We couldn’t just stop at seven, so we cranked our favorite Western vacation escapes of 2025 right up to 11.
Whether you start here or begin the quest for your next great Western holiday with the 7 Best Getaway Destinations in the West featured in our annual Best of the West, May/June issue, the point isn’t simply that we’ve now amped our carefully curated lineup right up to 11. All lucky numbers and inevitable Spinal Tap references aside, our endless search for the top vacation spots in the West is all about connecting our readers with their next great discovery. With so many spectacular options to consider, stretching from California’s most overlooked coastal hideaway and central Oregon’s best adventure zone to those deep, dazzling Southwestern pockets of Colorado and Utah, pointing you toward your next great Western escape (however you choose to define it) remains one of our top priorities and favorite challenges.
In that spirit, here are four more worthy Western towns to visit and tempt you even further out there. Angling toward fantastic year-round finds that may have been off your radar until now, these classic Western mountain towns, desert dens, and coastal communities are having another secret moment that we think you ought to be in on. We guarantee they’ll rock your world whenever you choose to visit. Complete with top highlights in and around town, spectacular parks and other thrilling attractions within striking distance, and the best hotels to feel appropriately pampered yet adventurous throughout your stay, these beauties from the Pacific to the Rockies and Cascades to the high desert are hand-picked and tailored for your next great escape. See you out there!
BEND, Oregon
Do not believe a word of those “Bend Sucks, Don’t Move Here!” bumper stickers gathering powder in the overflow lot up at Mount Bachelor, or winding along the spectacular Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway just above town, or parked outside of the last Blockbuster video store on Earth—at 211 NE Revere Avenue. As you suspect, this is an obvious crowd-control ploy to hide a poorly kept local secret: Bend is awesome; even more so if you’re just here to have fun without browsing skyrocketing home prices.
Visitors landing at nearby Roberts Field-Redmond Municipal Airport or, better yet, enjoying a beautiful drive from virtually any direction through rugged peaks and high desert into Central Oregon’s pin-up adventure town are arriving in one of the most geographically privileged cities in the West. Bend’s scenic Deschutes River running through downtown with its Three Sisters volcanic peak backdrop is a springboard for incredible hiking, biking, paddling, climbing, skiing, and other active pursuits, like exploring Oregon’s longest subterranean lava tube at nearby Lava River Cave. Hit the scenic, 12-mile Deschutes River Trail right from town, or opt for the Bend Ale Trail featuring some of the finest microbreweries in a beer-frenzied city that helped launch that whole movement—led by local craft forefather, Deschutes Brewery.
For an elegant overnight in the heart of town, check out the Oxford Hotel, a Four Diamond boutique property appointed with every “eco-chic” comfort in the Bend book—including pillow and soap menus, Victrola turntables with a stack of vinyl records, and locally-handcrafted loaner guitars. Hiding just south of town in a grove of lodgepole pines, LOGE Bend is an adventure lodge-style base camp with high-thread-count sheets and direct access to some of the area’s best mountain biking trails.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of VisitBend.com
SAN LUIS OBISPO, California
Any historic California mission town this pleasant that’s still all-too-commonly described as a “nice midway point”—despite once being tapped as “America’s Happiest City” by Oprah—is probably still getting overlooked in some shape or form. Conveniently situated between L.A. and San Francisco at a confluence of two famous highways (101 and 1) on California’s sublime Central Coast near hotspots like Hearst Castle, Big Sur, and the vineyards of Santa Ynez, SLO tends to inspire speeding up for travelers eager to reach somewhere else after a quick lunch or refuel.
Instead, slow down, stay awhile, and discover a getaway gem hiding in plain view alongside San Luis Obispo’s indelible college-town mellowness. Wedged between the nearby Pacific Ocean and the Santa Lucia Mountains hulking over the coast, a wealth of natural wonders and adventures encircle SLO’s environment of oak-studded hills, fragrant citrus groves, and rugged shores. Visitors here can surf at neighboring Pismo Beach, paddle Morro Bay Estuary, watch the sun rise at Guadalupe-Nipomo Sand Dunes National Wildlife Refuge, and explore one of California’s loveliest hiking and mountain biking coastal bluff hideaways at Montaña de Oro State Park.
