20 Best Sights in Arizona, USA

Year-round, locals flock to Coronado National Forest to hike, picnic, and enjoy the waterfalls, streams, swimming holes, saguaros, and shade trees. No cars or bicycles are allowed on the roads and trails, but you can walk or take a narrated open-air tram ride (about 45 minutes round-trip) up the wide WPA-built road to the top of the canyon; hop off and on at any of the nine stops or hike any of the numerous trails.

There's also a shorter tram ride (or you can walk) to adjacent Bear Canyon, where a rigorous but rewarding hike leads to the popular Seven Falls (it'll take about 1½ to 2 hours each way from the drop-off point, so carry plenty of water). If you're in Tucson on a summer weekend, take the special Saturday evening tram, running from June to October, and watch the desert come alive with nocturnal critters.

Here you'll see a 100-foot log spanning a 40-foot-wide wash.

With its distinctive shape right out of your favorite Western film and its proximity to the main drag, this popular butte ensures a steady flow of admirers, so you may want to arrive early in the day. The parking lot next to the Bell Rock Pathway often fills by midmorning, even midweek. The views from here are good, but an easy and fairly accessible path follows mostly gentle terrain for 1 mile to the base of the butte. Mountain bikers, parents with all-terrain baby strollers, and not-so-avid hikers should have little problem getting there. No official paths climb the rock itself, but many forge their own routes (at their own risk).

It's almost impossible not to be drawn to this butte's towering, variegated spires. The approximately 1,200-foot-high Cathedral Rock looms dramatically over town. When you emerge from the narrow gorge of Oak Creek Canyon, this is the first recognizable formation you'll spot. The butte is best seen toward dusk from a distance. Hikers may want to drive to the Airport Mesa and then hike the rugged but generally flat path that loops around the airfield. The trail is ½ mile up Airport Road off AZ 89A in West Sedona; the reward is a panoramic view of Cathedral Rock without the crowds. Those not hiking should drive through the Village of Oak Creek and 5 miles west on Verde Valley School Road to its end, where you can view Cathedral Rock from a beautiful streamside vantage point and take a dip in Oak Creek if you wish.

Toward sunset, when this monolith is free of shadow, the red sandstone seems to catch on fire. From the highway, Courthouse Butte sits in back of Bell Rock as you travel from I--17 toward Sedona on AZ 179 and can be viewed without any additional hiking or driving.

The fragments of petrified wood strewn here once held clear quartz and amethyst crystals.

About 5½ miles west of Tuba City, between mileposts 316 and 317 on U.S. 160, is a small sign for the Dinosaur Tracks. It's free to see these tracks that a dilophosaurus—a carnivorous bipedal reptile over 10 feet tall—left in mud that turned to sandstone, but Navajo guides will often greet you as you arrive and insist on taking you around the site. They're very friendly and helpful, but if you take them up on their offer, they expect to be tipped, usually at least $20. Ask them about guiding you to the nearby petroglyphs and freshwater springs.

A short walk leads you past the park's largest log, known as Old Faithful. It's considered the largest because of its diameter (9 feet 9 inches), as well as how tall it once was.

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.

Five miles south of town, this is the spot for water sports, birding, picnicking, and camping. Formed by the damming of Sonoita Creek, the 265-acre reservoir lures anglers with its largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish; it's stocked with rainbow trout in the wintertime. You can rent rowboats, paddleboats, canoes, and kayaks at the marina. Most swimmers head for Boulder Beach. The adjoining Sonoita Creek State Natural Area is home to giant cottonwoods, willows, sycamores, and mesquites; nesting black hawks; and endangered species. From mid-October to mid-April, rangers offer guided birding and discovery tours by pontoon boat ($7) on weekends at 9, 10:15, and 11:30 (call visitor center to sign up) and free guided bird walks during the week.

The 290-foot red-sandstone arch is the world's largest natural bridge; it can be reached by boat or strenuous hike and can also be viewed by air. A boat tour to the monument ($126) is a great way to see not only the monument but also the enormity of the lake and its incredible, rugged beauty. The lake level is down, however, due to the prolonged drought throughout the region, so expect a 1-mile (or more) hike from the boat dock to the monument. To the Navajos this is a sacred area with deep religious and spiritual significance, so outsiders are asked not to hike underneath the arch itself.

