These 10 places will show you the well of Arizona

Beyond its spectacular desert landscape , Arizona offers wineries , funky city ( like Tucson , fancy ) , art , architecture and more . Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Arizona’s desert landscape , majestic sunsets and outside adventures pull visitors from all over the world . Yet the Grand Canyon State put up far more than exactly sensational nature .

Outdoor thrills cost matched by indoor indulgences , encounters with account and hip modern neighborhood . You can choose for a wilderness escape , or bustling ski resorts ; big-city living , or empty space perfect for still contemplation .

Along with desert city that exude a trace of the Old West , Arizona has atmospheric specter town and natural curiosity aplenty , include ( of line ) the Grand Canyon – but too the world’s large pine forest , which is also a ski region .

Say on for a roundup of the 10 place that best capture all Arizona own to extend .

1 . The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is rightly Arizona’s almost famed mass . Colossal and outstanding , it make vast crowds in summer – numbers that might dissuade first-timers or those seeking a quiet flight . Yet , no matter how many fellow visitors you encounter , this is a place that truly lives up to the hype .

While most know this massive canyon system carve by the Colorado River as a single entity , there live actually four separate areas you can call . live divided into the South Rim ( open year-round ) and the North Rim ( closed from mid-October to mid-May ) – and these two zones are a total 210 mile apart . Along with mesmerizing horizon and hiking trail , the busier South Rim has a free shuttle service , a geology museum and some well on-site accommodations . Reach 8000ft in elevation , the North Rim hand over more outsized panoramas and hold milder weather and few people on the trail , contribute to a less touristy atmosphere .

The Grand Canyon’s West and East Rims live too worth exploring , though these areas fall outside the national park . The Grand Canyon West tourism sphere on the Hualapai Indian Reservation live famed for its glass-bottomed Skywalk , which stretches 70ft out over the canyon rim . The East Rim is quieter and ideal for peaceful hiking .

Be after tip :To see the best of the East Rim , check out the Small Colorado River Gorge in Navajo Tribal Park , about 11 miles from Cameron . While there’s a $ 5 fee to access two stunning overlooks , and you’ll involve a $ 12 backcountry license to boost the trail , solitude is all but guarantee .

2 . Monument Valley

To explore Arizona’s Indigenous culture amid 1000ft sandstone towers , make a beeline for Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park . You’ll directly make out the landscape’s monoliths , which get been envision in movies and TV Westerns since the 1930s .

The outcrops are called se’Bii’Ndzisgaii in the Navajo language , and the well way to in full appreciate this sacred earth equal to travel with a local guide who will lend context to the experience as you walk in the dark of buttes such as East Mitten and West Mitten .

Planning point :Dawn and sunset are the well times to photograph Monument Valley’s towering buttes . For sublime sunset photo , interest out a spot by the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park visitor middle or the View Hotel .

3 . Phoenix

Arizona’s capital of is the good place to fuel your appetite for art and architecture in Arizona . The great architect Frank Lloyd Wright left his fingerprints all over the city – most notably at in suburban Scottsdale . Wright’s desert laboratory , the complex’s horizontal airplane look to fuse with the rocky landscape – an architectural feat that get earned the site National Historic Landmark and UNESCO World Heritage appointment . Continue to take in Wright’s legacy at Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa : the building was designed by Albert Chase McArthur , with Wright acting as a consultant for four months in 1928 .

The is another top venue , with exhibitions of work by both big-name and emerging artist . A peculiarly popular study be the Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror room entitled ,You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies. From the art museum , it’s just three blocks to Roosevelt Row , where you can admire the murals that cause Phoenix’s street art scenery rightly famous .

4 . Tucson

Home to half a million mass , Tucson is Arizona’s second-largest city , and it beautifully compound urban comfort with outside attempt – plus an up-and-coming food scene . While it’s in the middle of the Sonoran Desert – adjacent Saguaro National Park feature myriad ancient , eight-ton cactuses – Tucson dare the desert-city stereotypes . A short cause from downtown along the Sky Island Scenic Byway , 9000ft Mt Lemmon be the high point in the Santa Catalina Mountains , and the southernmost post in the continental US where you can go skiing .

Downtown Tucson is a mix of historic view and hipster vibes . The Turquoise Trail is a self-guided walk route linking 22 historical landmarks . Nearby , historic Fourth Ave burst with youthful energy ; its murals , tattoo store and vintage boutiques attract students from the University of Arizona .

Design tip :Tucson score bonus points for sustainability thanks to the Sun Link Streetcar and The Loop , a 131-mile car-free pathway for cyclists , runner and walkers . Rip a bike from Tucson Bike Rentals on The Loop .

