I'm in the middle of a cross-country road trip, which I'm undertaking in 10- to 15-day segments (rotating these with 10- to 15-day spells back home in Portland, Oregon). I started the trip about 10 days ago, heading east through the beautiful Columbia Gorge and up into the largest city in the inland Northwest, Spokane, where I spent a night at the wonderfully inviting, historic, and gay-friendly Montvale Hotel and also checked out a couple of fun gay nightlife options, the long-running Dempsey's Brass Rail and the newer (and more mixed gay/straight) Irv's Bar.
I'm now in Duluth, Minnesota, where I've discovered a vastly underrated, attractive university city with a beautiful setting on Lake Superior. In fact, all through the trip I've encountered all sorts of cool and somewhat less-visited destinations and attractions, from Glacier and Voyageur national parks to Manitoba's largest city, Winnipeg (I've just written up some of the gay nightlife options there, including Gio's, Club 200, Adonis Sauna, and the new Fame nightclub) to small towns like Whitefish, Montana and International Falls, Minnesota (both very friendly, if not exactly teeming with GLBT visitors).
In terms of unexpectedly gay-friendly and progressive vibes, the small town that's surprised me most on this trip is picturesque Sandpoint, a bustling resort community in the Idaho panhandle that's a base for skiing in winter - at Schweitzer Mountain - and boating and lakeside recreations in summer, along the stunning shores of Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced "PAHN-dor-ay"). Although the state capital of Boise supports an increasingly visible GLBT community and hosts a popular Boise Gay Pride Festival each June, Idaho ranks among the most conservative states in the country. And the northern panhandle - a rectangular swath of soaring mountains that lies north of Coeur D'Alene and is sandwiched tightly between Washington and Montana - is one of the last places you might expect to encounter a relatively liberal, artsy, and gay-welcoming community.
But Sandpoint, with a population of around 7,000, is just that - a cool little town with a hopping restaurant and retail scene downtown, and a number of gay-friendly accommodations - from B&Bs and to lodges overlooking the lake. Here's a quick profile on this friendly, picturesque town that's just 90 minutes northeast of Spokane.
Some of our favorite places made it into this interesting post, including Glacier national Park, our favorite place in the ENTIRE world.
We have found many small town, of the beaten path destinations throughout the US, that GLBTQ readers should definitely consider visiting – from La Conner, WA to Bozeman, MT.
Andrew,
Thank you for the positive press about Sandpoint. We welcome everyone. As a long standing PFLAG member it is nice to have our town recognized as a great place to visit. I wish I could have met you while you were here visiting. Come back soon and we’ll have coffee. All the best to you in your travels.
Thanks for the post, Tandem World, and also the suggestions regarding La Conner and Bozeman. I’m definitely planning to add many more smaller communities around North America in the future, and those are two I’ve been wanting to check out! Also, enjoyed reading your blog (here’s my personal travel blog, by the way: http://thecountyhunter.com
Kate – thanks for the kind words about my Sandpoint story. It was a short visit, but I definitely hope to come back another time, and I’d love to meet and talk more about the area one of these days! Andrew