Arizona
When most people think about the Great State of Arizona they think of the Grand Canyon, Sedona and the desert landscape. Those are unique and wonderful places to visit but there is so much more to Arizona. From Meteor craters, petrified forests, ancient Native American Cities, and even a museum dedicated to Musical Instruments you can find it all in Arizona. We have visited this state several times over the years and still have many more things we can do. In this article I’ll go over the things we have done in Arizona by breaking the state into Central, Northern and Southern Arizona.
Getting to Arizona and Transportation
Arizona has two major airports where you can fly into the state very easily. The largest airport in the state in Phoenix International Airport. The airport is one of the largest airports in the country and is a major hub for American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The airport is serviced by Valley Metro and has a Valley Metro Rail stop near by. Phoenix has a secondary airport called Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport that has flights by Allegiant. Phoenix International Airport is not far from downtown and many of the attractions in the city but renting a car is still the best option to get around to all the sites in the area. Tucson also has a good sized airport with service from most of the major US airlines. A rental car is recommended to visit the Tucson area sites. There are many smaller regional airports that have regional airline service like in Flagstaff and Prescott for example but your best bet would be the larger airports.
Southern Arizona
Southern Arizona has the two largest cities (Phoenix and Tucson) and the capital of the state. There are plenty of natural wonders as well as things to do in the big cities. In Phoenix you can visit the spectacular Musical Instrument Museum, the Desert Botanical Gardens, Papago Park, the State Capital, the Pueblo Grande Museum and so much more. In Tucson you can visit the huge Pima Air and Space Museum, tour a nuclear missile silo at the Titan Missile Museum, see the giant Saguaro Cactus at the Saguaro National Park, or you could take a day trip back into the Old West by driving to Tombstone, Arizona. There is so much to do in this area that I recommend choosing the big cities as a base of operations and take trips from there. To see everything you would truly need a week or more so it you can split it up into a Phoenix Trip and a Tucson trip like we have done.
Phoenix
Phoenix is a large city with over 1.5 million people and is home to a lot of things to do. It is a desert climate like much of the state so in the winter expect mild days and cool nights and in the summer prepare for brutal heat. Its sunny much of the time in the city but you can get the occasional storm and possibly even a dust storm. There are multiple professional sports teams (Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Arizona Coyotes) and a lot to do in the city. You can spend a lot of time in the area doing all the great attractions in the city. We have visited the city multiple times and still not seen everything.
The Musical Instrument Museum
Located in Northern Phoenix the Musical Instrument is a gem that is a must see if you visit Phoenix. The museum is high tech and allows you to journey around the world and listen to and see instruments from every continent. In the museum they give you a head set that allows you to walk up to tv screens that allow you to watch the instruments for a particular country being played. The museum has sections for Latin America, Asia, Oceania, The Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America on the top floor. Nearly every country and style of music is represented. We learned so much about the different cultures and nations by walking through the museum. On the bottom floor there are temporary exhibits, a performer spotlight with exhibits on people like Elvis, Johnny Cash, Bob Marley and many more, an exhibit on mechanical music and a place you can try instruments yourself. There is a nice cafe where you can eat (currently closed for Covid-19). There is an auditorium for concerts as well. This museum is a truly unique and wonderful museum. We took an entire day to tour the museum from 9am to 5pm to truly see everything in the museum. You can of course go quicker if you would like but give yourself plenty of time to visit!
The Desert Botanical Garden
In Papago Park that is only a few minutes from the airport is the unique Desert Botanical Garden. Its an over 100 acre garden full of hundreds desert plants. There are many sculptures and art throughout the garden as well. There are several trails that depict different desert topics such as the Sonoran Desert Trail, and the Desert Wildflower Trail. Each trail is less than a mile and an easy walk. As you walk you will learn about the different areas of the desert such as plains and oasis. They also have exhibits on the Native Americans that inhabited the Valley area. They also have a center to educate on desert gardening. They have a restaurant and cafe to grab a bite to eat. They have a nice gift shop where you can buy cacti to take home with you. We really enjoyed spending a crisp cool morning walking through and seeing all the desert plants. Its much different that most gardens but none the less beautiful. It will take a few hours to walk through and there is a decent fee (around $20 or so a person) to visit the gardens.
