Since the Arizona National Scenic Trail cannot be done as a thru-hike this year, I took a non-traditional approach and started at Mile 700 in Grand Canyon National Park. Due to last summer’s Dragon Bravo Fire, more than 20 miles of the trail is closed on the North Rim. The six-mile stretch of North Kaibab Trail to Ribbon Falls opened up this week, so I made a reservation to spend the night in Bright Angel Campground. The weather was perfect, the scenery sublime, there were lots of ravens flying around, and (as I read) this time of year there were no bugs so I “cowboy camped” without a tent. What a privilege to get a campsite in such an incredible place listening to the creek. I carried my full backpack the seven miles down to the campground, then stashed most of my gear, refilled my water bottle, and headed six miles to the thigh-deep stream crossing for stunning Ribbon Falls, with an elevation gain of about 1,900 feet from the Colorado River. All told, I descended about 7,000 feet across 23 miles on Wednesday, but my left knee held up really well, either due to all the training or trekking poles. Thursday morning I made the hike out in three hours, impressing myself. I feel ready for the physical challenge of the 800-mile Arizona Trail! I am very grateful to be able to choose to do this hard and rewarding type of activity in my beautiful home state.
Last year we published our guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America, so we decided to start a new type of blog post where we create a travel itinerary for all 50 states, in addition to our usual National Forest and National Park entries. After starting with Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Hawai‘i we decided to do a state in the southwest. Arizona probably needs two separate itineraries, with the southern deserts being a great destination in the winter and the high-elevation northern part of the state better in the summer (see Day 8+). We made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in the south, with plenty of options to extend the trip. Scott grew up in Arizona, so he could have easily made this a four-week itinerary and still left out many good options.
On the Mexican border sits 330,689 acres of undeveloped Sonoran Desert recognized as a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve in 1976. Its namesake cactus is more common further south and shares this landscape with 27 other species of cacti, including the famous saguaro. The park’s jagged Ajo Mountains are mostly volcanic rhyolite and to see them at their best, we recommend driving the 21-mile dirt road loop in the evening before turning in for the night at the excellent Twin Peaks Campground, run by the National Park Service (NPS).
Arizona has 19 National Monuments (more than any other state), so if you flew into Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix start with the one located right off Interstate 10.
Desert bighorn sheep can be seen in this remote part of southwest Arizona south of Quartzsite. Cibola and Imperial National Wildlife Refuges along the Colorado River are good spots for birding.
Southwest of Tucson, Arizona in a nondescript stretch of desert are the remains of an underground Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) silo built in 1963, during the height of the Cold War. The nuclear warhead and rocket fuel was long ago removed from the site, but otherwise everything has been preserved. A tour guide takes you below ground in the original elevator to explain the steps required to unleash this devastating weapon.
The Catalina Highway ascends from Tucson through multiple life zones from saguaro-dotted desert to ponderosa pine forests at more than 9,000 feet in elevation. The expansive vistas along the drive are worth the many switchbacks, with Windy Point Vista is an especially beautiful wayside in the pinyon-juniper woodland zone. At the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains, also within Coronado National Forest, tram rides are available through beautiful Sabino Canyon Recreation Area.
If you didn’t get your fill of cacti the first day, you will at this park with separate sections east and west of Tucson. If you only have time for one, we recommend the eastern Rincon Mountain District.
South of Tucson in Tubac, San Cayetano de Tumacácori is a Spanish mission founded in 1691 by Padre Kino and abandoned in 1848. It became a National Monument in 1908 when it was restored to its ruined state based on photographs dating from 1868.
The highly decorated cave was not discovered until 1974, when its location was kept a tight secret while efforts were made to preserve it for future visitors. There are two guided tours on paved trails offered, and if you space out your reservations far enough you can take a hike on the 2.4-mile Foothills Loop Trail in between.
Bisbee
The copper mining center of Bisbee was once the largest city between El Paso and San Francisco. The well-maintained Victorian architecture and flights of steep staircases give this border town a unique atmosphere.
The park does not actually contain a statue or large memorial to Coronado. It does have a steep three-quarter mile trail to a 600-foot long limestone cave bearing Coronado’s name, which visitors can explore on their own with flashlights.
