Travelers are drawn to Arizona by the blinding desert sunshine, but the Grand Canyon state has so much more to offer. Under these flawless blue skies, everything you can imagine to entice, entertain and enthrall is up for grabs.
There are outdoor thrills and indoor indulgences, encounters with history and hip modern quarters, wilderness escapes and tourist-packed ski resorts. Arizona's diversity spans everything from big city living to empty spaces that are perfect for quiet contemplation.
Along with desert cities that exude a hint of the Old West, Arizona has atmospheric ghost towns and natural wonders aplenty, including the Grand Canyon and the world’s largest pine forest (where you can also ski). Here's our pick of the ten best places to visit in Arizona.
Best place for jaw-dropping views
Unsurprisingly, the Grand Canyon is Arizona’s most famous sight. It’s colossal and spectacular and draws huge crowds in summer, which might dissuade first-timers or those seeking a quiet escape. However, it's somewhere that lives up to the hype. People think of this massive canyon system carved by the Colorado River as a single park, but there are actually four separate areas you can visit.
Grand Canyon National Park is divided into the South Rim (open year-round) and the North Rim (closed from mid-October to mid-May), and these two zones are 210 miles apart. Along with mesmerizing views and hiking trails, the busier South Rim has a free shuttle service, a geology museum and some good on-site accommodations. Reaching 8000ft in elevation, the North Rim delivers more outsize panoramas and has milder weather and fewer people on the trails, contributing to a more relaxing atmosphere.
The Grand Canyon’s West and East rims are also worth exploring, but these areas fall outside the national park. The Grand Canyon West tourism area on the Hualapai Indian Reservation is famed for its glass-bottomed Skywalk, looming 70ft out over the canyon rim, while the East Rim is quieter and ideal for peaceful hiking.
Planning tip: To see the best of the East Rim, check out the Little Colorado River Gorge in Navajo Tribal Park, about 11 miles from Cameron. There’s a $5 fee to access two stunning overlooks and you’ll need a $12 backcountry permit to hike the trails but solitude is practically guaranteed.
Best place for wine trails and historic towns
Central Arizona’s Verde Valley is an underrated spot, characterized by prehistoric ruins, outpost towns, abundant wildlife and a wine trail that snakes around rivers and mountains. To get a sense of its rugged beauty, follow the 30-mile road that winds through the valley, starting in atmospheric Jerome, once hailed as the "wickedest town in the West." Built by a mining magnate in the 19th
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As the seasons change and the weather cools, there’s something romantic about curling up at home with a cocktail to warm your bones. The assortment of fall flavors is like nothing else throughout the year, an opportunity seized upon by the world’s best mixologists.
When it comes to veg-friendly cuisine, few cities have as much to offer as Portland, Oregon. It’s the best city for vegans and vegetarians in the U.S. for the fifth year in a row, according to new research from the financial website WalletHub.
When it comes to veg-friendly cuisine, few cities have as much to offer as Portland, Oregon. It’s the best city for vegans and vegetarians in the U.S. for the fifth year in a row, according to new research.
If you’re already thinking ahead to next summer, you’re not alone. Recently, Delta announced a slew of new, returning, and expanded flight routes, many from its Atlanta hub to popular destinations in the American West, slated to kick off in summer 2024.
The beauty of New York State lies not just in its landmark attractions, but also in the places in between – the foliage-blanket hills of the Catskills , the serene stillness of the waters in the Finger Lakes and the silent strength of the peaks of the Adirondacks .
Bold, big and beautiful, Arizona has plenty to brag about. Framed by New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and California, and with Mexico at its southern reaches – the state gets more than 300 days of sunshine a year and has four distinct seasons, so you can bask in summer, hike and bike in spring and fall and ski in winter.
Terry and Al Hershey can afford to live anywhere they please after their successful careers—she in the corporate offices of Time Warner, he running businesses in medical device manufacturing and contract research and development. So, when they loaded up their 34-foot RV at their Bonita Springs, Florida home and hit the road to scout a second retirement locale, they headed to what might sound like a surprising place: Traverse City, Michigan, a small town (population 16,000) 250 miles northwest of Detroit, that sits on a bay opening to Lake Michigan. In 2021, the Hersheys moved into a 132-year-old, 5-bedroom Victorian three blocks from Grand Traverse Bay, where they spend six months a year with their goldendoodle and Aussiedoodle. Now both 76, they hike, bike, kayak and motorboat and can choose from scores of musical performances a year at the nearby Interlochen Center for the Arts and by the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. “We wanted a summer base,” Terry explains. Why not spend all year in Traverse City? They don’t mind the cold (they lived for many years in Colorado), but find the lack of sunshine during the winters in Traverse City too dreary, she says.
With 114,000 square miles of canyons, deserts and forests, Arizona is the sixth-largest state in the US, and the country's favorite Wild West wilderness. As you might expect, this is classic driving country, but with decent rail and bus links, there are alternatives to guzzling gas.
The sheer size (it’s the sixth-largest state) and scope of Arizona make it tempting to try to explore this wonderland on a seven-day road trip around the American Southwest. But from the vastness of the Grand Canyon in its northern reaches to its gunslinging history in Tombstone near the border with Mexico, Arizona has hundreds of miles to cover.