Papago Park
Papago Park is a very large city park in Phoenix and Tempe Arizona. It is full of desert trails and red rock formations and buttes. The park is home to the Desert Botanical Gardens, the Phoenix Zoo and a golf course. We took some time to walk through the park in the desert trails but didn’t climb the red rock as many people climbed. There is a distinctive rock called Hole in the Rock (a opening in one of the rocks) you can see. We spend an hour or so walking the trails but you can spend much more time there. Just a note the park can get really crowded on the weekends and we found it difficult to find a parking spot on a cool winter morning. The park is free but the Desert Botanical Gardens and the Zoo do have a charge.
The Pueblo Grande Museum
Within 5 minutes of Papago Park and within sight of the airport you will find another unique site called The Pueblo Grande Museum. The Phoenix area was once inhabited by Native American Tribes called the Hohokam and the O’odham. The tribes built large platform mounds, adobe structures and ball courts. They also had elaborate irrigation systems near the Salt River. At this site you can see replicas of the homes they had, irrigation canals, a ancient ball court and a huge platform mound with the ruins of some of the structures. There is a large museum that is currently closed due to covid-19. The trails are currently free as of this writing but the museum and ruins will costa nominal fee once it fully re-opens. Its a very interesting site and worth a visit in the area.
The Heard Museum
Just North of Downtown Phoenix the Heard Museum is another great place to visit in Phoenix. It is dedicated to Native American Art and Culture. It has great exhibits explaining the local Native American tribes that had settled the areas such as the Hohokam and also talks about current tribes such as the Navajo and Hopi. You can see many great works of art, pottery, dolls and cloth work. When we visited we were greeted to a Native American musical performance. There is a great exhibit on a forgotten story in US history in the Indian Schools that caused great harm to Native Americans as the US government worked to “educate” Native Americans. It shows the pain that was caused during this time. The museum is really well done and we spent a couple hours in it. There is a fee unless you are a member of a NARM museum.
The Arizona Military Museum
This museum is located in the Arizona National Guard Base next to Papago Park. To get into the base you will have to through a military security checkpoint where you will need to show your ID. You are only allowed to drive to the museum while on base. Its a short drive from the main entrance. The museum goes over Arizona Military history from the Spanish first exploring Arizona to Arizona’s involvement in the War Against Terrorism. They have many great military artifacts including pieces of the USS Arizona, a Huey Helicopter, Anti-Aircraft guns, and other historic military equipment. The museum also has an exhibit about the WWII Prisoner of War Camp that was located at Papago Park and an escape of prisoners that occurred once. This museum is free but donations are accepted. It is only open on the weekends in the afternoon and it will take around an hour to visit.
The Arizona Capitol
Near downtown you can visit the Capitol of Arizona. During the writing of this article it is closed to visitors but during normal times its free to enter the Senate and House buildings. Its a self guided tour and you go through security before are able to tour the two separate buildings. In the original capitol building it has now become the Arizona Capitol Museum. You can see exhibits on Arizona history, the sinking of the USS Arizona and tour the old chambers of Arizona government. Its a very well done museum set in the turn of the century old capitol building. This is a nice place to visit and will take you a couple hours to tour and visit the museum.
Other sites to see in Phoenix
There are many other things to see in Phoenix from a fire fighter museum, pro sports and many parks and hiking trails. We have not seen it all and will hopefully come back to the Phoenix area in the future!
