16 Great Mountain Towns for Retirement
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 30, 2019 — Ahh, the mountains. Snowy peaks, amazing trails, clean air, and majestic scenery that one never tires of. Although many people dream of a retirement near the beach, in a small town, or even the downtown of a city, there are plenty of baby boomers whose ambition is to retire near the mountains.
To help them find their best mountain retirement town, we have assembled a list of sixteen. From most of them you can look up and see mountains rising above, while in others they are just a short drive away. All are proven great places to retire – some are college towns and others are also on a lake. At the end of this article we will discuss some of the pros and cons of retiring in the mountains, but first here is our list, in no particular order (they’re all nice!). Note this is Part 2 of Mountain Towns for Retirement, see Further Reading at end for 10 more.
Twin Falls, Idaho. Sitting above the Snake River Canyon, this town is known as the hub of the eight-county Magic Valley region. Its location atop the Snake River Canyon provides for outdoor activities including boating, fishing, hiking, golf, whitewater rafting and skiing. There are many parks, a national forest, and the popular Shoshone Falls. It is home to the Shoshone Falls, “The Niagara of the West”.
Williamstown, Massachusetts. This small town in western Mass. offers a double pleasure – it is in the Berkshire Mountains and is home to prestigious Williams College. The famed Clark Art Institute, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival are just some of the proud artistic accomplishments of the town. Williamstown is in Berkshire County. Mt. Greylock rises to 3,500′ above town.
Comments on "16 Great Mountain Towns for Retirement"
Margret Mulkey says:
You forgot Hot Springs Village, Arkansas in the Ouitchita mountains. We just moved here and love it! Explorethevillage.com.
RichPB says:
Do be very careful to "test" outmountain elevations before committing. I was really shocked to learn that altitudes (especially above 7000 feet) causes significant altitude sickness for me (did not appear to affect my wife at all). A trip to Colorado a few years back to test as a possible new home proved very stressful for my lungs with severe hard breathing, coughing and general fatigue. We were staying at 9500 feet and nights became so difficult that we left a week early on a planned 4 week stay. Another time back before we retired, I extended a business trip to Switzerland where one night we stayed at 8000 feet. After a short 500 foot walking climb up a local peak, I found my heartrate elevated above 120 and it didn't drop until we got back down below 5000 feet. This seems to be age related for me. Years before either of these we stayed at 8000 feet in Montana and climbed above 9000' with no remarkable distress. So check yourself out for at least a week in any higher elevations (I've talked with people with similar difficulties in the upper Appalachians at only 5-6000 feet). Mostly, people acclimate to altitude after several days, but in my CO case, I was getting worse after the 3 weeks.
Admin says:
In reading coverage of this week's NY Marathon, I saw that many of America's top runners live and train in Flagstaff (AZ) because of its altitude and great places to run.
David Allen says:
I love the mountains to say the least. We lived above Estes Park one summer while being partners in a dude ranch that was at 9200'. It did affect me after being there for a couple months to the point I went to a doctor in Boulder Hospital who said I had MS. We decided at the end of the summer we should move back to old IL I was 30. Went to VA in Iowa City and found out I just had a problem with the high altitude. We still go to CO for vacation evey year, but Steam Boat Springs and Pagosa Springs. The mountains are so beautiful. At 83 I just set up our usual visit to the two for this summer. I keep telling my wife the "Mountains ar Calling."