Must-see attractions in Arizona

  • USA, Arizona, Yavapai county. Sedona, View of Chapel of Holy Cross

    Chapel of the Holy Cross

    Sedona

    If you glance east when driving Sedona’s Red Rock Scenic Byway, a slender structure seemingly welded into the sandstone might catch your eye. Towering…

  • Travel to Saguaro National Park, Arizona, USA

    Saguaro National Park

    Tucson

    Saguaros (sah-wah-ros) are icons of the American Southwest, and an entire cactus army of these majestic, ribbed sentinels is protected in this desert…

  • Group of people sitting near the edge watching sunset at Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, USA.

    Cape Royal

    Grand Canyon National Park

    Strategically located on the southernmost tip of the North Rim high above the great westward turn of the Colorado River, Cape Royal takes in almost every…

  • Grand Canyon National Park North Rim

    Grand Canyon National Park

    Grand Canyon's remote, wild and forgotten North Rim is far less developed, and sees far fewer visitors that its southern counterpart. In part this is due…

  • Grand Canyon National Park

    Grand Canyon Region

    Forged by millions of years of erosion by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon captures the history, scale and beauty of the American West. Overlooks peer…

  • The Crescent Moon Ranch Picnic Area at Red Rock Crossing is one of the most photographed scenes in the southwest, towering Cathedral Rock reflected in the waters of Oak Creek at Red Rock Crossing. The picnic area located at that same site is as popular as it is beautiful.

    Red Rock Crossing

    Sedona

    Sedona’s 200-plus trails offer dramatic views and doses of adventure or escape, whether you’re seeking out the elusive subway cave off Boynton Canyon…

  • View from Airport Mesa in Sedona at sunset in Arizona, USA

    Airport Mesa

    Sedona

    It’s no secret that Arizona’s boundless trails offer infinite variety, like traversing red-rock canyons, winding among ponderosa pine forests and skirting…

  • JMJRPH The Kolb Studio, South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon Village, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona., USA

    Kolb Studio

    Grand Canyon National Park South Rim

    In 1905 Ellsworth and Emery Kolb built a small photography studio on the edge of the rim, which has since been expanded and now holds a bookstore and a…

  • Watchtower in Desert View, Grand Canyon South rim

    Desert View Watchtower

    Grand Canyon National Park South Rim

    The marvelously worn winding staircase of Mary Colter's 70ft stone tower, built in 1932, leads to one of the highest spots on the rim. From here, slats in…

  • Heard Museum.

    Heard Museum

    Phoenix

    This extraordinary museum spotlights the history, life, arts and culture of American Indian tribes in the Southwest. Visitors will find art galleries,…

  • Curved rock formations of Antelope Canyon.

    Antelope Canyon

    Grand Canyon Region

    Unearthly in its beauty, Antelope Canyon is possibly the most famous slot canyon in the world. Located on the Navajo Reservation, a few miles east of Page…

  • Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) peering from cave, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona

    Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

    Tucson

    Home to cacti, coyotes and palm-sized hummingbirds, this 98-acre ode to the Sonoran Desert is one part zoo, one part botanical garden and one part museum …

  • Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America - January 5, 2017. Interior view of the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, with dinosaur skeleton and exhibits.

    Museum of Northern Arizona

    Flagstaff

    Housed in an attractive Craftsman-style stone building amid a pine grove, this small but excellent museum spotlights local American Indian archaeology,…

  • Musical Instrument Museum

    Phoenix

    From Uganda thumb pianos to Hawaiian ukuleles to Indonesian boat lutes, the ears have it at this lively museum that celebrates the world's musical…

  • Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona

    Desert Botanical Garden

    Phoenix

    Blue bells and Mexican gold poppies are just two of the colorful showstoppers blooming from March to May along the Desert Wildflower Loop Trail at this…

  • Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona, USA

    Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

    Arizona

    Around AD 1064 a cinder cone erupted on this spot, spewing ash across 800 sq miles, spawning the Kana-A lava flow. Now the 8029ft Sunset Crater is quiet,…

  • Lowell Observatory

    Lowell Observatory

    Flagstaff

    Astronomers, get ready to geek out! Sitting atop a hill just west of downtown, this national historic landmark – famous for the first sighting of Pluto in…

  • There are dinosaurs and more at Arizona Museum of Natural History -- the only museum of its kind in the great Phoenix area, Mesa, AZ, USA

    Arizona Museum of Natural History

    Greater Phoenix

    Even if you're not staying in Mesa, this museum is worth a trip, especially if your kids are into dinosaurs (and aren't they all?). In addition to the…

  • Wupatki National Monument

    Arizona

    The eruption of Sunset Crater (AD 1040–1100) briefly enriched the surrounding soil, luring the ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and others to the region. By AD…

