Grafton, Utah

The odd one out, and a welcome change from mining camps: a pioneer farming village on the Virgin River near Zion National Park, settled to grow cotton, under red cliffs that make it the most beautiful setting on this list. Film fans will know it from the bicycle scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, shot against the schoolhouse and the Russell home. Only a handful of buildings remain, including the adobe schoolhouse of 1886, restored by the Grafton Heritage Partnership, and the pioneer cemetery is a short way off. The schoolhouse is usually viewed from outside. It makes an easy half-day add-on to a Zion trip, reached from Rockville.