Arizona attractions

In Scottsdale's Old Town, this small but mighty museum is best known for the Knight Rise skyspace by acclaimed artist James Turrell—an outdoor enclosure with a concrete bench and open ceiling that lets you observe the sky. The minimalist museum also boasts four galleries dedicated to contemporary art, architecture, and design.

If you gaze at Snoopy Rock from the right angle, the red rock formation resembles the famousPeanuts dog lying on his back with Woodstock on his nose. This rock—one of the most famous in Sedona—can be spotted from a number of viewpoints, such as Marg’s Draw Trail, and the shops, restaurants, galleries, and cafés of uptown.

Built in 1931 to appeal to an increasing number of visitors arriving by car, this 26-mile (42-kilometer driving route is a visual delight, showing off the beauty and grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Hugging the rim of one of America’s most epic natural wonders, the road leads to several scenic pullouts and viewpoints.

A visit to Tusayan Ruins and Museumprovides a glimpseinto the life of the Hopi tribe and the Ancestral Puebloan people who inhabited the region 800 years ago. Inside the museum, there are artfully displayed exhibits on various aspects of life in the village including pottery,arrowheads, and other household artifacts. The museum also features some of the original 2,000–4,000 year oldsplit-twig figurines, which are made in the shape of deer or bighorn sheep, sometimes with horns or antlers.The Tusayan Ruins and Museumis part of the Grand Canyon South Rim’s Desert View Drive. The trail itself holds a variety of attractions including Desert View, the breathtaking scenery unfolding from Desert View Watchtower, Navajo Point, where you can see the Colorado River and Escalante Butte, and Lipan Point, where you can see several stretches of the Colorado River. Also here is Moran Point, where you can see a layer of red shale in the canyon walls.

An Italian-style mansion set in the Arizona desert, the Wrigley Mansion was the vacation home of wealthy chewing-gum entrepreneur William Wrigley, Jr. and his wife Ada in the 1930s. Now a historic landmark and a fine restaurant, the mansion is a popular destination for special occasions, historical tours, and wine tastings.

The outdoorsy town of Flagstaff wouldn't be the same without the San Francisco Peaks, a volcanic mountain range located north of town. Known locally as "The Peaks," this is where adventurers come to ski, hike, camp, view wildlife, and rejuvenate in nature. The six summits are remnants of an ancient stratovolcano that rose 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) high.

Straddling Maricopa and Yavapai counties on the northern outskirts of Phoenix, Lake Pleasant Regional Park is a popular recreation area where you can go fishing, hiking, boating, mountain biking, wildlife viewing, camping—and even scuba diving. Its highlight is Lake Pleasant, an artificial lake and part of the Central Arizona Project waterway system of Arizona.

A recreation mecca outside Phoenix, Saguaro Lake provides boating, fishing, camping, and picnicking opportunities in a setting surrounded by groves of saguaro cacti. The lake was formed by the Stewart Mountain Dam, creating an oasis in the desert. Cool off in the water, enjoy a lakeside meal, and partake in activities at the marina.

Chase Field, the first retractable-roof, natural grass stadium in the U.S., is home to the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. The stadium in downtown Phoenix features a swimming pool and one of the largest video scoreboards in the MLB. When baseball isn’t in season, the venue hosts live music and other sporting events.

Driving through the Bearizona wildlife park offers the thrilling opportunity to spot a stunning number of wild animals. Watch as a black bear lumbers through the forest or a wolf sneaks slowly through the grass, and see Bighorn sheep, bison, and burros graze in the forested setting.

No trip to Las Vegas is complete without visiting the Grand Canyon. Thousands of feet higher than the South Rim, the canyon’s North Rim provides impressive vistas, trails along the Colorado River, and a better glimpse at the inner canyon, all with sparser crowds than its more popular counterpart. Highlights on the North Rim include Bright Angel Point (a terminus of the famous Bright Angel Trail), Angel’s Window Overlook, Cape Royal, and Point Imperial—the Grand Canyon’s highest point at 8,800 feet (2,682 meters).

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is the full name for those red-rock landscapes you know so well. Beloved by Hollywood, this sacred area claims almost-eerie rock formations that soar up to 1,000 feet (305 meters) from the dusty desert floor. Under the jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation, you can see some formations from the highway, but to truly explore the area, you’ll need to go deeper.

At six stories tall and 82 feet wide (25 meters), the screen of the Grand Canyon IMAX is grand, perfect for a screening of Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets in the 487-person theater. The 34-minute show takes travelers into the canyon with historical commentary and incredible aerial views—a perfect introduction to the real thing.

Filled with American Indian artifacts, fine art, and natural science displays, the Museum of Northern Arizona is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Colorado Plateau. Visit the 200-acre (80-hectare) campus to explore the vast array of exhibits as well as the museum’s majestic surroundings.