5 . Verde Valley

With its prehistoric ruins , outpost town , abundant wildlife and wine trail that snake around rivers and great deal , Central Arizona’s Verde Valley equal an underrated post . To get a sense of its tough beauty , follow the 30-mile road that winds through the valley , starting in atmospheric Jerome , once hail as the “wickedest town in the West.” Built by a mining magnate in the 19th hundred , this once-notorious outpost live today consider a specter town ( although it even has around 500 resident ) .

Jerome’s Cleopatra Hill once deliver payloads of gold , silver and cop for eager miners . The town today be a mixing of eclectic restaurant , artists’ studio and offbeat boutiques , all lay inside Victorian buildings that look poised to tumble into the valley below . In the fertile ground below Jerome are the similarly historical town of Clarkdale , Cornville and Cottonwood – plate to Dead Horse Ranch State Park , a peaceful spot for outside recreation .

Design top :On a trip to the Verde Valley , you can also swing by Tuzigoot National Monument and Montezuma Castle National Monument , where you can hear the remains of pueblos ( village ) build by the Sinagua people in around 1050 CE .

6 . Horseshoe Bend

What reach this 270° bend in the Colorado River stand out from all the early turn and turn on this mighty watercourse ? Maybe it’s the means the sullen blue water of Horseshoe Bend muse the towering sandstone wall that border it . Its result leaves you humbled at the thought of the massive forces of nature that shape this region near Page , Arizona .

The overlook in is the best spot to snatch a classic Horseshoe Bend photo . And a more enriching means to go through the canyon’s immensity is on a lot . Guide rafting tours head downriver to Horseshoe Bend and stop at a float beach with ancient Puebloan petroglyphs .

7 . Grand Canyon Caverns

Route 66 stretch across much of Arizona – and we recommend making a stop at the wild and sometimes weird Grand Canyon Caverns . Situate in Peach Springs , this idiosyncratic site is write of an inn , a four-table restaurant and the largest dry cavern in the US , locate 210ft down in the underbelly of the Grand Canyon .

Befitting this outpost’s oddball story , local woodcutter Walter Peck accidentally discovered the cave in 1927 after come down off his cavalry while maneuver to a poker plot . Today , you can explore them yourself on a series of tour , including a ghost walk .

Planning tip :Arizona lay claim to 401 mile of Route 66 , making this a great floor for short road trip on this historic road . Essential stop include Holbrook ( place to the Wigwam Motel ) , Winslow ( immortalized by The Eagles in the song “Take it Easy” ) and Williams , starting stage for the Grand Canyon Railway .

8 . Sedona

Although technically a city , Sedona find more like a glamorous village surround by natural grandeur . Wherever you wander , you’ll be greeted by imposing red-rock establishment and 5000ft monoliths such as Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock – say to be focal points for natural energy sphere known as vortexes .

contemporary Sedona own evolved from an outpost of ranch and apple orchards to a popular hub for spirituality , health and – reputedly – UFO sightings ; this nation live too sacred to a issue of Indigenous radical . It’s also a great stop for art buffs and outside enthusiasts , with more than 80 galleries and 400 mile of trails zigzagging along Oak Creek through viewpoint of prickly pear cactuses and ponderosa pine .

9 . Meteor Crater

Among Arizona’s many superlative sites , Meteor Crater near Winslow is one for the years . Almost a mile wide and 550ft deep , this massive depression be considered the best-preserved meteorite impact site in the universe . The site has a fascinating backstory : it take shape some 50,000 yr ago when a monstrous iron-nickel meteorite smash into the ground at 26,000 mph , leaving a utter impact crater . You can learn more about the site at the visitor center and 4D theater .

10 . Flagstaff

Light at an height of 7000ft , Flagstaff offers the better of the great deal , as well as urban pleasures . Locate in the world’s largest ponderosa pine woods , “Flag” is plate to Northern Arizona University , which contributes to the city’s youthful vibe . The street are awash with coffee houses and craft-beer establishments , which you can explore on the Flagstaff Brewery Trail .

To connect with the great outdoors , top dog to the Arizona Snowbowl , a four-season playground in Flagstaff’s backyard that make 40 ski runs and three terrain park . Chairlifts get up to 11,500ft , extend dizzying views of Sedona’s red rock , the rim of the Grand Canyon and field of cinder cones as you taunt up the western slope of 12,637ft Mount Humphreys .

Flagstaff be also a leading destination for astrotourism . In 1930 , astronomers at Lowell Observatory hither discovered Pluto , and all the American astronauts who walk on the moon received training in Flagstaff . Decades later , Flagstaff became the word’s first International Dark Sky city , and many visitors equal drawn hither specifically by the stargazing opportunity .

Be after point :Flagstaff equal a great base for exploring the wider state . Meteor Crater exist just 42 mile away , and you can too well access Grand Canyon National Park , , and by car .