7 Adorable Small Towns in the Colorado Plateau to Visit in 2024
The Colorado Plateau is a fierce and rugged landscape filled with flame-colored Precambrian mesas. Amidst this incredible land the color of a sunset, where legendary outlaws of the Wild West and Native American peoples once thrived, you will find some of the most adorable small towns in the Colorado Plateau. Each of the Four Corners—Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico—has small towns brimming with history and each is alive with unique cultural and natural landmarks. From Lupton in Arizona, which seems to come straight from the animated movie Cars, to other film-worthy destinations such as Moab in Utah, these adorable small towns have their allures that will keep visitors coming back to see more. These are 2024's seven most adorable small towns in the Colorado Plateau.
Moab, Utah
The Wild West might have been a violent period in American history, but today, the Wild West town of Moab, Utah, is an adorable and welcoming landmark in the Colorado Plateau. Hailed as “Nature’s Masterpiece,” Moab gives visitors access to the Arches National Park and the Canyonlands National Park, the latter being a place where cowboys once corralled mustangs. One can follow the Colorado River and spot familiar settings and landscapes from iconic adventure movies such as The Lone Ranger, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Galaxy Quest. Get a better view of Nature’s masterpieces from the 2,000-foot elevation of the Dead Horse Point State Park, or you can wait for the nighttime to admire the Milky Way galaxy's uncontaminated and clean evening skies. Most importantly, there are millennia-old petroglyphs from the Navajo, Hopi, Pueblo, and other indigenous peoples in several caves and mountain walls in the region. Let Moab’s natural masterpieces give you a grand appreciation of this small corner of Utah.
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona, Arizona, is one of the most sacred spots for the ethnic groups in the area. It is the gateway to the Grand Canyon and many other of Arizona’s dynamic landscapes, such as the Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Sedona Wetlands Preserve, Oak Creek Canyon, and Slide Rock. Sedona is most notably known for the Hisotsinom (“Ancient People” in Hopi) at the Verde Valley Archaeology Center in Camp Verde, which is essentially a mural wall showing Hopi ancestors' life in Sedona and the Verde Valley since 2,000 B.C. Visitors can learn more about the Hopi, the Yavapai, and Apache Nations at the Montezuma Castle, the Well National Monuments, and the Tuzigoot National Monument. And if you ever want to see Sedona’s Red Rocks from a better vantage, you can always take a balloon tour to ride the western winds of Arizona.
Gallup, New Mexico
If you are ever on horseback, you might end up galloping toward the adorable town of Gallup, New Mexico. Formerly a Navajo settlement called Na'Nizhoozhi, meaning "The Bridge,” Gallup has connected many communities in New Mexico. After all, Gallup is ideally situated on the Mother Road itself, Route 66. It also happens to be halfway between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona.
From the Colorado Plateau and beyond, visitors flock to Gallup to see modern murals on the buildings’ walls. Gallup’s Mural and Arts Walking Tours specifically allow you to see ancestral pueblos, petroglyphs, and more. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, you can participate in Gallup’s Nightly Indian Dances. You can also wait for August to watch the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. And since 70 - 80% of Native American jewelry and art comes from New Mexico, you can peruse the Zuni, Navajo, and Hopi masterpieces at the Gallup Native Arts Market or the Gallup Cultural Center.
Monticello, Utah
Monticello, Utah, is one of the highest towns in the Colorado Plateau. It is situated on the eastern slopes of the Abajo Mountains and rises about 7,000 feet above the Colorado Plateau. Similar to Moab, which is less than an hour away, travelers can brave the beautiful expanses of the Canyonlands National Park. One can also explore the Manti-La Sal National Forest, Monticello Lake, and Indian Creek. But definitely, the best attractions you can find in Monticello are the ruins of the Anasazi, the Ancient Ones, and the Hovenweep National Monument. It was from this region that the ancestral Puebloan people dwelled from 500 BCE to 1300 CE. More evidence of indigenous and ancient cultures can be gleaned at the Bears Ears National Monument, named after a pair of towering buttes almost similar to a bear’s ears. You might also fancy Newspaper Rock—a large, dark sandstone panel in Indian Creek where the ancient Archaic, Fremont, and Ute peoples carved massive petroglyphs into the rock.
Durango, Colorado
Durango, Colorado, is one of the oldest towns in Colorado. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad established the town in 1881 to extract coal and other minerals at the historic and nearby town of Silverton. The 13,000-foot-deep veins of Galena Mountain are filled with old mines and caverns, making Durango a prosperous and bountiful community near the San Juan National Forest and the San Juan Mountains. Durango is home to the Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers the most uncontaminated and darkest night sky in the US, where you can see the starry arch of the Milky Way. It also happens to be riddled with ruins of ancient Pueblo cave dwellings. To escape the Colorado Plateau’s heat, you can wade about in the Animas River, Lake Nighthorse, and Haviland Lake.
Lupton, Arizona
Nothing gets more adorable than a town reminiscent of a famous animated movie. And in the case of Lupton, Arizona, it is striking to the Pixar movie Cars movie. With its out-of-the-way atmosphere and its sandwiched location between New Mexico and Arizona, Lupton has been a waystation for travelers on Route 66. Only a dozen or so currently reside in Lupton, although it was formerly called Tsedijooli (Round Rock) and Tesesi’ani’ (Setting Rock) by the Navajo. Even nearer to the past, Lupton was a significant point of departure for military operations and supply routes for Fort Sumner in New Mexico. But these days, Lupton accommodates all kinds of weary adventurers with its high sandstone bluffs at the Painted Cliffs. It is a small town, but an adorable one that will make people feel like Lightning McQueen in Cars, who eventually fell in love with the quiet and humble ambiance of the town.
Holbrook, Arizona
In the Painted Desert—a beautifully striated badland stretching from the Navajo Nation to the Grand Canyon—one will happen upon the sublime town of Holbrook, Arizona. There, travelers will admire the awesome Chinle Formations in the Navajo Nation that date back 200 million years. Journey through the Petrified Forest National Park to see Native American petroglyphs, a hundred-room compound, and an eight-room Pueblo edifice called the Agate House at Puerco Pueblo. All of these buildings are made of petrified wood that gave the Petrified Forest National Park its name.
History enthusiasts might fancy exploring the Homolovi Ruins, Window Rock, and Canyon de Chelly for more sights and insights of the indigenous cultures and modern landscapes. And if you want a taste of the Wild West, you can head over to the Bucket of Blood Saloon and the Blevins House, the latter being the site of a famous shootout between Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens and the Blevins gang.
The Colorado Plateau is not only an attraction in itself, but it is surrounded by other iconic features of the American land. To the north and east lie the Rocky Mountains. To the west, the Great Basin Desert. And to the south, the old Sonoran Desert. It was these landmarks that gave birth to the Wild West and the many gunslingers who blazoned trails to immortality. But these days, the Colorado Plateau is renowned for its many adorable small towns that are near to ferocious and untamed regions where cowboys and Native Americans once walked upon. Whether you are admiring the rock formations and petroglyphs at Holbrook in Arizona or venturing into UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Durango, Colorado, you will inevitably be charmed and enamored by the sunset-colored atmosphere of the Colorado Plateau.
