Banish all thoughts of the mini-mall (or mega-mall), for America still has pretty towns in spades. Photographer Bob Krist puts little Rockport, on Maine's mid-coast,  on his prettiest-towns list. "It's got probably the most picturesque harbor you've ever seen," Krist says. That harbor was also the summer home of Andre the seal, subject of a 1994 children's movie about the sea mammal who made yearly journeys from an aquarium in Boston to Rockport. The Samoset Hotel, built in the late 19th century, presides on the waterfront, and Rockport hosts a number of arts-focused institutions, including the Maine Media Workshops and the Rockport Opera House.

For more information: Rockport, Maine

Springdale was a sleepy Mormon farm town until 1909, when President Taft designated the area Mukuntuweap National Monument (later changed to Zion National Park) and tourists started flocking to its brilliant sandstone canyons. Fifty years later, Springdale incorporated as a municipality, but its pioneer roots are still evident. "'Gateway' towns adjoining national parks can often be eyesores," says Rough Guide USA author Ward, "but Springdale is a true delight, arrayed along the Virgin River beneath the full splendor of Zion Canyon's red rocks."

For more information: Springdale, Utah

"Burlington has it all," says Sarah Tuff Dunn, co-author of 101 Best Outdoor Towns. Dunn says the town's charms include "a brick pedestrian marketplace, Vermont's iconic white steeples and rolling hills that spill down toward a lively, green waterfront on Lake Champlain."

For more information: Burlington, Vermont

This bohemian ex-mining town is nestled  in the foothills of southern Arizona, just north of the Mexican border. Urban designer Danno Glanz says its colorful characters and western charm, along with "eclectic hillside residential neighborhoods that terrace down the hillside in an organic way" are among the attributes that place it on his list. "From the top of the hills, you get dramatic views into Mexico's rugged Sonora State," he adds. "It's a great town for walking."

For more information: Bisbee, Arizona

Krist says visiting Cape May, which is located at the southern tip of New Jersey, "is like going back in time." Beautiful old hotels, a high concentration of Victorian homes, bed and breakfasts, and an inviting beach are among the features that qualify Cape May for Krist's "prettiest towns" list. He adds that Cape May offers "some the best bird watching on the East Coast."

For more information: Cape May, N.J.

"Annapolis is somehow able to maintain ties to its historic colonial and maritime past without seeming hokey," says Greg Melville. "Walk down the cobblestone streets, stay overnight in one of the ancient Victorian bed and breakfasts, sail on the Chesapeake, and you'll understand why it is perhaps the East's most romantic town."

For more information: Annapolis, Maryland

101 Best Outdoor Towns co-authors Sarah Tuff Dunn and Greg Melville both put the upstate New York town of Lake Placid on their (independently compiled) lists. Dunn says its "classic Main Street, pine-speckled hills and pristine small lakes" appeal to her, while Melville describes Lake Placid as "the closest you can get to living out West when you're in the East. It's got the jagged mountain backdrop surrounding an unpretentious ski village bordered by two crystal lakes."

For more information: Lake Placid, New York

Glanz describes this historic southern New Hampshire port town as "both a functioning modern community and a museum piece. Brick buildings, many of them original to the era of the tall ships, line small streets and alleys. Yet many of those same buildings house high-tech businesses and start-ups."

For more information: Portsmouth, NH

Situated in picturesque Bucks County along the Delaware River, New Hope combines natural beauty with historic charm. Photographer Bob Krist, who has lived here for 12 years, explains that New Hope has been a weekend getaway for Philadelphians and New Yorkers since the late 1700s, and today it is "a real funky town with great restaurants, great music and shops—and no chain stores." It's also home to the Bucks County playhouse, a grist mill that was converted to a theater in the 1930s, and became a pre-Broadway stop for actors such as Grace Kelly and Robert Redford.