A good place for a picnic, Slide Rock is 7 miles north of Sedona. On a hot day you can plunge down a natural rock slide into a swimming hole (bring an extra pair of jeans or a sturdy bathing suit and river shoes to wear on the slide). The site started as an early-20th-century apple orchard, and the natural beauty attracted Hollywood—a number of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart movies were filmed here.

A few easy hikes run along the rim of the gorge. One downside is the traffic, particularly on summer weekends; you might have to wait to get into the park after midmorning. Unfortunately, the popularity of the stream has led to the occasional midsummer closing due to E. coli–bacteria infestations; the water is tested daily, and there is a water-quality hotline at  602/542--0202.

Kids love this butte that looks uncannily like the famed Peanuts beagle lying atop red rock instead of his doghouse. You can distinguish the formation from several places around town, including the mall in Uptown Sedona, but to get a clear view, venture up Schnebly Hill Road. Park by the trailhead on the left immediately before the paved road deteriorates to dirt. Margs Draw, one of several trails originating here, is worthwhile, gently meandering 100 feet down-canyon, through the tortured desert flora to Morgan Road. Backtrack to the parking lot for close to a 3-mile hike.

The junction of U.S. 180/191 and U.S. 60, just north of Springerville, is the perfect jumping-off spot for a driving tour of the Springerville Volcanic Field, which covers an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. On the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau, it's spread across a high-elevation plain similar to the Tibetan Plateau. Six miles north of Springerville on U.S. 180/191 are sweeping westward views of the double volcanoes Twin Knolls. As you travel west on U.S. 60, Green's Peak Road and various south-winding Forest Service roads make for a leisurely, hour-long drive past St. Peter's Dome, and a stop for impressive views from Green's Peak, the topographic high point of the Springerville Field. Stop by the Springerville-Eagar Regional Chamber of Commerce ( 7 W. Main St., Springerville  928/333–2123  www.springervilleeagarchamber.com) for a map and more information on the Volcanic Field.

Sunset Crater, a cinder cone that rises 1,000 feet, was an active volcano 900 years ago. Its final eruption contained iron and sulfur, which give the rim of the crater its glow and thus its name. You can walk around the base, but you can't descend into the huge, fragile cone.

The Tunnel Fire in 2022 heavily damaged the Lava Flow Trail---a half-hour, mile-long, self-guided walk that provides a good view of the lava formations and holes in the rock where volcanic gases vented to the surface---which is now closed indefinitely. The fire also damaged and closed the Lennox Crater Trail, which climbs 280 feet to the top of Lenox Crater; should it reopen, wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes since the cinder there is soft and crumbly. Lava Flow, Bonito Vista, and A'a trails are still open despite the fire.

From O'Leary Peak, a 5-mile hike from the visitor center on Forest Route 545A, enjoy great views of the San Francisco Peaks, the Painted Desert, and beyond. The trail is an unpaved, rutted road (closed during winter), with a steep 2.5-mile hike to the top. To get to the area from Flagstaff, take Santa Fe Avenue east to U.S. 89, and head north for 12 miles; turn right onto the road marked Sunset Crater and go another 2 miles to the visitor center.

Witness the effects of time on these cone-shape rock formations colored by iron, manganese, and other minerals.

West of the town of Marble Canyon are these spectacular cliffs, more than 3,000 feet high in many places. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is required here, as there are no paved roads and the sand is deep. Keep an eye out for condors; the giant endangered birds were reintroduced into the area in 1996. Reports suggest that the birds, once in captivity, are surviving well in the wilderness.

If you visit in winter, you can see some of the more than 10,000 sandhill cranes that roost at the Willcox Playa, a 37,000-acre area resembling a dry lake bed 10 miles south of town. They migrate in late fall and head north to nesting sites in February, and bird-watchers migrate to Willcox the third week in January for the annual Wings over Willcox bird-watching event held in their honor.

Toward sunset, when this monolith is free of shadow, the red sandstone seems to catch on fire. From the highway, Courthouse Butte sits in back of Bell Rock and can be viewed without any additional hiking or driving.

Kids love this butte that looks uncannily like the famed Peanuts beagle lying atop red rock instead of his doghouse. You can distinguish the formation from several places around town, including the mall in Uptown Sedona, but to get a clear view, venture up Schnebly Hill Road. Park by the trailhead on the left immediately before the paved road deteriorates to dirt. Marg's Draw, one of several trails originating here, is worthwhile, gently meandering 100 feet down-canyon, through the tortured desert flora to Morgan Road. Backtrack to the parking lot for close to a 3-mile hike.