347 Best Sights in Arizona, USA

In the Junior Ranger Discovery program, young visitors can pick up an activity pack any time of the year at either visitor center and complete it within an hour or two. During June, there also are daylong camps for kids ages 5 through 12 in the East district.

The Junior Ranger Program provides a free, fun way to look at the cultural and natural history of this sublime destination. These hands-on educational activities for children ages four and up, available at the visitor centers, include guided adventure hikes, ranger-led "discovery" talks, and book readings.

This is the trailhead for wilderness hiking at Petrified Forest National Park. A 1-mile trail leads to the Wilderness Area, but from there you're on your own. There are no developed trails, so hiking here is cross-country style. Expect to see strange formations, beautifully colored landscapes, and maybe, just maybe, a pronghorn antelope. Difficult.

This primitive trail, one of the longest on the North Rim, travels 10 miles one-way (allow six hours each way) from the trailhead at 8,250 feet to Point Imperial at 8,803 feet. It crosses drainages and occasionally detours around fallen trees. The end of the road, at Point Imperial, brings the highest views from either rim. Note that there is no water along this trail. Difficult.

This challenging trail, 7 miles round trip, is the shortest, but steepest, route to the top of Wasson Peak in Saguaro West. It meets the Hugh Norris Trail less than half a mile from the summit. The trail, which begins across from the Arizona–Sonora Desert Museum, is named after the Copper King Mine and leads past many scars from the quest for mineral wealth. Wear shoes with good ankle support for this hike. Look for petroglyphs in this area. Difficult.

Developed by Kingman's active legion of railroad aficionados, the Whistler Stop Railroad Club, this museum is set inside the town's vintage 1907 Santa Fe Railroad depot and contains vintage model-train layouts from the 1940s through the 1960s, plus additional memorabilia chronicling the region's rail history.

After much discussion back in the late 1950s, tribal leaders of the Tohono O'odham nation agreed to share a small section of their 4,400-square-mile reservation with the National Science Foundation to house sophisticated research telescopes. Currently, Kitt Peak Observatory houses two dozen active research telescopes, the largest number in one place. The visitor center has hands-on astronomy activities and exhibits, information about the telescopes, and hour-long guided tours ($20 per person) daily. Complimentary brochures enable you to take self-guided tours of the grounds, and there are picnic areas and walking trails outside. The observatory also offers an outstanding nightly program, recommended for ages eight and older ($75 per person); reservations are necessary. Some snacks and drinks are sold here, which is good to know, because there are no restaurants (or gas stations, for that matter) within 20 miles of Kitt Peak.

The Kolb brothers began building their photographic workshop and residence in 1904, a time when no pipeline meant Emery Kolb descended 3,000 feet each day to get water to develop his prints; he operated the studio until he died in 1976 at age 95. Today the building provides a view of Indian Garden and houses a gallery with paintings, photography, and crafts exhibitions. There's also a small Grand Canyon Association store here. In winter a ranger-led tour of the studio illustrates the Kolb brothers' role in the development of the Grand Canyon. Call ahead to sign up for the tour.

This museum takes an in-depth look at the history of the region with exhibits on the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, London Bridge, Parker Dam, the mining industry, and historic steamboat operation.

People come to Lake Mead primarily for boating and fishing. Adjacent marinas offer watercraft rentals, restaurants, and paddle-wheeler cruises; the turn-off for them is just past the entry gate. A few cultivated areas allow for swimming but they are not designated swim beaches, so no lifeguards are on duty. In fact, the National Park Service highly recommends wearing life jackets, as high winds come up fast on the lake making for potentially dangerous swimming conditions. The rocky Boulder Beach swimming area is about 2 miles past the visitor center.  A fishing license is required within the states of Nevada and Arizona, so if you plan on fishing Lake Mead, get one.

