Ajo, Bisbee Voted Best Small Towns in the Southwest

A USA Today poll recently asked readers to choose the best small town in the American Southwest — a region that stretches from Southern California to Texas.

And Ajo, a Southern Arizona town of 3,000 residents or so, won the vote, with another Arizona town, Bisbee, in second place.

Tubac, another Southern Arizona destination, came in ninth in the poll, which featured 20 finalists culled from an initial list of 70 small towns, according to The Arizona Republic.

Ajo, an old copper mining town about 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico order, is known for its iconic downtown plaza, along with the open-pit copper mine nearby. It's also a popular stop for those visiting Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We've featured Ajo several times in Arizona Highways, such as in our Hometowns section (now available as an e-book) and in a story on the Guest House Inn.

Bisbee, too, is frequently featured. Destinations there include the School House Inn and the Bisbee Breakfast Club.

Non-Arizona destinations on the USA Today list included Taos, New Mexico, and Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.