,624
A scenic retreat for New Yorkers and Philadelphians (it’s where Broadway shows were often tested before opening on the Great White Way), it’s been known as a gay getaway since the 1950s. In this century, when high-powered same-gender couples want to quit the Manhattan rat race, this is one of the places they might flee to. With great art galleries, antique shops and dining, it’s a perfect day trip. If you want to stay later, The Cub Room (400 W. Bridge St., New Hope) is a full-service LGBTQ2S+ bar, which hosts everything from live performances to lesbian speed dating. Located within New Hope Lodge (400 W. Bridge St., New Hope) and with a history that dates back to the 1970s, the bar reopened under new management in 2023. The PrideFest, held in May, dates back to 2003, the same year the borough voted to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment or public accommodations.