Sprawling across more than 80 acres (32 hectares, this massive wildlife park outside Phoenix is more than just a zoo. It’s home to Arizona's largest collection of exotic animals, from the African savanna to the Pacific reefs and everywhere in between. Conservation talks, feedings, and amusement rides make for a full day of family fun.

The Hualapai have been living in the Grand Canyon area for generations, and today the tribe offers some of the area’s best experiences at Hualapai Ranch. Enjoy cowboy shows, cookouts, and wagon rides; visit Indian Village to learn fascinating history; and brave the Skywalk, a platform extending 70 feet (21 meters) out over the canyon.

For exceptional views out over Oak Creek Canyon, make your way to Oak Creek Vista, just off Route 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona. While the views alone are worth a visit, there’s also an artisan market led by Native American craftspeople to visit plus a seasonal information booth run by the Arizona National History Association to see.

You’ve seen these dusty streets before—Old Tucson has been the backdrop for some 300+ movies and TV shows. Part movie studio, part theme park, this 1860s Tucson lookalike fully recreates the Wild West—think gritty saloons and gunslinging stunts, along with historian-led talks on icons like the American cowboy. Tours, shows, rides, and special events bring the crowds into this storied world of the past.

Deep-dive into the wonders of the world’s oceans at the SEA LIFE® Aquarium Arizona. Located in Phoenix, it’s a favorite destination for families and home to more than 5,000 fish and marine life; expect to see sharks, sea turtles, rays, octopus, and more. 

Enjoy the ultimate indoor LEGO® adventure at LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Arizona. Located in the Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe, this interactive LEGO-themed entertainment park features a dozen rides, build-and-play zones, games, workshops, a café, shop, and a 4D cinema, and offers hours of educational fun for kids and their families.

Enjoy an action-packed day at Castles N’ Coasters in Phoenix. Spanning 10 acres (four hectares), the theme park offers a wide range of attractions that appeal to the young and old, including roller coasters, a carousel, mini-golf courses, go-kart, bumper cars and boats, an arcade, ziplines, an obstacle course, and more.

Mother Road Brewing Company is named after John Steinbeck's nickname for Route 66 in "Grapes of Wrath," and is located right off the historic road in downtown Flagstaff. Since opening in 2011, the brewery has become Arizona's third-largest independent craft brewer and a go-to local hang in northern Arizona's high-country, adventure-obsessed university town.

The Verde Canyon Railroad winds its way along the scenic Verde River at a leisurely 12 mph (19 kph), offering passengers a unique way to experience the Arizona wilderness. The refurbished heritage railroad cars make the round-trip journey through national forest land, with stellar views out windows on both sides of the train.

The Arizona Science Center, set within picturesque Heritage and Science Park in Downtown Phoenix, comprises 140,000 square feet (13,000 square meters) of hands-on exhibits designed to educate and entertain. The complex also includes a planetarium and 5-story-tall screen within the Irene P. Flinn Theater.

Featuring a colorful desert landscape with significant deposits of petrified wood from the late Triassic period, Petrified Forest National Park is an Arizona treasure. Highlights include the Painted Desert badlands that cover the northern area, Blue Mesa Road Loop, and Newspaper Rock, covered with ancient petroglyphs.

Enjoy an evening of improv comedy and laughter at the National Comedy Theatre (NCT) in Phoenix. Inspired by the hit television showWhose Line Is It Anyway, the NCT offers a spontaneous comedy show with plenty of audience interaction. See two teams of professional comedians perform scenes and compete to be the winner of the show.

Think of Tempe as a more offbeat Phoenix. A college town, it manages to hold onto its party vibe while its bigger sister flashes and glows just 20 minutes away. With 330 days of sunshine and warm days, there’s plenty to do here—though just lounging by the pool would be a-okay.

Flowing through the Tonto National Forest east of Phoenix, the Salt River offers adventures (tubing, whitewater rafting, wild horse spotting) in an area known as the other Grand Canyon. Coursing through desert scenes, under high cliffs, and along two faults, it weaves a 200-mile (321- kilometer) course through ever changing landscapes.

Spread across 1.6 million acres (647,497 hectares), Kaibab National Forest, located just east of Las Vegas, is divided into three distinct sections, north and south of the Grand Canyon. Filled with grassland prairies, rocky riverbeds, scrubland, and peaks like Kendrick Mountain, the expansive park gives you a sense of Grand Canyon-esque landscape and ecosystems without the crowds.

A short jaunt from Sedona, the Broken Arrow Trail is a 3.5-mile (5.6-kilometer) trail that's rated an easy hike. It offers great views of the area's red rock scenery and draws in hikers and mountain bikers, while nearby and adjacent roads are used for 4WD tours.