Tucked away in the southeastern corner of Arizona, millions of years of erosion left behind a spectacular collection of rhyolite rock formations that rise above surrounding evergreen trees. All the trails are good, but we recommend an all-day hike through Echo Canyon to the Heart of Rocks Loop where you will find formations resembling camels, ducks, and anything else you can imagine.
Salt River Canyon
Start driving north and be sure to stop for photos where U.S. Highway 60 drops steeply into this gorgeous canyon between Globe and Show Low.
Optional stop at Wilcox Playa Wildlife Area
In the winter, sandhill cranes stay in large numbers in the wetlands south of Wilcox and Interstate 10.
To visit the NPS visitor center, the literal “must-do activity” is to hike 1.5 miles from the trailhead. You do pass interpretive signs, a cemetery, and ruins along the way.
A paved walkway behind the Rainbow Forest Museum is a great place to start, as NPS rangers give guided tours there throughout the day. It is worth a hike to Agate House and a connection to the Giant Logs Trail to see more petrified wood, but be sure to bring water with you in the summer since there is no shade.
“Standin’ on the corner” statue in Winslow
Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey probably could not have guessed when they penned the 1970s anthem “Take It Easy” that it would inspire a statue in an Arizona town on historic Route 66. Perhaps even more fitting is the mural behind it that shows the reflection of a girl driving a flatbed truck. Located off Interstate 40, Winslow is a great place “to loosen your load.”
Cameron Trading Post
As a kid, Scott’s family would always spend the night at the hotel here before taking friends and family to the Grand Canyon National Park. Try the mutton stew or Indian taco in the restaurant at this historic spot.
Optional stop at Meteor Crater
There is a good museum at this big, round hole in the ground along Interstate 40. It is definitely worth seeing once in your life.
Heading north from Flagstaff, a 36-mile loop drive through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument to adjacent Wupatki National Monument passes by the red-hued cinder cone through ponderosa pine forests and sunflower-filled meadows on its way to an arid, rocky high desert region that is dotted with Sinagua ruins from around AD 1100. Nearby cliff dwellings were built in Walnut Canyon National Monument around the same time by another group of Sinagua. To get up close with the cliff dwellings inside shallow limestone caves requires a hike down 200 stairs on the one-mile loop Island Trail.
Visit the South Rim of the park from the less busy eastern entrance and stop at the Watchtower and other scenic views along the way. It is worth spending a few nights here and hiking (or riding a mule) to the bottom of the canyon, but that is not for everyone. If you come in the summer, consider a trip to the North Rim or remote Toroweap (online permit required).
Optional stop at Little Colorado River Gorge Navajo Tribal Park
Famous for art galleries and New Age mysticism, the red rock city of Sedona offer plenty of stores and restaurants. Be sure to leave some time to explore some unpaved roads and hiking trails in the surrounding area.
There are numerous trails in the National Forest around Sedona, where sandstone buttes (like Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock) dominate the landscape. The shady West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon is perfect on hot summer days, though in the winter it is also beautiful covered in snow and ice.
Optional stop at Sycamore Canyon Wilderness
This designated Wilderness (55,937 acres) is shared between three National Forests: Coconino, Kaibab, and Prescott. The easiest way in is on the Parsons Trail located outside Clarkdale, west of Sedona. The trailhead is accessed by driving the dirt Forest Road 131 for 10.5 miles from where it splits off near Tuzigoot National Monument.
The Sinagua pueblo at Tuzigoot had about 110 rooms and is estimated to have housed 200 to 300 people. You can walk inside portions of the ruin, including a section with a reconstructed roof.
These cliff ruins east of Phoenix are worth the hike up to, as are many parts of Tonto National Forest, especially the Flat Iron, Hieroglyph Canyon, and Weaver’s Needle.
This is a unique NPS site with livestock (sheep, horses, turkeys) and a hands-on play area for children, as well as the original dusty store which allows visitors to travel back into the late-1800s. There are frequent Navajo rug weaving demonstrations and tours inside the Hubbell Home are available for a fee.
