On Monday we unveiled Points, Miles, and Martini’s Small wins BIG giveaway in which we were giving away 5,000 American Airlines miles for offering up your favorite small town. A big Thank You goes out to all our readers for participating in this giveaway. I personally read all the recommendations and hope you were able to learn some new information from the more than 200+ unique small towns that were posted.  I know a few made my travel goal list.

It was difficult to select just one small town from so many excellent entries but we were impressed by how many of you recommended small towns in Michigan.  Picking from the Michigan pool, we decided to go with a good sell for Glen Arbor, Michigan.  Neither of us have ever heard of Glen Arbor but now may want to pay it a visit. Points, Miles and Martinis would like to thank commenter Nate who posted:

“Glen Arbor, a small town in the northwest corner of Michigan’s lower peninsula, gets my vote. Nestled between pristine Lake Michigan beaches and inland Glen Lake, Glen Arbor offers beautiful lake and forest vistas across rolling dunes sand dunes. Outdoor activities in the area are plentiful, from hiking, biking, and every watersport imaginable in the summer to skiing and snowmobiling in the winter. The few quaint blocks of Glen Arbor’s “downtown” offer wonderful restaurants spanning every genre from fine New American dining to organic vegetarian to pizza. Numerous art galleries, studios and shops provide plenty of diversion. It’s also a short drive from neighboring small towns with their own charms ripe for exploration. Good Morning America recently named the region the most beautiful in the country, and it’s not hard to see why.”

The winners

The Grand Prize of 3,000 American Airline Miles goes to commenter #2 Nate.

The two sets of 1,000 American Airlines miles go to our randomly selected winners:

Commenter #10 Jeff who said, “New Haven, VT. Great small town with lots of farm land. Close to Middlebury, VT, so you have a very cute small town nearby, and a ski slope at Middlebury college as well. My grandfather owns an old farm house here, and used to go up to ski or see the beautiful Fall leaves when I was younger. Great place to just get away from it all and relax (and get amazing maple syrup)”

AND

Commenter #128 Mitch who said, “Gimmelwald, Switzerland (pop. 130). “If heaven isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, send me back to Gimmelwald.” Only way to get there is by taking a gondola up the Alps or by backpacking. Real people live here 365 days a year and they are very kind to backpackers and daytrippers alike. Lots of cows with the bells around their necks and plenty of Alp cheese, too. It is incredibly serene and the views cannot be explained in mere words. You must experience it. It is easy to do so if you are taking the gondola to the top of Schilthorn (007 movie: On Her Mountains Majesty Secret Service). No phones, no internet, amazing…”