Outdoor Recreation

Yuma, Lake Havasu & Colorado River

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge

Thirty miles of Colorado River backwaters north of Yuma, including the river's last unchannelled stretch before Mexico

Free

Kayenta, Page & Monument Valley

Keet Seel

Arizona's largest Ancestral Puebloan cliff village, reached only on rare ranger-led overnight trips

Free

Lake Havasu City, Lake Havasu & Colorado River

Lake Havasu State Park

Beaches, boat ramps and a desert shoreline trail at Windsor Beach, north of London Bridge

From $5

Ajo, Tucson & Saguaro

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

The only large natural stands of organ pipe cactus in the US, on the Mexican border

From $15

Tucson, Tucson & Saguaro

Sabino Canyon

A creek-cut canyon in the Santa Catalinas, with an electric shuttle and long trails

From $5

Flagstaff, Flagstaff & Painted Desert

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Arizona's youngest volcano, a cinder cone that erupted around 1085, with lava-flow trails at its base

From $15

Apache Junction, Phoenix & Superstition Mountains

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Arizona's oldest and largest botanical garden, a copper baron's desert project near Superior

From $10

Sierra Vista, Tombstone & Bisbee

Ramsey Canyon Preserve

A cool, spring-fed canyon in the Huachucas, famous for hummingbirds

From $5

Tucson, Tucson & Saguaro

Saguaro National Park: Rincon Mountain District

The older cactus forest east of Tucson, with an 8-mile paved loop and a wilderness behind it

From $15

Page, Page & Monument Valley

Wahweap and Lake Powell

Lake Powell's south end near Page, with a marina, boat tours and shorelines changed by low water

From $15

Flagstaff, Flagstaff & Painted Desert

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Cliff dwellings built under limestone ledges about 900 years ago, reached by a steep stairway trail east of Flagstaff

From $15

Sedona, Sedona & Verde Valley

Cathedral Rock

Sedona's most recognizable formation, with a short, steep scramble to the saddle

From $5