Valdese, NC

Valdese was founded in 1893 by Waldensian colonists from the Cottian Alps of northwestern Italy, and this Burke County town still tells that story out loud: on the Trail of Faith, in the summer outdoor drama From This Day Forward, and at an August festival that draws more than 15,000 people. Add 300 wooded acres of trail on Lake Rhodhiss and Charlotte a little over an hour away. Old-world roots, foothill pace, no pretense.