Are you looking for Pride travel ideas? Pack your bags and gear up for a Pride-themed road trip through 12 small towns that go all-our to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride!
June is Pride Month where every week brings a new Pride festival full of corporate sponsors and politicians courting the gay vote.
The big Pride parades are super famous and justifiably so. San Francisco Pride will always hold a special place in my heart. Itโs where I attended my first Trans March. It’s where Pride still felt political, while still holding room for queer joy.
But thereโs much more out there than big city Pride events. In fact, smaller events have less of the corporate sponsorship that makes Pride feel less like our party.
This Pride month, weโre throwing a spotlight on THE BEST small-town Pride parades to add to your summer Pride travel calendar. If youโre looking for a Pride festival near me you may be surprised to find one on the list!
Why the Best Pride Travel is small and Local
In a time when more places feel unsafe to LGBTQ folks, being able to be yourself is a balm. When we find LGBTQ friendly places to travel and celebrate our identities, we can heal. We can get through the bad times and find the strength and community to keep resisting.
Pride was never about free candy and rainbow logos. It was about finding courage to demand better treatment in the wake of police oppression and raids that enforced binary gender roles and cisheteronormativity. It was launched by BIPOC queer and trans folks, despite what that whitewashed Stonewall movies tried to pretend.
Looking for Pride travel ideas that explore queer history? Check out this list of LGBT history city walking tours.
If you miss Pride events that actually felt meaningful, go to a small town. That vibe is still there.
Whether it’s beaches and lakes or hikes and campgrounds, small towns are often nature gateways. There’s a lot to do, and much of it is family friendly.
As a bonus, small town Pride vacations tend to be cheaper than big city travel. You’ll pay a lot more for a hotel or vacation rental in a big city than for a motel, campsite or vacation rental in a small town. From an LGBTQ budget travel perspective, your vacation dollars stretch farther.
The Best Pride Events in Small Towns
Best Small Town Pride Events in the Northeast
True story. A couple years back, Boston Pride decided to disband rather than make its leadership inclusive of BIPOC communities. Boston has since gotten its act back together…but in the meantime, why not take a pride travel road trip to small New England towns?
Bangor, ME Pride Parade
Bangor may be most well known for its Stephen King connection, but the small northern Maine city is home to an inclusive Pride event. Set for June 24, 2023, the Bangor Pride Parade and Festival offers a parade and festival with drag queens and dance parties.
West Hartford, Connecticut Pride Festival
Also on June 24 is the West Hartford Pride parade. West Hartford Pride is a family-friendly event with kids activities, storytelling, drag performance, and more. The celebration officially begins on June 4 with a concert by the Connecticut gay mens chorus. West Hartford is a small town with a walkable business district featuring restaurants, bars, and hotels and access to nearby trails and hiking spots.
Norwalk, Connecticut Pride Event
If you want a family-friendly Pride event mixed with beaches, boating, and walks along the Connecticut shoreline, head to Norwalk, Connecticut. The seaside town has a dining, shopping and arts district as well as kid-friendly attractions like an Aquarium and great public beaches. Norwalk’s Pride in the Park event will be held on June 10, with a mix of entertainment, vendors, and LGBTQ family activities.
New Paltz, NY Pride Parade
The college town of New Paltz, NY made gay history when its mayor married same-sex couples before it was legal in New York to do so. The village hosts a small Pride parade with live music and a small festival of local businesses, LGBTQ organizations and food vendors. It’s a family-friendly and pet-friendly event. New Paltz Pride 2023 takes place June 5 at 1 pm.
Hudson, NY Pride Parade
The tiny town of Hudson is well known as a gay vacation spot. The Hudson crowd skews older, white and male, but it is a hub for the northern Hudson Valley’s LGBTQ population. Hudson’s annual Pride parade brings together drag queens, LGBTQ families and downstate weekenders for a fabulous street parade. The small city offers many LGBTQ-owned businesses to support with drag brunch, bingo, cocktails and more. Hudson Pride will be June 3, 2023 from 2-4 pm.