In the heart of the Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona lies this picturesque National Monument. Humans have inhabited this area for 4,500 years, leaving behind numerous pictographs and the dramatic ruins of Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings.
Visitors can reserve spots on the ranger-led day hike to Betatakin cliff dwelling or the 20-person backpacking trips to Keet Seel that are offered twice per month in the summer. The latter is a strenuous trip covering 17 miles total with numerous stream crossings and all water must be carried in. The hardest part is at the end, when a 1,000 foot climb awaits, but it is worth it to be one of the few who get to see Keet Seel, the 150-room ruin that is second in size only to Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park.
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
On the border of Arizona and Utah, entrance into Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park allows you to see the iconic Mitten Buttes in person, which have served as a backdrop for countless films. You can even pitch your tent at The View Campground overlooking the red rock formations.
Havasupai Reservation
It is hard to argue against Mooney Falls and the other waterfalls in Havasu Canyon as being the most outstanding in the state, but it can be difficult (and expensive) to obtain one of the limited reservations available to visit the Havasupai Reservation that borders Grand Canyon National Park.
Retention ponds keep this area green in the hot summer months where ducks paddle and dragonflies buzz through the humid air. When a NPS ranger is present, you can walk around inside Winsor Castle, a Mormon fort that dates back to 1870.
Antelope Canyon
Guided tours are required to access these beautiful slot canyons located on private land on the Navajo Nation
You might want to bring your “selfie stick” to iconic Horseshoe Bend Overlook, a short 0.7-mile one-way hike from the parking area on Highway 89 outside Page.
At Arizona Hot Springs, pools are formed by sandbags in a narrow canyon. It is accessible from Liberty Bell Trailhead by a 6.5-mile out-and-back hike through a beautiful arroyo down to Black Canyon (now the upper reaches of Lake Mohave formed by a dam) on the Colorado River. The trail is closed during the hot summer months, but you can still access it by boat from Willow Beach Marina or just downstream from the Hoover Dam (with a special permit). Further south on Lake Mohave, stop at Emerald Cove for incredible photographs.
After farming along the Salt River (or Rio Salado) for centuries, in the 1300s the Salado people moved to natural caves where they constructed cliff dwellings. Perhaps following catastrophic flooding or drought, the entire Tonto Basin was abandoned by 1450. When construction of Theodore Roosevelt Dam began in 1906, its namesake President protected these ruins using the power of the 1906 Antiquities Act.
Museum, film, Lower Cliff Dwelling, Upper Cliff Dwelling guided tour
Must-Do Activity
Every visitor who is in good enough shape for the 350 foot ascent should make their way up to Lower Cliff Dwelling (with 28 rooms) after watching the film at the National Park Service visitor center. While at the top, talk to the volunteer stationed there for more information about the people who once inhabited the ruins. Only offered from November through April, the 10 a.m. ranger-guided tour (reservations required) to the Upper Cliff Dwelling (with 40 rooms) crosses washes and ascends 600 feet via switchbacks and 60 steps over a three-mile roundtrip.
Best Trail
The paved trail to the Lower Cliff Dwelling gains 350 feet of elevation in a half-mile, providing excellent views of Theodore Roosevelt Lake.
Photographic Opportunity
Hiking to Lower Cliff Dwelling is a good introduction to native plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the iconic saguaro cactus, yucca, sotol, cholla, and barrel cactus.
Highway 188 provides paved access to Tonto National Monument between Payson and Globe, while Arizona Highway 88 (“Apache Trail”) is unpaved past Canyon Lake and until December 2024 that section was closed due to a wash out in 2019. Together they make for a beautiful scenic loop drive suitable for high-clearance vehicles.
Camping
There are campgrounds around Theodore Roosevelt Lake and within Tonto National Forest, which also allows dispersed camping in some areas.