Tucson
Tucson is the second largest city in Arizona and like Phoenix is in the Sonoran Desert. The extremely dry climate makes Tucson the ideal place for the Airplane Boneyard. The Boneyard is where retired airplanes from the military are preserved and stored in case they are needed in the future. After some time the planes are scrapped. There are thousands of planes stored at the military base. You can see them as you land in Tucson. The city is home to great aviation related museums such as the Pima Air and Space Museum and the Titan Missile Museum. You can also visit the Saguaro National Park which is split into two sections. There are also great day trip options like to Toombstone from Tucson.
Pima Air and Space Museum
Only a few minutes from the Tucson International Airport you can visit one of the largest aviation museums in the world. Its is home to over 300 hundred planes. Many of those planes are rare examples of a particular type of plane such as the SR-71 Blackbird. The facility has multiple hangers containing aircraft from many different eras including rare WWII planes such as Japanese fighters, a German V-1 Rocket and others. Outside sit hundreds of airplanes from fighter jets to transport planes to commercial airliners. There is a plane that was once Air Force One for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. There are huge planes like a 747 and B-52 bombers to see. Its a spectacular museum especially for aviation enthusiasts. The museum if you go very quickly will take a few hours but you can spend an entire day at the museum. You can purchase a one or two day ticket for the museum. As we had limited time we spent the most of a day at the museum.
Titan Missile Museum
Just South of Tucson in Green Valley is a very unique museum. The Titan Missile Museum houses a cold war relic. It is a Titan II Nuclear Missile and its intact launch facility. You book a tour and you go down underground through nuclear bomb proof vaults into the control room. While in the control room they go through a simulated launch process that thankfully never took place. We then visit the missile itself. Its the last remaining Titan II missile left. It was used in movies such as Star Trek First Contact. After your tour you get a chance to see it from the outside and see some of the infrastructure top side. This is a must see stop in the area as there are few places where you can tour a missile launch complex and see an actual former nuclear missile. The tour will take over an hour so we spent around two hours at the museum.
Saguaro National Park
There are two units of the Saguaro National Park. One West of the city and one East of the city. Both have visitors centers and unpaved driving tours into the wilderness to see the hundreds of Giant Saguaro Cacti. We decided to visit the Western Unit of the park and did not have time to make it to the Eastern Unit. There is a nice museum and visitors center at the Western Unit and you get a good view of all the Saguaro Cactus in the mountainous area. We decided to take the 5 mile dirt road driving tour and stopped several times to walk trails out into the desert. Most of the trails were short. One trail took you up a small hill where you can see many ancient Native American Petroglyphs that were very impressive. There were quite a few people there but it was still tranquil and a very different landscape. The dirt road is passible by normal vehicles (we had a small SUV for a rental car) but it is fairly bumpy in areas so take your time driving. We spent a couple hours touring the park and we would really like to visit the Eastern section some day.
Tombstone
A little over an hour drive to the South East you will find the Old West City of Tombstone. The city got rich during the mining era but as most people know was a rough place to be. A gang called the Cowboys that consisted of people like Johnny Ringo, Curly Bill Brocius, and Ike Clanton ravaged the area. Lawmen like Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp moved to Tombstone looking to make their fortune. It was there that the two sides clashed in the famous Gunfight at the OK Coral. There were many other gunfights and tough times in this small town. Today the main street is like going back in town. Its still a dirt road lined with wooden boardwalks with shops and saloons. There are markers detailing historic locations of places like the Oriental Saloon and the place Virgil Earp was ambushed. The only original building left is the Birdcage Theater that was frequented by all the famous people that were in Tombstone. Inside you can still see bullet holes, artifacts from Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and others from that era. They also have some props from one of my favorite movies “Tombstone”. There is a charge to visit the theater but its worth it. Just outside of town you can visit the Boot Hill cemetery and tour it for a small charge. There is buried those that were killed in the Gunfight at the OK Corral and many others. You will find some of the humorous headstones you have probably seen before in the cemetery. There is a museum at the site of the Gunfight at the OK Corral and you can watch a well done reenactment of the gunfight near where it actually happened. You can also tour a old Silver Mine an visit other museums like the old county courthouse. We visited everything but the Silver Mine and the Courthouse. There is a lot to see in this town. We spent half a day but could have spent much more time.
Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Two hours to the East of Tucson up in desert mountains is a park that preserves one of Americans Frontier Forts located near Apache Pass. The fort was a base of operations where the US military fought against the Chiricahuas Apache Indians in the area. The fighting ended up with the surrender of Geronimo. This park is different than many I have visited. You park at a small parking lot after driving up a gravel road. There are restrooms and interpretative signs at the parking lot. To get to the Fort and the visitors center it is a 1.5 mile hike on a trail. For the most part the trail is pretty easy and it is well marked. There is a gain in elevation going up to the visitors center especially as you get close to the site. Along the way you will pass historical markers, a desert prairie, the Fort Cemetery and the battleground of the Battle of Apache Pass. In this battle a column of US troops moving East to fight Confederate forces were ambushed on the way to a spring in the pass. After spirited battle and the firing of the US cannons the Apache warriors left the battlefield. The visitors center is relatively small but has a nice museum and its a good place to rest after the hike. The view is great from the mountain it is on and you can see New Mexico in the distance. The day we were there a dust storm was blowing in the New Mexico area. You can also tour the ruins of the fort itself. We were not able to stay long as a storm came in and you do not want to be caught in the ravines that can flood on the way back. We had a desert storm soak us on the way back to the car. During the summer you have to be careful of the heat as there are no services between the parking lot and the visitors center.
Central Arizona
In this article I am considering Central Arizona from Just North of Phoenix up to Flagstaff, Arizona. In this area Flagstaff is the largest city and a great base of operations to see many unique and interesting things in the area. The landscape is very different depending where you go. Up in the mountains near Show low you will find forests and Ski Resorts. Most of the area is desert with places like the Painted Desert National Park and Petrified Forest National Park. There are many other really interesting places to visit such as Montezuma’s castle, the Meteor Crater, the Lowell Observatory, see relics of Route 66 and other things. This area is a natural wonder haven so be ready to get outside. Another spectacular area most people know of are in this region. The red rocks of Sedona is another must see place when coming to Central Arizona.
Montezuma's Castle National Monument
Just an hour and a half North of Phoenix and a little South of Sedona you can visit a spectacular National Monument. Montezuma’s Castle National Monument preserves a five story tall ancient cliff dwelling occupied by the Sinagua Native Americans well before Europeans arrived in the Americas. At this park there is a visitors center and museum. You walk a short trail to be able to gaze up and the village set in a large opening on a tall cliff. You are not able to go up to the dwellings themselves but can see them from a distance. Its a great place to visit and not too far off the main highway (I-17). If traveling North or South its a perfect place to stop for a break and see something different. It will take an hour to less than an hour to visit the site.
Sedona
Known for its beautiful red rock buttes and pine forests its a beautiful place to visit. Even if you are just passing through its worth spending a little extra time to drive through and see this beautiful and unique landscape. In the city of Sedona there is a thriving art community where you can visit many different art shops and galleries. There are also many wellness spas you can visit. An interesting place to visit is the Chapel of the Holy Cross that was built into the red rocks. There are also great hiking trails in the area. One spot that has great views of the area that we went to is at the Sedona Airport. The Airport is on a high Mesa that overlooks the valley so there is a parking area where you can see the entire area. We stayed a night and did a little hiking in the area when we visited.
Flagstaff
The largest city in the area and a great gateway to the Northern and North Central attractions in Arizona. The city has many hotels and all the amenities you would need while traveling. For here you can visit and look through telescopes at the Lowell Observatory where Pluto was first discovered. Its also a short drive to the Sunset Crater National Monument where you can walk through ancient Lava fields. Close by is also the Wupatki National Monument where you can see the ruins of an Native American city. The city is also 45 minutes from the Meteor Crater and two hours from the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park. Its also a great base to see the Northern Arizona attractions such as the Grand Canyon.
