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Aerial view of Lake Powell's Wahweap Bay with sandstone islands and low-water shorelines

Things to do in Arizona

Outdoor Recreation

Outdoor Recreation in Arizona

  • 32 places
  • across 21 destinations
Public domain â€Ē Photo by NPS via Wikimedia Commons

Outdoor Recreation in Arizona

Showing 1–12 of 32

Bill Williams River winding through marsh and desert scrub below rocky hills

Lake Havasu City, Lake Havasu & Colorado River

Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge

One of the last natural cottonwood-willow forests on the lower Colorado, where the Bill Williams River meets Lake Havasu

Free

Banded blue, purple and white badland hills at Blue Mesa under a cloudy sky

Holbrook, Flagstaff & Painted Desert

Blue Mesa

Banded blue, purple and gray badlands on a spur road and a steep 1-mile loop trail in Petrified Forest National Park

From $15

A dirt section of the Bright Angel Trail descending between rock walls and desert scrub below the South Rim

Grand Canyon Village, Grand Canyon & Kaibab Plateau

Bright Angel Trail

The South Rim's most-used trail into the canyon, open to River Resthouse as of November 2026 but with its water stations off

From $20

Pinta sand dunes with a distant mountain range in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge wilderness

Ajo, Tucson & Saguaro

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge

803,418 acres of Sonoran Desert wilderness, by permit, with no services at all

Free

Balanced rhyolite pinnacle and rock formations in Chiricahua National Park under a blue sky

Willcox, Tombstone & Bisbee

Chiricahua National Park

The 'Wonderland of Rocks', America's 64th national park since October 20, 2026

Free

View west from Montezuma Pass over grassland and the southern Huachuca Mountains

Sierra Vista, Tombstone & Bisbee

Coronado National Memorial

Border-top views of the San Pedro Valley, a wild limestone cave and the start of the Arizona Trail

Free

A dirt trail through grassland and cottonwood trees at Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Cottonwood, Sedona & Verde Valley

Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Lagoons, Verde River access, camping and over 20 miles of shared-use trails

From $5

Cactus beds at the Desert Botanical Garden with a red Papago Butte behind

Phoenix, Phoenix & Superstition Mountains

Desert Botanical Garden

140 acres in the Papago Buttes, with one of the world's great cactus and agave collections

From $14.95

The Colorado River curving past Lees Ferry, seen from the Spencer Trail

Marble Canyon, Page & Monument Valley

Lees Ferry

The old Colorado River crossing where Grand Canyon river trips begin, with a pioneer ranch nearby

From $30

Saguaros and desert scrub at Lost Dutchman State Park below the Superstition Mountains

Apache Junction, Phoenix & Superstition Mountains

Lost Dutchman State Park

Trails, camping and cabins at the base of the Superstition Mountains, 40 miles east of Phoenix

From $5

View out from Madera Canyon over woodland, with Elephant Head at left and distant ranges beyond

Tubac, Tucson & Saguaro

Madera Canyon

A sky-island birding canyon in the Santa Ritas, climbing from grassland to pine forest

From $8

Thompson Peak and the McDowell Mountains at sunset, seen from the Bell Pass Trail

Scottsdale, Phoenix & Superstition Mountains

McDowell Sonoran Preserve

More than 30,500 acres and 230 miles of free multi-use trails inside Scottsdale's city limits

Free

Outdoor Recreation Overview

Interest Outdoor Recreation
Attractions 32 places
About

Outdoor Recreation in Arizona

Top Regions
Phoenix & Superstition Mountains (5) Tucson & Saguaro (3) Sedona & Verde Valley (2)

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