  • Sharlot Hall Museum

    Arizona

    Prescott's chief museum highlights the town's period as territorial capital (1863–67). The 1928 museum is named for its founder, pioneer Sharlot Hall …

  • Grand Canyon Lodge

    Grand Canyon National Park

    Enter the front door of the lodge and see...the Grand Canyon, somehow looking even larger framed by the massive windows of the sunroom. Built in 1937 out…

  • Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

    Tucson

    Divided into the Enchanted Realm, Exploring the World and the History Gallery, this delightful museum of miniatures presents dioramas that are fantastical…

  • Shoshone Point

    Grand Canyon National Park South Rim

    Walk about 1 mile along the mostly level and shaded dirt road to marvelously uncrowded Shoshone Point, a rocky promontory with some of the canyon’s best…

  • Horseshoe Bend

    Grand Canyon Region

    Calling the view at Horseshoe Bend 'dramatic' is an understatement – the overlook sits on sheer cliffs that drop 1000ft to the river below, as it carves a…

  • Toroweap Overlook

    Grand Canyon National Park

    While not the biggest, or highest, this is perhaps the most dramatic viewpoint in the canyon: you're literally on the edge of a 3000ft drop.

  • Red sandstone found in Sedona radiates in setting sun.

    Red Rock State Park

    Sedona

    Long before Sedona became a destination, only a handful of enterprising people had settled in this geological wonderland. The desert city sits at 4350ft…

  •  A trail at the Palatki ruins in Sedona, Arizona

    Palatki Heritage Site

    Sedona

    When you wander beyond the urban edges of Sedona, the landscape reveals clues to the area’s evolution. Discover secret swimming holes, bridges shaped from…

  • Trail of Time

    Grand Canyon National Park South Rim

    This outdoor interpretative display traces the history of the canyon's formation – each meter equals one million years of geologic history, for a total of…

  • Tucson City, Arizona USA - Dec 26, 2018: The famous Mission San Xavier del Bac under a dramatic sky in Tucson City, Arizona on Dec 26, 2018

    Mission San Xavier del Bac

    Tucson

    The dazzling white towers of this mission rise from the dusty desert floor 8 miles south of Tucson – a mesmerizing structure that brings an otherworldly…

  • Entry arch of Hermits Rest in the Grand Canyon National Park.

    Hermits Rest

    Grand Canyon National Park South Rim

    Commissioned by the Fred Harvey Company and designed by Mary Colter in 1913, this low-flung stone building is the South Rim's westernmost scenic overlook …

  • 4th Avenue street fair.

    4th Avenue

    Tucson

    Linking historic downtown and the university, lively 4th Ave is a rare breed: a rough-around-the-edges, alt-flavored strip with not a single chain store…

  • United States of America, Arizona, Tuscon, Pima Air & Space Museum

Pima Air & Space Museum in Tuscon - stock photo

    Pima Air & Space Museum

    Tucson

    An SR-71 Blackbird spy plane and a massive B-52 bomber are among the stars of this extraordinary private aircraft museum. Allow at least two hours to…

  • TUCSON, AZ/USA - APRIL 11, 2019: Arizona State Museum on the campus of the University of Arizona.; Shutterstock ID 1433095772; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Arizona State Museum

    Tucson

    To learn more about the history and culture of the region's American Indian tribes, visit the Arizona State Museum, the oldest and largest anthropology…

  • Outside the Tucson Museum of Art on N Main Ave in Arizona

    Tucson Museum of Art

    Tucson

    For a small city, Tucson boasts an impressive art museum. There's a respectable collection of American, Latin American and modern art, and the permanent…

  • Old Tucson Studios.

    Old Tucson Studios

    Tucson

    Nicknamed 'Hollywood in the Desert,' this old movie set of Tucson in the 1860s was built in 1939 for the filming of Arizona. Hundreds of flicks followed,…

  • Grand Canyon West

    Arizona

    The only way to visit Grand Canyon West, the section of the Grand Canyon overseen by the Hualapai Nation, is to purchase a package tour. These are based…

  • Monument Valley

    Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

    Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

    Great views can be had from along Hwy 163, but to really get up close and personal you'll need to visit the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. From the…

  • Saguaros (Carnegiea gigantea), cacti, in the evening sun, Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona, USA - stock photo

    Catalina State Park

    Tucson

    With a day-use area, campgrounds and plenty of hiking, biking and horse trails, this state park in the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson is one…

  • Historic Lees Ferry & Lonely Dell Ranch

    Grand Canyon Region

    Lees Ferry was the site of the region's original ferry crossing, and of Charles Spencer’s 1910 effort to extract gold from the surrounding hills. Today it…

  • Arcosanti

    Arizona

    Two miles east of I-17 exit 262 (at Cordes Junction, 65 miles north of Phoenix), Arcosanti is an architectural experiment in urban living that's been a…