The Lowell Observatory
The Lowell Observatory a few minutes from Flagstaff has been an observatory since the late 1800s. It was the spot where Pluto was first discovered in 1930. At the observatory there is a museum and at night they open up their telescopes to viewing our galaxy. At the moment of the writing the tours are more limited due to Covid-19 but in normal times you can see a lot through the telescopes. I enjoyed spending an evening looking through the large telescopes and I hope to go back someday!
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Around 30 minutes North of Flagstaff is another completely different landscape in Arizona. The Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument was built around a volcano that erupted with massive amounts of lava around a thousand years ago. Since then nature has been slowly rebounding and the forest coming back. The Sunset Crater cinder cone volcano is visible as you drive through the park. You can see other old volcanos in the Flagstaff area. You can take a hike through the ancient lava fields and see the black dried lava from the eruption. We spent a couple hours visiting the visitor center, driving the park and hiking the trails. Its a $25 charge per car to visit this National Monument.
Wupatki National Monument
A short drive from the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is the ruins of an ancient Native American Pueblo. Within the park is a large pueblo structure that was home to many people. These pueblos have a a distinctive red color and you are able to walk through the ruins you can find in several places in the park. There is a good visitor center that gives you a history of the village. Its another pretty interesting historic site in Arizona and its completely different than the Montezuma’s Castle site further South. The $25 per car entry fee for the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument covers the entry to the Wupatki National Monument. We took an hour or so to visit this site.
The Meteor Crater
Near Winslow, Arizona and around 30 miles from Flagstaff is one of the best preserved meteor craters in the World. The meteor stuck around 50,000 years ago and left 160 feet across crater in the Arizona desert. You can walk along the rim of the crater to view this unique natural site. There is a great museum that talks about this and other known meteor sites around the world. My favorite part of the museum is the Meteor simulator where you can change the speed, composition and other factors of a meteor and see what kind of damage it would do to the Earth. It cost Around $20 a person to visit and it will take an hour or more to tour everything here.
The Petrified Forest National Park
A couple hours to the East of Flagstaff out in the desert you will find the remnants of an ancient forest. The now dry desert climate has petrified (fossilized) the trees and they now lay in the desert where they fell. This park is very large and has a lot to see. At the South Visitor Center you can take a trail and see all the petrified logs. There is a driving tour that takes you to more stops where you can see more petrified logs and beautiful rock formations. Much of the area is called badlands and contains “painted” formations that change color depending on the light of the day. In the painted desert area you can see the vastness of the badlands and all the different colors. There are quite a few hiking trails and we took a few but be warned in the heat of the summer be careful and bring plenty of water with you. At this park you can also see the remnants of Route 66 and The Painted Desert Inn National Landmark where people would stay to marvel at this desolate area. We spent half a day at this national park and its well worth the drive over to it. Its currently $25 a car to enter the park.
Show Low
Up high in the Mountains of Central Eastern Arizona is Show Low, Arizona. Its a small town in a Ski Resort area. The terrain is completely different than most of Arizona in this area as it is Pine forest and not the desert you are used to seeing in Arizona. The interesting name of the city comes from a legend of the original owners of the land. They played a card game to determine who would be the complete owner. Whoever “showed low” would win and one man drew a deuce of clubs and won ownership of the ranch land. Its a nice area if you are looking to Ski or do some outdoor activities in the mountains. We stayed there a night passing through as we toured the state since they have good hotel options. There are some good breweries and other sites at this city.
Seligman
Along I-40 towards Nevada is the small city of Seligman, Arizona. We visited there once on a tour from Las Vegas over to the Grand Canyon. The city used to be on Route 66 and most of the attractions in the city are related to the “Mother Road”. There are a lot of antique stores and other shops that look to preserve the legend of Route 66. Its a nice short stop to stretch your legs and check out some of the shops.