In the heart of town, the historic Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa is a natural draw, including some excellent Native Californian interpretive exhibits at its adjacent museum. So is moseying among the Cal-Poly crowd on Higuera Street with its rows of shops, cafes, music joints, brewpubs, and Thursday evening Downtown SLO Farmers’ Market—considered one of the finest in the state. The city’s renowned farm-to-table dining scene is complemented with standout local craft-sipping stops, from Oak and Otter Brewing Co. to the lovely Tolosa Winery for pinot and chardonnay fans.
Overnighters can rest easy at the Granada Hotel & Bistro, a beautifully restored boutique property and SLO staple since 1922, or opt for a night of classic Cal kitsch at the one-of-a-kind Madonna Inn with its 110 wildly-themed rooms.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of Visit San Luis Obispo
OURAY, Colorado
For picturesque proof that a tiny alpine community can pack a giant enough impression to fill its “Switzerland of America” nickname, look no further than Ouray, which has been drawing Southwest Colorado road trippers and outdoor adventurers to its mountain-fringed, Shangri-La hideout perched at 7,800 feet on the far side of the famed Million Dollar Highway for generations. Lately, Ouray (population 920 at last count) has clambered its way to the summit of several “top mountain town” lists with the addition of some spectacular new offerings.
High among them is Gold Mountain Via Ferrata—the newest and wildest of Ouray’s three cliffhanging via ferrata routes—from Basecamp Ouray. Equipped with nearly 1,000 rungs along a 1,200-foot vertical across a dozen pitches, this new protected climbing showstopper includes a 200-foot-high traverse on a 273-foot steel cable bridge ranked as the second longest in the country. If your adrenaline is maxed just reading this, idle the engine first by checking into the town’s top boutique hotel, The Western. One of Colorado’s last remaining wood-frame hotels dating back to 1891, the property is in stellar form after a multi-year restoration—appointed with 16 luxury suites (converted from 40 former boarding units), fine-dining, and an Old West Saloon brimming with top-shelf whisky courage.
Catering to year-round adventure and escape, Ouray has its fans for every season. Winter brings epic frozen waterfall climbing and The Ouray Ice Festival, along with some of the state’s gnarliest, lift-accessed extreme skiing just down the road at Silverton Mountain. Summer is all about hiking, biking, rock climbing, and driving along stunning San Juan Mountain switchbacks that will nourish your soul and whiten your knuckles. The most magical time of all here is the fall, peaking in late September and early October when the San Juan Mountains are shimmering with golden aspens. At any time of year, don’t miss a soak in the area’s numerous steaming pools at year-round hotspots Ouray Hot Springs and Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa & Lodgings.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of SilvertonMountain.com
ST. GEORGE, Utah
Wedged in a mountain-ringed desert valley in an isolated corner of the Beehive State—and founded as an outlier Cotton Mission by Brigham Young back in the Civil War era—not-so-tiny-anymore St. George has taken well over a century for its more natural assets (than, say, cotton in the high desert) to take root and bloom with a wider audience. Today, it ranks high among the fastest growing American cities with populations over 100,000, topping those charts with factors that consider “friendly community,” “high quality of life,” “emerging art scene,” etc. A mild winter climate and surrounding natural beauty on an otherworldly scale don’t hurt either.
Just half an hour’s drive from Zion National Park and within striking distance of Bryce Canyon and other “Mighty 5” Utah parks, as well as the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell in neighboring Arizona, St. George is an ideal basecamp for exploring some of the most spectacular spots in the Southwest. But the attractions begin right in and around town. Visitors can gallery and museum hop here, take a UTV or kayak tour at nearby Sand Hollow State Park, attend outdoor Broadway-style shows at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre encircled by 1,500-foot red rock cliffs, and enjoy year-round, high-desert golf at Coral Canyon Resort. Held in early October, the St. George Marathon is one of the prettiest (and fastest) marathons in the country—an only-here experience that Runner’s World has singled out as one of four marathons (in the world) “to build a vacation around.”
Among several solid hotel options here, a lofty favorite is the aptly-named Inn on the Cliff featuring well-appointed guest rooms that come with oversized balconies and undisputedly the best panoramic views of town. Conveniently set in in St. George’s Historic Arts District, The Advenire is a comfy, pet-friendly lodge-style property with award-winning dining and a rooftop terrace furnished with a firepit and hot tub.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of National Park Service
