Leaf-peeping is out. “Lore-tripping” is in — these 9 U.S. towns are trending for their myths and legends, not their leaves

This fall, a growing number of travelers are picking their next trip based not on deals, landmarks, or scenery, but on the weirdest true story a town has to tell.

Airbnb’s new fall travel trends report has a name for it: “lore-tripping.” It’s the practice of choosing a destination for its myths, legends, and offbeat local history instead of its scenery or its skyline — and according to the report, it’s being driven almost entirely by Gen Z. A full 90% of Gen Z travelers surveyed say small towns and under-the-radar destinations appeal to them this fall, with affordability, authentic local culture, and offbeat attractions cited as the biggest draws. Nearly half of the trending fall destinations Gen Z travelers have booked this season are small towns, and it’s showing up in real booking data — some towns are seeing double-digit growth in Gen Z travelers almost overnight.

Unlike traditional bucket-list tourism, lore-tripping tends to be short and specific: a weekend built around one strange story, not a whirlwind multi-stop itinerary that leaves you exhausted. So if you’re looking to plan a fall getaway that’s a little more “wait, what happened here?” and a little less “here’s another overlook,” these nine towns are where to go.

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

This is the lore-tripping origin story. In 1966, residents around Point Pleasant reported sightings of a winged, red-eyed creature that would eventually be dubbed the Mothman — a legend that’s since spawned a museum, a statue downtown, and an annual festival held every September. It’s become the model for the whole trend: one specific, deeply weird local story that people will drive hours to stand next to.

Twentynine Palms, California

The high-desert town at Joshua Tree’s north entrance has real Gen Z booking momentum, up more than 50% this fall. Its “lore” is part myth, part art scene: the town’s name traces back to a Serrano legend that a palm tree was planted for every boy born at the local spring, and today its downtown is covered in enormous, artist-painted murals against a backdrop of otherworldly rock formations.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Legend has it that a Sioux princess who’d gone blind had her sight restored after washing her eyes in the town’s Basin Spring — a story that spread widely enough to turn Eureka Springs into a 19th-century pilgrimage site for the sick, and has led some historians to speculate it may be the real “Fountain of Youth” Ponce de León was searching for. The 1886 Crescent Hotel, built on the promise of those same healing waters, is now known as one of the most haunted hotels in the country, with nightly ghost tours through its halls.

Helen, Georgia

Helen’s lore is that the whole town is essentially a plot twist. It was a struggling logging town until 1969, when local business owners hired an artist to redesign its storefronts into a Bavarian alpine village in a last-ditch bid to save the local economy. It worked almost too well — Helen now draws roughly 2 million visitors a year and hosts the longest continuously running Oktoberfest in the country, dating back to 1970. Gen Z booking interest is up 15% this fall.

Gibsonton, Florida

Nicknamed “Gibtown,” this small town outside Tampa was once the off-season home base for traveling circus and carnival performers, and it still carries that sideshow legacy in its local lore and scattered roadside oddities. It’s one of the small towns Airbnb is actively steering Gen Z travelers toward this season.

Bemidji, Minnesota

Bemidji is where the tall tale of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, first became a full-blown tourist attraction: an 18-foot statue of the pair was built on the shore of Lake Bemidji in 1937, sparking a wave of copycat lumberjack statues across the northern Midwest. The town’s visitor center even displays a set of oversized “Bunyan memorabilia,” from a giant toothbrush to giant toenail clippers.

Bardstown, Kentucky

Often called one of the most haunted small towns in America, Bardstown’s centerpiece is the Old Talbott Tavern, a stagecoach stop dating back to 1779 that’s hosted guests from Daniel Boone to Abraham Lincoln to outlaw Jesse James — and, according to generations of staff and visitors, still hosts some of them. The most-told story involves James’ ghost supposedly slipping through a locked door on the second floor; the tavern has also been ranked among the country’s most haunted hotels. It’s bourbon country by day and ghost tour territory by night.

Williams, Arizona

Williams holds a specific, stubborn distinction: it was the last town on Route 66 to be bypassed by the interstate. It’s held onto its neon signs and vintage diners ever since, and a revived railway still departs from its 1908 depot for the Grand Canyon — making it a rare town where the old road-trip lore and a working piece of it are still both fully intact.

La Grange, Kentucky

La Grange’s lore isn’t a myth — it’s a genuinely strange piece of infrastructure. It’s the only town in the country with an active heavy-rail freight line running directly down the middle of its main commercial street, with trains rolling past the shopfronts as often as two dozen times a day. The town is gearing up to celebrate its 200th birthday in 2027.

You know, if you’re looking for an excuse to get going.

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