Do you read National Geographic Adventure magazine? If not, you should be. It's one of my favorite travel magazines and one I hope to write for someday. While catching up on my magazine reading, I noticed they devoted a good portion of the magazine to the "Best Places to Live & Play". This piece is a long feature of their typical short department, "Adventure Town".

In the September 2007 issue, the magazine listed 50 adventures town in the United States. The criteria was based on outdoor activities, terrain, and adventure opportunities. They also categorized the places by the best mountain, coastal, wilderness, and small towns. Did your town make the list? If not, do you think it should? Email me and I'll tell you how you can make that possible.

Here are a few highlights. View the entire list here.

Top Wilderness Towns:
Homer, Alaska
Cody, Wyoming
Flagstaff, Arizona
Valdosta, Georgia
Medora, North Dakota
Rochester, Minnesota
Alexandria, Louisiana
Valentine, Nebraska
St. George, Utah

Top Mountain Towns:
Bishop, California
Gunnison, Colorado
Missoula, Montana
Hanover, New Hampshire
Wenatchee, Washington
Hood River, Oregon
Boone, North Carolina
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Montpelier, Vermont
New Paltz, New York