This spring, we crossed off several of our major travel bucket list items with a one-week road trip through Arizona. From the arid deserts and prickly cacti of Phoenix to the deep red mountains and sunset views of Sedona to the snowy foothills of Flagstaff, everything in Arizona absolutely blew us away.
Here are all of the places we visited on our one-week Arizona road trip.
Arizona Road Trip Part 1: Phoenix, Arizona
Since we flew into the Phoenix airport, we started and ended our trip in Phoenix. (For more details on the perfect Arizona itinerary, check out this blog!) We explored the main city and several famous suburbs, like Scottsdale, Tempe, and Mesa. We ate so much delicious food, and we got to enjoy the unique beauty of the desert landscape. Here are the coolest places we experienced in the Phoenix area.
The Phoenix Art Museum
When I found out that the Phoenix Art Museum had a permanent Yayoi Kusama exhibit, I knew I wanted to add it to our schedule. I have always wanted to see her work in person! Her illuminated mirror room piece “You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies” was definitely my favorite part of the museum.
The entire museum was really cool, and it honestly exceeded my expectations! Another one of my favorite exhibits was the Thorne Miniature Rooms, a series of tiny 1:12 scale models of historic estates created throughout the 20th century by Narcissa Niblack Thorne. There are lots of interesting modern sculptures, and names that even art novices will recognize, like Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Pablo Picasso. We were really impressed with the variety and we spent several hours exploring.
Read more about the Phoenix Art Museum here.
The Desert Botanical Garden
Ever since one of my favorite travel bloggers posted her photos from the Desert Botanical Garden I’ve been curious about the cacti that seem to come in every shape, size, and color imaginable. We really enjoy visiting the botanical gardens here in DFW, so we thought it would be fascinating to see the native plant life in such an arid landscape. The desert did not disappoint!
There were several different trails for guests to wander, and we took our time exploring all of them. We were lucky enough to spot a hummingbird, a jackrabbit, and some sort of adorable desert mouse while we were there. Since we visited at the very start of spring, we also got to see many of the cacti flowering with bright, colorful blooms.
One of the coolest areas of the garden showcases Saguaro cacti that are over 75 years old and taller than a one-story building. We took a picture of Austin (who is about 6 feet tall) standing next to them for scale!
Read more about the Desert Botanical Garden here.
Papago Park
Less than 10 minutes away from the Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo is the most popular place to watch the sunset in Phoenix, Arizona. Papago Park has several beautiful lakes ringed with palm trees, plus some small mountains.
Nestled inside one of the mountains is a natural land formation called “The Hole in the Rock,” which is, quite literally, a great big hole. The hole is smaller on the side facing the east and widens out like a funnel towards the west. Visitors can climb inside and sit in the large rock hollow, where beautiful views of the surrounding city are visible below. It was a gorgeous place to sit and relax.
Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Shop
When I researched the best places to eat and the best places to take cute pictures in the Phoenix area, Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Shop popped up over and over again. Now that I have visited for myself, I can definitely see why!
Sugar Bowl has served the Phoenix area since 1958, and its adorable pink diner decor looks like a time capsule from that charming era. All of the booths, chairs, menus, napkins, and lights are pastel pink. They serve a full menu or lunch and dinner food, but their most popular offerings are ice cream sundaes. Our sweet waitress recommended that the sundaes were big enough to share… but we each ordered our own sweet treat anyway!
Read more about Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Shop here.
Hash Kitchen
Part of what we look forward to the most on our vacations is sampling the best local cuisine. We decided to “go big or go home” when we visited Hash Kitchen, and we ordered an enormous spread of brunch treats.
We started with a flight of flavored fruity mimosas, scarfed down main courses of pancakes and avocado toast, and then capped things off with a nutella “lobster tail” pastry.
Read more about Hash Kitchen here.
Ghost Ranch
We tried Ghost Ranch because it came highly recommended in all of my foodie research. It was so delicious that it absolutely blew us away! We ended up coming back and eating here twice throughout the course of our trip because the food was THAT good.
We ordered the braised pork taco platter, which comes with rice, beans, salsa, and guacamole. We also added some crispy potato tacos on the side. As a native Texan and a self-proclaimed Mexican food snob, I was wildly impressed with everything we ate there.
Dirty Dough Cookies
We stumbled upon Dirty Dough after noticing their iconic Cookie Monster-shaped treats on Instagram and decided to grab a treat there and bring it back to our Air BnB. We ended up sampling their chocolate chip, cookies and cream, strawberry cheesecake, and dark chocolate raspberry flavors, all of which were decadent and delicious. Our favorites were definitely the gooey classic chocolate chip cookies!
