Skip to content

Phoenix & Superstition Mountains

Things to see in Phoenix & Superstition Mountains

14 sights, museums, parks and places worth the stop.

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

Phoenix · Museums

Desert Botanical Garden

140 acres in the Papago Buttes, with one of the world's great cactus and agave collections
Turquoise water tumbling over travertine in Fossil Creek among green trees

Payson · Natural Wonders

Fossil Creek

Spring-fed Wild and Scenic River with travertine pools; permit season April 1 to October 1
Saguaros and desert scrub at Lost Dutchman State Park below the Superstition Mountains

Apache Junction · Outdoor Recreation

Lost Dutchman State Park

Trails, camping and cabins at the base of the Superstition Mountains, 40 miles east of Phoenix
Thompson Peak and the McDowell Mountains at sunset, seen from the Bell Pass Trail

Scottsdale · Outdoor Recreation

McDowell Sonoran Preserve

More than 30,500 acres and 230 miles of free multi-use trails inside Scottsdale's city limits
White arched entrance building of the Heard Museum across its lawn courtyard

Phoenix · Museums

Heard Museum

American Indian art in 12 galleries, told from a first-person perspective since 1929
Lower Cliff Dwelling in a rock alcove above a saguaro-covered slope at Tonto National Monument

Apache Junction · Historic Sites

Tonto National Monument

Two Salado cliff dwellings from the 1300s above Roosevelt Lake, one reached only by guided tour
Taliesin West's angular rooflines and desert masonry reflected in a triangular pool

Scottsdale · Architectural Landmarks

Taliesin West

Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and desert laboratory, a UNESCO World Heritage site
Sandstone-clad exterior wall of the Musical Instrument Museum with MIM lettering

Phoenix · Museums

Musical Instrument Museum

More than 7,500 instruments from over 200 countries and territories, with sound at every exhibit
Rocky desert slopes with saguaro and scrub at Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Apache Junction · Natural Wonders

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Arizona's oldest and largest botanical garden, a copper baron's desert project near Superior
Excavated low adobe walls at S'edav Va'aki with an airliner overhead

Phoenix · Historic Sites

S'edav Va'aki Museum

A 1,500-year-old village site and Hohokam canals beside Sky Harbor, formerly Pueblo Grande Museum
Saguaro-covered slopes of South Mountain with downtown Phoenix in the distance

Phoenix · Outdoor Recreation

South Mountain Park/Preserve

More than 16,000 acres and 100 miles of trail on the city's southern edge; heat rules apply
White wooden movie-set chapel at the Superstition Mountain Museum

Apache Junction · Historic Sites

Superstition Mountain Museum

Local history park with a stamp mill, movie-set buildings and a Lost Dutchman exhibit