Top Town Finalists Named in Rand McNally's Best of the Road
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: June 4, 2012
America has spoken and the results are in! After a month-long call for nominations and votes, Rand
McNally and USA
TODAY announced town finalists in the search for the Best
of the Road. Over 30,000 Americans from coast to coast weighed in to name their
favorite town as the Most Beautiful, Most Patriotic, Friendliest, Most Fun or Best for Food.
The top towns in five categories have been narrowed down from nearly 700 submissions and will
be reviewed personally by the Best of the Road Rally
teams via blog posts, videos and photos. Departing from Washington DC
on June 15, five rally teams will be assigned one category in which to
review key towns on their way to the finish in Seattle, WA. Their
experiences and reviews will determine which towns
are declared the Best of the Road.
TOWN FINALISTS IN THE BEST
OF THE ROAD
The top 30 finalist towns were determined by a combination of public appeal and analysis of reviews
and photos by the judges. Towns have rallied on www.bestoftheroad.com,
Twitter, and Facebook to promote their communities, businesses and
attractions. Passionate responses accounted for a high volume of votes
which edged towns to the head of their class in the five categories.
Teams participating in the Best
of the Road Rally
will visit four finalist towns in an assigned category as well as two
additional towns determined by the competition's judges. Weighing blog
posts, videos
and photos created in each town by the rally teams, Best of the Road judges
will announce
the winning towns at the Destination Marketing Association International
(DMAI) Annual Convention on July 16. The top towns will be highlighted
on www.bestoftheroad.com
and in the 2014 Rand McNally Road Atlas, as well as on USA TODAY's Travel site.
Finalists and judge's picks include the following towns in five categories:
Most Beautiful
- Jim Thorpe, PA
- Danville, KY
- Bardstown, KY
- Tybee Island, GA
- Sedona, AZ
- Baker City, OR
Most Patriotic
- Watertown, NY
- Deland, FL
- Enterprise, AL
- Duluth, GA
- Gainesville, TX
- Mandan, ND
Friendliest
- Murray, KY
- Joplin, MO*
- Frisco, TX*
- College Station, TX
- Cloudcroft, NM
- San Luis Obispo, CA
Most Fun
- Corning, NY
- Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH
- Santa Claus, IN
- Delray Beach, FL
- Denton, TX
- Buena Park, CA
Best for Food
- Lewiston, NY
- Charlottesville, VA
- Bloomington, IN
- Burnsville, MN
- Santa Fe, NM
- Walla Walla, WA
*Indicates Best
of the Road judges' picks
Best of the Road Rally
team selections will be announced prior to kick-off on June 15. They
will embark on the ultimate cross-country adventure from Washington DC
and compete to win the title of the Best
of the Road Rally and $10,000.
For more information and to follow each Best
of the Road Rally team's progress, visit www.bestoftheroad.com.
