Tourism in São Francisco de Paula, in Rio Grande do Sul [Brazil] has stood out and, due to its wide territory, the need to organize tourism in rural areas emerges. Otherwise, socioeconomic and environmental sustainability may be weakened, if the presence of tourism activity is disordered. Thus, tourist routing can be an ally in promoting local, sustainable development. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a roadmap for rural tourism in São Francisco de Paula. The first step towards achieving this goal involved examining documents to obtain an overview of local tourism. The next two stages took place through a specific questionnaire addressed to entrepreneurs and tourists. Based on the data collected, an instrument for sustainable regional development was developed: a rural roadmap called ‘Encantos de São Chico’. The survey shows that both owners and tourists recognize the relevance of rural tourism to sustainable local development.