Summer is the perfect season for "porching, the essence of relaxation," says Sandra Wolfe Soule, editor of the paperback series America's Favorite Inns, B&B, and Small Hotels St Martin's Press) and INNroads (www.inns.com). A great porch is like a great face, "has a distinguishing feature, like a stunning view or a nap-worthy rocker." Here are 10 spots - many in traditionally porch-laden New England and the South -- that Soule favors.

• First Colony Inn - Nags Head, NC
• Eggemoggin Reach B&B - Brooksville, ME
• Elizabeth Pointe Lodge - Amelia Island, FL
• Woodburn House B&B - Austin Texas
• The Lakeside Inn - Lakeside, MI
• Allaire Timbers Inn, Breckenridge, CO
• The Red Lion Inn - Stockbridge, MA
• The Innat Twin Linden - Churchtown, PA
• Bufflehead Cove Inn - Kennebunkport, ME
• Pine Creek Ranch - Moab, UT