Cathedral Rock, Sedona
Cathedral Rock in Sedona is one of the most famous landmarks in the U.S. and one of the best places to visit in Arizona. It is located in Yavapai County in the Coconino National Forest, a great place for a day trip.
Saguaro National Park
The giant saguaro, a well-known symbol of the American West, grows in very few places in the United States, and Saguaro National Park near Tucson was created to protect these rare and magnificent plants.
Grand Canyon, Arizona
The Grand Canyon is an enormous crack in the Earth that can be seen from space, and visiting this magnificent natural formation is on almost everyone’s wish list. The canyon is the result of millions of years of erosion by the waters of the mighty Colorado River. You can see layers of red rock bands that show its long history on the walls of the canyon. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about an hour and a half from Flagstaff.
Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley
Located on Native American Navajo land east of Page, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley is made up of two slot canyons: a slot canyon is a deep and narrow canyon formed by water running through several kinds of rocks including basalt, granite, limestone, and sandstone.
Bisbee
Bisbee, with a population of less than 6,000, is today a popular tourist destination because of its magnificent surrounding red rocks, its colorful history and even more colorful inhabitants. The town is full of galleries, museums, new age shops, restaurants, hotels, and tour guides.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was created in 1937 to preserve one of the few natural habitats of the Organ Pipe Cactus, along with other rare and amazing animals, plants, history, and geology of the Sonoran Desert.
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Barringer Crater, Arizona
Barringer Crater is a meteor crater near Winslow, Arizona, a popular tourist destination, and the source of endless speculations about the origin of this perfectly round giant hole in the ground.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle is an awe-inspiring National Monument about 50 miles from Flagstaff, which tells the story of the intelligence, ingenuity, and resilience of people who built it thousands of years ago. It is a five-story dwelling cut into the soft limestone cliffs of Beaver Creek Canyon that is located 100 feet above the canyon floor.
Lake Powell, AZ
Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado River located on the border between Arizona and Utah. It was created when construction of the Glen Canyon Dam caused flooding of the Glen Canyon in 1972 and is one of the top Arizona destinations. Video, website
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Havasu Falls, AZ
Located close to the isolated village of Supai, the capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, Havasu Falls is a waterfall of the Havasu Creek which flows through the Havasupai land in the Havasu Canyon, a part of the Grand Canyon. If you are looking for waterfalls in Arizona to visit on vacation, this place is amazing.
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Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam is a concrete dam located in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada.
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Superstition Mountains
Superstition Mountains are a spectacular mountain range east of Phoenix in Arizona. From a distance, the ghostly 2000-foot high red cliffs look forbidding and inhospitable. (website)
More ideas: Scottsdale
Tumacacori National Historical Park, Arizona
Tumacacori National Historical Park was created to protect and showcase the ruins of three 17th-century missions, the most famous of which is the Mission San José de Tumacácori, established in 1691. The ruins are adobe, wood, and plaster reminders of the clash of cultures and constant changes that swept through this region throughout the last several centuries.
Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area stretches from the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah to Lees Ferry in Arizona. This 1.25 million-acre park includes spectacular scenic vistas, magnificent geologic formations, and a colorful and often dramatic human history. One of the many destinations for the adventurous is the Horseshoe Bend, a horseshoe-shaped bend that the Colorado River forms as it meanders around the town of Page, about five miles from Lake Powel and the Glen Canyon Dam.
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The Wave
The Wave is a sandstone formation with brilliant, undulating, colorful layers resembling waves.
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Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness
Located in northern Arizona and southern Utah, the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness is a large area of canyons, cliffs, and plateaus. (website link)
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Papago Park
Papago Park is a city park in Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona. Consisting of 1,200 acres in Phoenix and 296 acres is Tempe, the park is a hilly area known for its red sandstone formations, its giant saguaro cacti and other desert plants, small lakes, biking paths, hiking trails, and much more.
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Glen Canyon Dam and Bridge, Arizona
Located near Page, Arizona, Glen Canyon Dam is a large dam built between 1956 and 1966 on the Colorado River.
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Tonto National Monument - 2 hour 20 minute Weekend Getaway from Phoenix
Tonto National Monument is an area in the Superstition Mountains, Gila Country, in central Arizona just on the northeastern border of the Sonoran Desert. The monument is famous for its two Salado culture cliff dwellings. Tonto National Monument is a great weekend getaway from Phoenix, AZ.
Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area
Located in Cave Creek, Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area is a part of the Maricopa County Regional Parks System.
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Canyon De Chelly National Monument
Canyon De Chelly National Monument is an 83,840 acre area that is one of the longest continuously inhabited places in North America: people have lived here for almost 5,000 years.
More ideas: Willcox
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Located in Apache and Navajo counties in northeastern Arizona, Petrified Forest National Park gets its name from the large amounts of petrified wood, covering an area of about 146 square miles (380 square kilometers). (website link)
More ideas: Tusayan
Agathla Peak, Monument Valley
Agathla Peak, Monument Valley is a 1,400 feet (457 meter) peak found south of Monument Valley in Arizona seven miles (11 kilometers) north of Kayenta, Arizona.
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Conclusion
Whether you are planning a quick weekend getaway or a longer vacation, Arizona is home to some of the most scenic places in the United States.