North Arizona
The far Northern area of Arizona is not heavily populated but is home to some spectacular natural and Man Made wonders. The majority of this area has few cities and has quiet a few Native American reservations. There is a lot rough terrain considering the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River run through much of this area. One man made attraction in the region is the Hoover Dam that is half in Arizona and half in Nevada.
The Grand Canyon National Park
One of Seven Wonders of the Natural World this is one place you should try to see at least once in your life. At nearly 300 miles long, over a mile deep and ten miles wide its an awesome sight to behold. The mighty Colorado River carved this canyon over millions of years. There are many different ways you can see the Grand Canyon including walked along the rim, taking a donkey into the canyon, taking a helicopter or a plane or even walking over the edge. There are three rims you can visit in the Grand Canyon. The South Rim, the North Rim and the West Rim.
The South Rim
The South Rim is the most popular place to visit along the Grand Canyon. It is part of the National Park System and there is a large South Rim Visitors Center. There is what they call the Village near the visitors center that has several lodges, hotels and marketplaces you can use while visiting. If you want to stay near the South Rim you will need to book far in advance. There is a great walkway along the rim starting at the Visitors Center. We have visited the South Rim before on a tour from Las Vegas and many years before I visited while staying in Flagstaff. I have never gone to the floor of the canyon or taken a helicopter ride over it. This area can get very crowded especially in the summer so plan ahead.
The North Rim
The North Rim is also part of the National Park System and has a nice visitors center and walking trails along the rim. There are lodges and camping available as well. The North Rim is much less developed than the South Rim and is also not as visited as the South Rim. The elevation is much higher at the North Rim than the South Rim. The North Rim is also closed during the winter due to snowfall along the road to get to it. As you are driving to the North Rim Visitors Center you might run into a heard of Buffalo like we did along the road. We had to stop as a family of Buffalo crossed. There are quite a few roads you can drive in the park as well. We took some time to walk the trails and see the Buffalo but its a pretty long drive from any decently large city so we did not spend a long time at the park. We stayed in St. George, Utah as its easier to come from Utah to get to the North Rim. It is worth the drive to visit this more out of the way viewing point for the Grand Canyon.
The West Rim
The West Rim is only a couple hours drive from Las Vegas and is not part of the National Park Service. The West Rim attractions are on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and are owned by the tribe. The most famous attraction is the glass Sky Walk that you can walk over the edge and look straight down into the Canyon. You can also go white water rafting, take a helicopter ride and many other activities. I have never been to the West Rim before but I would like to try it out sometime when I am in Las Vegas.
The Hoover Dam
Half of the Iconic Hoover Dam is actually in Arizona. When you walk halfway across you will find the Nevada and Arizona border. The visitor center and exhibits are all on the Nevada side so for more information please see the Outside Las Vegas, NV and Southern Utah article for more details about visiting the Hoover Dam. Just a note things could be a little different at this time due to Covid-19 but hopefully things will get back to normal soon.
Tips for Arizona
Arizona is a very large state with a varied landscape. If you are traveling across the state be prepared for decently long drive and quite a few areas are desolate so its best to top off your tank if it looks like it will be a long while before the next city. Be prepared for any kind of weather. In the summer it can get well over 100 degrees so keep water with you whenever you are hiking. In Arizona you can run into dust storms. We came near one near Fort Bowie National Park and it does make driving harder. If it gets too bad pull over and wait for it to pass. In the winter time the weather is very pleasant with mild high temperatures and cool high temperatures in places like Phoenix. It will be much colder in the North and up in the mountains.
There is a lot to do in Arizona so if you can make it there for a long trip or on several short trips. Use the larger cities like Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff as a base of operations and take day trips to the surrounding areas. It makes things much easier. While we have done a lot in Arizona there is a lot more to do than we have done so give this state and its wide open spaces a chance! You will not regret it!