You could spend 30 years exploring the lake's 2,000 miles of shoreline within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and still not experience everything there is to see. Most of us have only a few days or a week, but that’s still plenty of time for recreation in the second-largest reservoir in the nation. Every water sport imaginable awaits you, from waterskiing to fishing. Renting a houseboat and camping are popular within Lake Powell, though small communities around marinas in Page and Wahweap have hotels, restaurants, and shops where you can restock vital supplies.

South of Lake Powell the landscape gives way to Echo Cliffs, orange-sandstone formations rising 1,000 feet and more above the highway in places. At Bitter Springs the road ascends the cliffs and provides a spectacular view of the 9,000-square-mile Arizona Strip to the west and the 3,000-foot Vermilion Cliffs to the northwest.

Subterranean lava flow formed this mile-long cave roughly 700,000 years ago. Once you descend into its boulder-strewn maw, the cave is spacious, with 40-foot ceilings, but claustrophobes take heed: about halfway through, the cave tapers to a 4-foot-high squeeze that can be a bit unnerving. A 40°F chill pervades the cave throughout the year so take warm clothing.

To reach the turnoff for the cave, go approximately 9 miles north of Flagstaff on U.S. 180, then turn west onto Forest Road (FR) 245. Turn left at the intersection of FR 171 and look for the sign to the cave. Note: these forest roads are closed from mid-November to March due to snow. The trip is approximately 45 minutes from Flagstaff. Although the cave is on Coconino National Forest Service property, there are no rangers on-site; the only thing here is an interpretive sign, so it's definitely something you tackle at your own risk. Pack a flashlight (or two).

About ¼ mile after AZ 80 intersects with AZ 92, you can pull off the highway into a gravel parking lot for a view of the Lavender Pit Mine, a huge hole left by the copper miners. Though the piles of "tailings," or waste, are lavender-hued, the pit's namesake is actually Harrison (Harry) Lavender, the engineer largely responsible for transforming Bisbee's rock into commercial copper ore. Arizona's largest pit mine yielded some 94 million tons of ore before mining activity came to a halt.

Imagine thousands of square feet full of LEGO bricks, and not having to clean up any of them. No, it's not a dream---it's LEGOLAND. Kids can see giant LEGO creations as well as play, build, and watch. Buy a dual ticket with the adjoining Sea Life Arizona Aquarium and save on admission.

You might think you're in Italy when you visit this Tuscan-style building perched on a pretty hillside. The wide porch with Adirondack chairs and a bocce ball court invite you to linger awhile after sampling Italian varietals like Sangiovese and Primitivo.

Here, at the canyon's widest point, you can get an astonishing visual profile of the gorge's geologic history, with a view of every eroded layer of the canyon and one of the longest visible stretches of Colorado River. The spacious panorama stretches to the Vermilion Cliffs on the northeastern horizon and features a multitude of imaginatively named spires, buttes, and temples—intriguing rock formations named after their resemblance to ancient pyramids. You can also see Unkar Delta, where a creek joins the Colorado to form powerful rapids and a broad beach. Ancestral Pueblo farmers worked the Unkar Delta for hundreds of years, growing corn, beans, and melons.

A 1-mile round-trip self-guided walk takes visitors past homestead buildings and an orchard left by early Mormon missionaries.

Although barren, this easy 1.6-mile loop passes the largest concentration of wood in the park. Easy.

As the Phoenix metro area gives way to cactus- and creosote-dotted desert, the massive escarpment of the Superstition Mountains heaves into view and slides by to the north. The Superstitions are supposedly where the legendary Lost Dutchman Mine is, the location—not to mention the existence—of which has been hotly debated since pioneer days.

With approximately 200 miles of scenic trails, the recreation area of Madera Canyon—which includes Mount Wrightson, the highest peak in Southern Arizona, at 9,453 feet—is a haven for hikers and birders. Trails vary from a steep trek up Mount Baldy to a paved, wheelchair-accessible path along the creek. Birders flock here year-round; about 400 avian species have been spotted in the area.

