Small Towns Near Tallahassee
The best small towns near Tallahassee are Thomasville, Apalachicola and Monticello. Thomasville has a live oak dating to about 1680 and a rose festival. Apalachicola is an old Gulf port with oysters back in season, and Monticello has Florida’s tallest Native American ceremonial mound nearby.
The nine towns below run nearest first, from Havana about 15 miles out to Cedar Key at about 115. Distances are straight-line miles from Tallahassee, so the drive runs longer. Most make an easy day trip into south Georgia, the Gulf coast or the Panhandle’s rivers.
| Town | Distance | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Havana, Florida | About 15 miles | antiques, galleries, a short trip |
| St. Marks, Florida | About 20 miles | wildlife, a lighthouse, a bike trail |
| Monticello, Florida | About 20 miles | old buildings, ancient mounds, quiet roads |
| Quincy, Florida | About 25 miles | art, historic homes, a Coke-stock story |
| Thomasville, Georgia | About 30 miles | roses, historic homes, a weekend |
| Bainbridge, Georgia | About 40 miles | the Flint River, fishing, boating |
| Marianna, Florida | About 65 miles | caves, river paddling, Civil War history |
| Apalachicola, Florida | About 70 miles | oysters, old port streets, beaches |
| Cedar Key, Florida | About 115 miles | clams, sunsets, a slow Gulf town |
Distances are straight-line miles from downtown Tallahassee, Florida, as the crow flies.
Havana, Florida
About 15 miles as the crow flies · Best for: antiques, galleries, a short trip
Havana, a town of about 1,750 in Gadsden County, was named in 1902 because local cigars were said to rival Cuba’s. Shade tobacco faded, and the town is now known for antiques, art galleries and specialty stores.
Don’t miss: the antiques and specialty shops downtown, starting at the Havana Main Street Welcome Center on North Main Street
★ Good to know Pair it with Quincy, the next town to the west, for one afternoon.
St. Marks, Florida
About 20 miles as the crow flies · Best for: wildlife, a lighthouse, a bike trail
St. Marks, home to about 270 people, was the port for Middle Florida and south Georgia in the early 1800s. Spain first built a fort here in 1679, and the paved 16-mile rail trail from Tallahassee ends on its waterfront.
Don’t miss: San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park, with fort ruins and a museum, and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge with its lighthouse from about 1830
★ Good to know The refuge charges a small entrance fee, and roads can close during prescribed burns, so call the visitor center first.
Monticello, Florida
About 20 miles as the crow flies · Best for: old buildings, ancient mounds, quiet roads
Monticello is the Jefferson County seat, with about 2,600 people, and its courthouse was modeled on Jefferson’s home. More than 600 local buildings date from before 1920.
Don’t miss: the Monticello Opera House, the historic walking tour, and the 51-foot mound at Letchworth-Love Mounds Archaeological State Park
★ Good to know The Watermelon Festival, held each June, is the town’s biggest weekend.
Quincy, Florida
About 25 miles as the crow flies · Best for: art, historic homes, a Coke-stock story
Quincy, the Gadsden County seat, was founded in 1828 and has about 8,000 people. Local investors bought Coca-Cola stock early, and about 67 residents did very well from it.
Don’t miss: the Gadsden Arts Center & Museum on North Madison Street and a walk through the historic district past the Leaf Theatre
★ Good to know The arts center is closed Sundays and Mondays, and admission is free for anyone 17 and under.
Thomasville, Georgia
About 30 miles as the crow flies · Best for: roses, historic homes, a weekend
Thomasville, population about 18,900, calls itself the Rose City and plants more than 1,000 roses around town. The Big Oak at Monroe and Crawford streets dates to about 1680.
Don’t miss: the Big Oak, the rose garden at Cherokee Lake Park, and a main house tour at Pebble Hill Plantation
★ Good to know The Rose Show and Festival is held the last week of April. Pebble Hill’s house tours run Tuesday to Saturday, ages 6 and up.
Bainbridge, Georgia
About 40 miles as the crow flies · Best for: the Flint River, fishing, boating
Bainbridge, the Decatur County seat, has about 14,500 people and calls itself Georgia’s first inland port. Barges reach the Gulf from here through a lock at the Jim Woodruff Dam, which forms Lake Seminole.
Don’t miss: the Earle May Boat Basin on the Flint River, with its 18-hole disc golf course, and the locally owned shops downtown
★ Good to know Lake Seminole, just downstream, is the draw for anglers and boaters.
Marianna, Florida
About 65 miles as the crow flies · Best for: caves, river paddling, Civil War history
Marianna, the Jackson County seat, was founded in 1828 and has about 6,200 people. About 150 boys, older men and wounded soldiers fought 700 Union troops here in 1864.
Don’t miss: the cave tour at Florida Caverns State Park, where 1930s CCC crews widened passages by hand, and the Chipola River
★ Good to know Cave tours are first come, first served and pause on scheduled maintenance days listed on the park page.
Apalachicola, Florida
About 70 miles as the crow flies · Best for: oysters, old port streets, beaches
Apalachicola, population about 2,300, was once the third-busiest port on the Gulf. Dr. John Gorrie patented an ice machine here in 1850, and the bay once produced most of Florida’s oysters.
Don’t miss: the John Gorrie Museum State Park, the 1912 Dixie Theatre, and St. George Island State Park across the bay, with its 9 miles of undeveloped island
★ Good to know The wild oyster harvest reopened in 2026 after closing in 2020, with a limited season from October through February. The Florida Seafood Festival is held the first weekend of November.
Cedar Key, Florida
About 115 miles as the crow flies · Best for: clams, sunsets, a slow Gulf town
Cedar Key is a Gulf town of about 700 that once milled red cedar for pencil makers. It now grows about 90 percent of Florida’s farmed clams.
Don’t miss: Cedar Key Museum State Park, with the shells and artifacts collected by St. Clair Whitman
★ Good to know The museum opens Friday to Sunday, but its Whitman House has been temporarily closed since December 2024. The town holds an art festival each spring and a seafood festival each fall.
What’s the closest small town to Tallahassee?
On this list, Havana, about 15 miles as the crow flies. St. Marks and Monticello are each about 20 miles.
What’s the best small-town weekend trip from Tallahassee?
Apalachicola, with its oysters and old port streets, plus a beach day at St. George Island State Park. Thomasville is the pick for historic homes and roses.
Which small towns near Tallahassee are in Georgia?
Thomasville, about 30 miles, and Bainbridge, about 40 miles, both just over the state line.
Can you bike to a small town from Tallahassee?
Yes: the paved Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail runs 16 miles and ends on the St. Marks waterfront.