For more information: New Hope, PA

Greg Ward, co-author of The Rough Guide to the USA says, "Both Route 66 and the Santa Fe Railroad run right through the heart of this definitive little Western town, where fine brick buildings on every block hold lively hotels, bars, stores and restaurants, and the majestic San Francisco Peaks soar to the north."

For more information: Flagstaff, Arizona

"What makes Newport shine is Ocean Drive, a 10-mile route that winds past beaches, cliffs, oceans and the city's famous 'summer cottages,' or mansions," says Dunn. "The historic wharf area is filled with seafood restaurants and boutiques and overlooks Narragansett Bay and the Newport Bridge."

For more information: Newport, Rhode Island

A former steamboating and lead-mining town, Galena is situated in the northwestern corner of Illinois and straddles the Galena River, near the Mississippi. Eighty five percent of Galena's buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and author Greg Ward says "peaceful, verdant little Galena seems barely changed since local boy Ulysses S. Grant was elected president in 1868."

For more information: Galena, Illinois

"Marfa is a classic small Texas town that has been reborn as a center for the contemporary arts," says Glanz. In the 1970s the artist Donald Judd turned an old military base into a home for his own sculptures and other artists' work. Now called the Chinati Foundation, the site remains an innovative museum for permanent installations that are integrated with the surrounding landscape. Marfa is also home to the El Paisano hotel, the ornate Spanish Colonial-style structure that served as a backdrop for the film Giant, starring  James Dean.

For more information: Marfa, TX

Situated in the center of Utah's Wasatch Mountains, Park City's peaks keep their snowcaps long into the warm months. Dunn remembers that while on her first trip here during a March ski trip, "the whole town looked like a candy village, thanks to all the Victorian buildings. It seemed like it was on some crazy high from the sun, the snow and the altitude."

For more information: Park City, Utah

This tiny coastal gem, situated on a scenic headland about four hours' drive north of San Francisco, is another of Glanz's favorites. Mendocino was founded in the mid-19th century as a logging town, and today it is a haven for artists and nature lovers. It's surrounded by rugged coastal beauty, preserved in a number of state parks.

For more information: Mendocino, CA

Called the "Hostess City of the South," Savannah was founded in 1733 and served as Georgia's colonial capital. Civil War Union General Sherman spared the city during his notorious march to the sea, and its antebellum character is still intact. Greg Ward counts Savannah's "superb garden squares, dripping with Spanish moss, and its cobbled riverport" among the features that make it "the loveliest colonial town in the US."

Bodie is a gold-mining ghost town located in the high foothills of California's Owens Valley, near Mono Lake. The town has been well preserved (it is a state park) and Glanz says "the stark utilitarian aesthetic of the buildings give the place a haunting beauty. It's best to visit on a gray day in early winter with snow flurries whistling through the air. The rugged and sublime high mountain context will make any visitor feel like an extra in the movie Unforgiven."

For more information: Bodie State Historic Park

Hanover, in the Connecticut River valley, is home to Dartmouth College, founded in 1769, and Melville describes it as "the quintessential New England college town , complete with whitewashed colonial-style buildings shaded by sugar maples that turn blazing red in the fall."

For more information: Hanover, New Hampshire

Originally a silver-mining town, Aspen was transformed into a ski resort in the mid-20th century, and four ski mountains, owned and operated by the Aspen Ski Company, now take center stage. Greg Melville says, "The Western-style downtown etched into the narrow and breath-stealing Roaring Fork Valley; the aspen-laden mountains rising above it; the atmosphere—no wonder why the real estate there is so insanely expensive."

For more information: Aspen, Colorado

Melville says the "Pueblo-style architecture and rugged surroundings make Santa Fe unique, homey and immensely inviting." The town is located in the foothills of the southern Rocky Mountains, and the towering Ski Santa Fe resort is 16 miles from the town center. Santa Fe is also home to nearly 300 art galleries and dealers and is one of only nine cities in the world to be designated a "Creative City" by UNESCO.

For more information: Santa Fe, New Mexico