There are picnic tables and ramadas near the parking areas, and camping is available. The Santa Rita Lodge, with charming cabins, has numerous bird feeders and a gift shop. Friends of Madera Canyon operate an information station here on the weekends.

This is the most isolated picnic area in Saguaro West. It's on King Canyon Trail, a good area for birding and wildflower viewing. It's about a mile walk to reach the site, and the undeveloped trail isn't wheelchair accessible.

The summer home of Levi Manning, onetime Tucson mayor, was a popular gathering spot for the city's elite in the early 1900s. The cabin can be reached only on foot or horseback via one of several challenging high-country trails: Douglas Spring Trail to Cow Head Saddle Trail (12 miles), Turkey Creek Trail (7.5 miles), or Tanque Verde Ridge Trail (15.4 miles). The cabin itself is not open for viewing.

A natural phenomenon in a privately owned park 43 miles east of Flagstaff, Meteor Crater is impressive if for no other reason than its sheer size. A hole in the ground 600 feet deep, nearly 1 mile across, and more than 3 miles in circumference, Meteor Crater is large enough to accommodate the Washington Monument or 20 football fields. It was created by a meteorite crash 49,000 years ago.

You can't descend into the crater because of the efforts of its owners to maintain its condition—scientists consider this to be the best-preserved crater on Earth—but guided rim tours give useful background information, and telescopes along the rim offer you a closer look. There's a restaurant on-site, and the gift shop sells specimens from the area and jewelry made from native stones.

Talk about truth in advertising: this picnic area gives you an eyeful of Mica Mountain, the park's highest peak. None of the tables are in the shade.

Run by the Jerome Historical Society, the Mine Museum in downtown Jerome focuses on the social history of miners in the area. The museum's collection of mining stock certificates alone is worth the (small) price of admission—the amount of money that changed hands in this town 100 years ago boggles the mind.

When Pat Arnell began collecting miniatures in the late 1970s, she probably didn't imagine that her hobby would eventually outgrow her house and become an offbeat but effective vehicle for people of all ages to explore history and culture. The modern museum displays more than 275 doll houses and room boxes, antique through contemporary, from the United States, Europe, and Asia. There are also plenty of wee folk, like fairies, wizards, and kewpie dolls, and even tiny appliance "samples" that were carried door-to-door by traveling salespeople.

This museum includes an Andy Devine room with memorabilia from Devine's Hollywood years and, incongruously, a portrait collection of every president and First Lady. There's also an exhibit of carved Kingman turquoise, displays on Native American art and artifacts, and a diorama depicting the mid-19th-century expedition of Lt. Edward Beale, who led his camel-cavalry unit to the area in search of a wagon road along the 35th parallel. You can follow the White Cliffs Trail from downtown to see the deep ruts cut into the desert floor by the wagons that came to Kingman after Beale's time.

The five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle National Monument was named by explorers who believed it had been erected by the Aztecs. Southern Sinagua Native Americans actually built the roughly 600-year-old structure, which is one of the best-preserved prehistoric dwellings in North America—and one of the most accessible. An easy, paved trail (0.3 mile round-trip) leads to the dwelling and to the adjacent Castle A, a badly deteriorated six-story living space with about 45 rooms. No one is permitted to enter the site, but a viewing area is close by. From I--17, take Exit 289 and follow signs to Montezuma Castle Road.

The handsome center contains an extensive crafts shop and exhibits devoted to ancient and modern Native American history, including a display on the World War II Navajo code talkers. Most of the independent guided group tours, necessary to go deep into the valley, leave from the center. You can generally find Navajo guides—who will escort you to places that you are not allowed to visit on your own—in the center or at the booths in the parking lot. The center adjoins the stunning View Hotel (and restaurant), which sits on a gradual rise overlooking the valley and its magnificent red rock monoliths, with big-sky views in every direction.