Best Small Town Pride Events in the South
Paducah, Kentucky Pride Event
Appalachia gets stereotyped as anti-LGBTQ, thanks in part to the anti-trans laws states like Kentucky keep proposing.
Small towns like Paducah stand in opposition to this trend by hosting Pride parades that punch about their weight. Paducah is the host of the only lesbian film festival in the US. The community also has a fairness ordinance, cementing legal protections for LGBTQIA residents. And the small town throws down a massive Pride festival with live music, drag performances, and a parade. 2023 festival date TBD.
Pikeville, Kentucky Pride Parade
In 2017, the small town of Pikeville found itself home to a neo-Nazi march. The white supremacists came to the majority-white community assuming their hatred would be welcoming. Proof that distressing events can sometimes have good outcomes, the Neo-Nazi march led Pikeville residents to create a Pride festival that doubled as a pro-choice rally. This year’s Pikeville Pride is set for September 30, 2023.
Charleston, West Virginia Pride Festivals
Like Kentucky, West Virginia gets a bad rap when it comes to LGBTQIA rights. The truth is, Charleston is more progressive than many people give it credit for. This year, Charleston is hosting not one but two pride events. On June 3 is the West Virginia Pride Parade and Festival. Then, on June 11 is the first-ever Black Pride Festival. Rainbow Pride of West Virginia is the statewide organization to follow for updates on all things Charleston Pride related.
Montgomery, Alabama Black Pride Festival
Montgomery is not a small town. But I couldn’t leave off the city’s annual Black Pride parade which takes an intersectional approach to Pride events. Black transgender and gender nonconforming people face elevated risk of anti-LGBTQ oppression, and deserve more Pride events like this one that center their needs.
The event is put on by the Knights and Orchids Society, which is dedicated to providing Black LGBTQIA health and wellness resources in Alabama. This year’s Black Pride festival takes place June 15-17 and includes an opening party, workshops, speed dating event, pageant, live performance, and a Black Pride expo.
Best Small Town Pride Events in the Midwest
Iowa City, IA
Iowa City is a pleasant oasis in the cornfields – a cute college town with a vibrant university campus scene and a Pride parade that dates back to the origin of the LGBTQ rights movement. Iowa City Pride began in 1970 with the goal of bringing positive awareness to the gay and lesbian community. Since those early days, the organization has expanded to advocate for all LGBTQIA folks—and of course it puts on banging Pride parade complete with Pride floats, drag queens, and vendors. The 2023 Iowa City Pride parade will be June 17.
Missoula, Montana
Like Iowa, Montana gets a reputation as a conservative red state without much to support the LGBTQ community. The college town of Missoula is a hub for Western Montana’s LGBTQ+ population, and they host one of the best Pride festivals in Montana.
Missoula Pride kicks off June Pride month celebrations with an LGBTQIA film festival. There’s a drag show, variety show, roller disco and more superfun events, all culminating in a blowout Pride weekend June 16-18, 2023. Marchers come from all walks of life: LGBTQIA youth, teachers who proudly support queer and trans students, LGBTQ parents, bears and leather daddies, and more.
Coincidentally, Montana’s trans legislator Zooey Zephyr just proposed to her girlfriend at a queer prom event put on by Missoula Pride. We’re so excited for the couple!
Up North Pride (Traverse City)
Traverse City, Michigan beckons travelers with lakeshore beaches, a string of wineries and quirky roadside attractions like the World’s Largest Cherry Pie Pan – just one of the “world’s largest” I saw on my Michigan road trip! The city was super cute, the kind of small town you’ll want to keep in your pocket for a weekend getaway. Traverse City hosts a fall Pride Week with comedy shows, drag performances, an LGBTQ family friendly picnic, downtown Pride march and a drag brunch.ย This year’s Traverse City Pride week is September 27-October 3.
Did I miss your favorite Pride travel event outside of major cities? Let me know, and I’ll add it to the list!
Save this road-trip ready guide of Pride parades across the US for later!
