The Wests greatest small towns, neighborhoods, and new communities

Best small town
Sandpoint, Idaho

Best neighborhood
California Heights, Long Beach, California

Best new community
Civano, near Tucson

Best gathering place
Vashon Island ferries

For Sunset's fourth biennial salute to the West's best communities, we turned to the ultimate experts: our readers. It was inspiring to hear from so many people who love where they live ― and who work so hard at making those places wonderful. The perfect hometown may be in the eye of the beholder. But the one constant is that it takes great people to make a great place to live.

FROM THE ARCHIVE: OUR 2002 PICKS

Best Main Street
WALLA WALLA:Coming together downtown

Best tree city
STOCKTON: A high-tech urban forest

Best riverfront
DENVER: The great South Platte

Best modern public architecture
SANTA FE: An eye-popping Visual Arts Center

Best access to the outdoors
OGDEN: The freedom to roam

Reader favorites
MORE great places to live