American lakeside and river towns off the beaten path.

Less-touristed lakeside and river towns in America, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.

Along the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, Wallace, Idaho claims Lana Turner as a native daughter and a rail trail that threads through its silver-mining downtown — a combination that signals the kind of layered, specific character running through all 103 towns on this list. From Cumberland's Chesapeake and Ohio Canal corridor to Damariscotta's oyster-driven riverfront and Saranac Lake's position at the heart of the Adirondack Tri-Lakes region, these are places where the water shaped everything that followed.