Near the Utah border, Pipe Spring National Monument is located near the turn off from Highway 389 for Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and the remote Toroweap Overlook in western Grand Canyon National Park. Likewise, it is only 60 miles from Utah’s famous Zion National Park, so it makes a good stopping point if you are also visiting Kaibab National Forest or the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The oasis surrounding the three natural springs here demonstrate what this soil can produce when given a little bit of extra water. Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians have been coming here for over 1,000 years and it was an important stop on the Old Spanish Trail. In 1858, Pipe Spring was named by Mormon/Latter-day Saint missionary Jacob Hamblin on his way to the Hopi mesas. Following the 1866 Black Hawk War, Mormon settlers built a sandstone fort called Winsor Castle around the source of the main spring where polygamists used to hide their plural wives before selling the ranch in 1895. Today this park on the secluded Arizona Strip is recognized by the International Dark Sky Association.
Retention ponds keep Pipe Spring National Monument green in the hot summer months where ducks paddle and dragonflies buzz through the humid air. The National Park Service manages a garden with living history demonstrations given occasionally, plus there is livestock including chickens and two longhorns. When a ranger is present, you can walk around inside Winsor Castle, a Mormon fort that dates back to 1870. If you visit during the summer, we recommend you cool off after some time outside by watching the short film and exploring the museum and gift shop. The museum is co-managed with the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians whose reservation surrounds the site. On December 7, 2024, the park was open late for the Holiday Traditions event with caroling, Victorian-era crafts, and free food.
Best Trail
The half-mile Ridge Trail leads uphill to an overlook of the Kaibab Plateau and distant Mt. Trumbull in Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.
Photographic Opportunity
The modest dimensions of Winsor Castle make it unlikely to be confused with Windsor Castle in England.
There is a paved parking lot located off Highway 389.
Camping
The Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians runs a small campground adjoining Pipe Spring National Monument. Dispersed camping is allowed in Kaibab National Forest and the millions of acres run by the Bureau of Land Management on the Arizona Strip.
Navajo National Monument was created to protect the Keet Seel ruin on the Navajo Nation, although the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived here in the 1200s are more closely related to the Hopi and Zuni. Three years later, the ruins at Betatakin and Inscription House (closed to the public) were added to the National Monument. We had such a great visit that we had to add it to his list of Top 10 National Monuments.
During the pandemic, the National Park Service (NPS) closed all access to the ruins until 2023, but visitors can now reserve spots on the 20-person ranger-led backpacking trips to Keet Seel that are offered twice per month in the summer. This strenuous trip covers 17 miles total with numerous stream crossings and all water must be carried in. The hardest part is at the end, when a 1,000 foot climb awaits, but it is worth it to be one of the few who get to see Keet Seel, the 150-room ruin that is second in size only to Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park. You also get to eat lunch at a surprisingly large waterfall in Keet Seel Canyon. For those looking for a shorter five-mile trip with only 580 feet elevation change, weekend day hikes to Betatakin are led by park rangers (sign up the day before on a first-come, first-served basis).
Best Trail
From the NPS visitor center (which is actually on Navajo land outside the National Monument boundary), the paved Sandal Trail follows the canyon rim to an overlook of the Betatakin cliff dwelling. There are signs explaining the local plant species and their uses by indigenous people on the 1.3-mile out-and-back trail. The 0.8-mile roundtrip Aspen Trail and 0.8-mile Canyon View Trail also leave from the visitor center.
Photographic Opportunity
Outside the visitor center, a replica sweathouse and male hogan are on display, plus examples of three-toed dinosaur footprints left in the sandstone. Inside the visitor center, pottery and an example of a family dwelling are on display, plus a short introductory film is offered.
Highway 564 is paved to the visitor center and Sunset View Campground, then a good dirt road leads to the Canyon View Campground and gated trailhead for ranger-led hikes to Betatakin and Keet Seel.
Camping
The free Sunset View Campground has running water and is one of the nicest campgrounds in the entire NPS system (now added to the Top 10 National Park Campgrounds with Running Water). There are vault toilets at Canyon View Campground, which is also free. Campers are limited to a total of seven nights per year at the campgrounds.
Raven flying through BetatakinSunset View Campground is free and has running waterInside visitor centerGuided backpacking tour to Keet SeelKeet SeelKeet SeelSunset from Sunset View Campground
Explore More – When was the large white fir tree added above the main entrance to Keet Seel cliff dwelling?
Raven About The Parks 