With a Population of Six, the Tiny Arizona Town of Tortilla Flat Draws Crowds of Tourists

Think for a moment—what is the tiniest town or community you've ever traveled to? What's the population? For me, the tiniest town I've ever traveled to is Tortilla Flat in Arizona. With a population of just six, you'd be surprised at the number of tourists who flock here every weekend. With its location along the Apache Trail, it's not even a place you'd drive through without stopping. Tortilla Flat is a roadside stop, with a saloon, a mercantile, a gift shop, a museum, and a post office, worth taking a detour to visit.

Our drive from home to Tortilla Flat takes around 1 hour 15 minutes, and at 60 miles away, it's a perfect day trip destination. Because it is relatively close to where we live, I will take my kids here at least twice a year. Visiting family members also enjoy the novelty of coming to Tortilla Flat.

From the 101 to the 202 freeways, the drive then takes us through small city of Apache Junction with a few roadside stops of its own. These include the Superstition Mountain Museum, the Goldfield Ghost Town (always a fun stop!), and Lost Dutchman State Park for hiking and, if you want to spend the night, camping.

Well past Apache Junction on the ultra-scenic Apache Trail, we wind our way through mountain passes, past pristine lakes, and over single-lane bridges until we finally see it: in the distance, down the mountain is a building surrounded by dozens of cars. If you've never been to this area before, you would probably be curious enough to drive on and find out what this place, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, is all about. This is Tortila Flat, a small unincorporated community with a population of six.

Tortilla Flat's off-the-beaten path location along the Apache Trail's scenic drive makes it an alluring destination to those who know about it. Here you will find a mercantile, a post office, a tiny museum, a restaurant/saloon, and a campground across the street. Winter and spring are the high season and there were hoards of people, including tourists and fellow day-trippers, here on a recent winter visit. We explored each part of this tiny town (as we always do).

After parking, we explored the tiny museum house in a replica schoolhouse like one that was originally built here in 1932 but was moved after a flood in 1943. Here is where you can learn the history of the community, with displays taking you from the start of the town throughthe construction of the Apache Trail to the flood of 1943, the addition of a motel and service station, and how the town has been modernized. Like many small museums, there's a guest book you can sign before you leave.

After exiting the museum, we popped by the saloon to put our name in for a table. It was a busy day, so the wait was nearly 30 minutes. We were handed a buzzer and decided to kill time at the town's store. Not only is there a USPS post office counter here, but cases of jewelry and shelves of locally made goods, plus t-shirts, stuffed animals, postcards, and other souvenirs. My 8-year-old daughter always has fun looking at everything, and on this day, she brought her own money and bought herself a little gift.

Finally, the buzzer buzzed, telling us it was time to eat! We had lunch in the dining room covered floor-to-ceiling with dollar bills decorated by patrons over the years. This is such a fascinating place to me and looking around always makes me smile.

The menu at Superstition Saloon & Restaurant, as it's called, has a selection of American favorites, including burgers, BBQ, and chili. There's even a kids' menu my daughter orders off of, with prickly pear lemonade as her drink of choice. The food here is great, albeit on the pricey side as it's a tourist destination, but it's worth it just to be here.

After lunch on this last visit, my daughter asked if she could give a dollar bill to be posted on the wall. This is something visitors love doing. We asked our server, who then brought over some colorful Sharpies so that my daughter could draw and write on a dollar. She went to work, made her designs, and handed the bill over to the server to be placed somewhere on the wall of the saloon.

It's such a fun experience every time we visit Tortilla Flat. The drive along Apace Trail to get there is also one of the most scenic in the state.

Tell me—have you ever been to Tortilla Flat in Arizona? If you haven't, I think you should make this year the year to go! You don't even have to do the driving yourself; you can opt for a day tour instead. Book your spot on the Apache Trail and Dolly Steamboat Van Tour, which includes a stop for lunch in Tortilla Flat.