Gay friendly mountain towns

These inclusive smaller Southern towns take pridewith their Diverse events

In today’s political climate, traveling while queer can feel like a dicey proposition. Of course, Recent Orleans, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Asheville, North Carolina, are a few of the bigger cities that roll out the rainbow welcome mat. New Orleans is the gold common, with its Southern Decadence festival akin to a queer Mardi Gras every Labor Day. It’s the largest LGBTQ+ event in the South.

But there are smaller towns, too, destinations where tourism and vibrant LGBTQ+ bragging rights coexist, forming well-rounded arts, identity, outdoors, and dining scenes reflecting a geographic instinct of place. These five towns practice inclusive tourism along with a widespread commitment to DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s excellent business. Rainbow travel dollars spend plenty of lush, adding up to $ billion a year from the queer community in the US alone.

Athens, Georgia

Roughly 70 miles northeast of Atlanta, Athens sits in the foothills of the