{"id":3685,"date":"2026-07-03T21:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3685"},"modified":"2026-07-03T21:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:42:02","slug":"this-central-valley-town-was-just-named-americas-favorite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3685","title":{"rendered":"This Central Valley town was just named America’s favorite"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lodi in the Central Valley is known for a couple of things. It makes wine, of course, and is the subject of an eponymous Creedence Clearwater Revival song. The beginning of \u201cCool Hand Luke\u201d was also filmed there, with Paul Newman cutting the heads off parking meters.<\/p>\n

Read more A toast to 250 years of American beer<\/a><\/p>\n

Well, the burg about 1.5 hours northeast of Oakland has a new claim to fame: It is America\u2019s Favorite Small Town, according to a contest by Parade magazine and travel app Steller. To celebrate the country\u2019s 250th birthday, these companies held a nationwide vote to rank popular li\u2019l places, and who could guess? No. 1 is Lodi.<\/p>\n

The city of roughly 66,000 souls impressed voters with its hiking trails, river paddling, birdwatching and a Mediterranean climate that makes it the \u201cmost diverse winegrowing region in the U.S.\u201d with innumerable wine awards, according to Parade.<\/p>\n

Read more Macklin Celebrini says he foresees a long future with the San Jose Sharks<\/a><\/p>\n

But you don\u2019t have to be a wine connoisseur to love Lodi, the magazine explains. \u201cIts agricultural roots are memorialized in the San Joaquin County Historical Society & Museum in the town\u2019s highly walkable historic downtown,\u201d Parade writes. \u201cLodi is home to numerous dairies, cattle ranches and chicken farms, too, all of it fueling a vibrant farm-to-table dining scene and a farmer\u2019s market abundant with fresh, local foods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Man was kidnapped by two prostitutes in Oakland, police say<\/a><\/p>\n

Parade and Steller\u2019s favorite small American towns of 2026<\/h4>\n

1 Lodi, Calif.<\/p>\n

2 East Aurora, N.Y.<\/p>\n

3 Montpelier, Vt.<\/p>\n

4 Dunedin, Fla.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

5 Rayne, La.<\/p>\n

6 Galena, Ill.<\/p>\n

7 La Crosse, Wis.<\/p>\n

8 El Reno, Okla.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

9 Silver City, N.M.<\/p>\n

10 Bend, Ore.<\/p>\n

Source: americasfavoritesmalltowns.parade.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parade Magazine looked around far and wide for the best small town in the U.S., and it was here all along<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nThis Central Valley town was just named America’s favorite - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3685\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Central Valley town was just named America’s favorite - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Parade Magazine looked around far and wide for the best small town in the U.S., and it was here all along\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3685\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T21:42:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3685#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3685\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"This Central Valley town was just named America’s favorite\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T21:42:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3685\"},\"wordCount\":298,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3685#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24d4d8019c5fc902dab0bc5fbe9e3504.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3685#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3685\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3685\",\"name\":\"This Central Valley town was just named America’s favorite - 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