Outside, the magazine which focuses on the outdoors, holds an annual search for the best towns in the country. For this year, the competition started with a bracket of 64 favorites and allowed voting until the 16 finalists emerged. These are the places which the people chose as top spots in America to eat, drink, climb, paddle, ride, run, sail and work. For some of these places where information is available, prices of homes in those areas have been highlighted here.
16. Lake Placid, New York
The site of 1932 and 1980 Winter Games, the place still feels like an Olympic village. It is an amazing place which all kinds of athletes may call "home."
15. Bar Harbor, Maine
Home prices are about 70 percent higher than elsewhere in this place-$292,000, with many of listings figuring seven digits.
14. Rochester, Minnesota
While it may not be cheap, but you can buy a home with bay views for under $400,000, and with jobs, mostly in tourism and the military, are a plenty.
13. Annapolis, Maryland
See Annapolis shine on a Wednesday evening in the summer when the weekly sailboat race draws more than 100 boats to the harbor
12. Spearfish, South Dakota
The Black Hills are the exception in South Dakota. There are cliff walls for cragging, streams teeming with fat browns just down the road. In town there's an Old West vibe, but bikes are the preferred steeds.
11. Middlebury, Vermont
A three-bedroom house, complete with a chicken coop can be bought for under $300,000, and jobs are relatively abundant here.
10. Boone, North Carolina
Mike Thomas, a local trail builder, says "There's a saying around here, 'Our life is your vacation." The high demand for vacation homes drives the median house price up to $281,000.
9. Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Jobs are focused mostly in tourism and home prices are reasonable with a median of $227,000.
8. Beaufort, South Carolina
The median home value in Beaufort is $253,000 with the locals and visitors alike eating plenty of seafood, either fresh catch from a market or in the form of processed food.
7. Flagstaff, Arizona
The median home price is priced reasonably at $266,000 and there are plenty of jobs in higher education, manufacturing and tourism.
6. Athens, Georgia
This place is known for its cycling on endless farm roads, robust party scene and SEC football.
5. Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Rents are on the high side, as much as $1,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, but the median home price is at $396,000.
4. Eau Claire, Wisconsin
On a summer Saturday, you'll see families lazily tubing and cyclists tackling the 30-mile rail-trail system.
3. Iowa City, Iowa
The median home price of $178,000 will get you a mid-century bungalow in this part of Iowa.
2. Port Angeles, Washington
The median is $201,000 with its long-time residents and progressive newcomers manage not only to get along, but also to come together.
1. Chattanooga, Tennessee
The median home price is $138,000 with one getting the chance of having a rising career with a comfortable and balanced life.