Kelsey Montague Murals
I’m a major Kelsey Montague fangirl, and I have been following her on Instagram ever since we visited her iconic wings mural in the Gulch of Nashville, TN. It turns out Kelsey has painted dozens of her incredible murals all over the state of Arizona, and many of them are in Phoenix!
I was lucky enough to visit four of them while we were in town. Kelsey’s murals are always interactive, so I had a lot of fun finding creative ways to pose at each one!
Read more about the Kelsey Montague Murals in Phoenix, Arizona here.
Superstition Mountains
While most of our time in Phoenix was spent on eating and urban exploration, we did get to see some really incredible nature while we were there too. We drove into the magnificent Superstition Mountains and took a steamboat ride on a canyon lake.
We first stopped in the tiny town of Tortilla Flat to taste some prickly pear cactus gelato, and then we boarded the Dolly Steamboat for a dinner cruise on Canyon Lake at sunset. It was so beautiful and relaxing!
Read more about Canyon Lake and the Superstition Mountains here.
Arizona Road Trip Part 2: Sedona, Arizona
After we thoroughly experienced the Phoenix area, we drove up through the mountains to Sedona, Arizona. We only got to spend one day there before we drove the rest of the way up to Flagstaff, but I honestly wished we had a lot more time to see the breathtaking red mountains! Sedona is thought to be one of the most spiritual places on earth, and I can really understand why. Here are all of the beautiful places we saw throughout our day in Sedona.
Red Rock Crossing
Our first super short hike was near the base of Cathedral Rock at a park called Crescent Moon Ranch. It costs $11 per car to enter, and you can stay as long as you’d like. We strolled along the banks of Oak Creek until we reached Red Rock Crossing – a small beach with spectacular views of Cathedral Rock beyond the river. It was the perfect spot to take pictures, and it didn’t require any strenuous uphill hiking. We wanted to see as many parts of Sedona as possible, so that was ideal for us.
Fay Canyon Trail
Our longest hike of the day was 2.6 miles out and back through Fay Canyon Trail. The trail is flat with beautiful red rocks rising up on either side of you until the very end. When you reach the “End of Trail” marker, there is a steep slope up through the rocks that you can climb to see remarkable views of the canyon spread out in front of you. I was wearing a maxi dress for the whole hike (#DoItForTheGram), and I made it up the cliffside just fine! It was a really easy hike that would be perfect for beginners or families. And the views at the end of the trail are amazing.
Sedona Airport Overlook
After a day full of hiking, we drove to the last spot on our Sedona itinerary. There is a trail with one of Sedona’s famous energy vortexes near the airport, at one of the highest points in the city. We originally planned to hike some of the 3.2-mile trail and visit the vortex, but we arrived so close to sunset that we decided to park and take in the views from the Sedona Airport Overlook instead.
It is honestly remarkable watching the sun’s rays wash the red mountain landscape and the entire city below with golden hues. It is hands down one of my favorite travel memories of all time.
Read more about all of the beautiful places to hike in Sedona, Arizona here.
Cowboy Club Grill
While we were in town, we knew we had to try the famous fried cactus at the Cowboy Club Grill. I ordered the Bison Barbacoa Tacos and Austin tried the Bison Burger.
We split an order of Cactus Fries with prickly pear dipping sauce, and finished off the meal with a huge slice of carrot cake. Everything was so tasty! Cowboy Club also offers Diamondback Rattlesnake Bites, which I am kinda curious to try next time.
Read more about Cowboy Club Grill here.
Arizona Road Trip Part 3: Flagstaff, Arizona
The last leg of our one-week Arizona road trip was dedicated to visiting National Parks and landmarks. Flagstaff served as the perfect home base city for all of our adventures.
Snowy Mount Elden
We didn’t do any hiking in Flagstaff because it was covered in beautiful powdery snow while we were there, but we were treated to epic views of Mount Elden from our Air BnB and as we drove around town. Since Phoenix was sunny and 90 degrees while we were visiting, we were pretty shocked to wake up one morning to 6 inches of snow on the ground in Flagstaff! Since Flagstaff is located in the foothills of the San Francisco Peaks, the climate there is more like Denver than Phoenix.
Route 66
We were also pleasantly surprised to find out that the famous U.S. Route 66 Highway travels through Flagstaff, Arizona! We drove along the highway for a little while and took a commemorative photo at the Route 66 mural near the historic Flagstaff Train Station.
Sycamore Falls
Just an hour outside of Flagstaff is a hidden beauty tucked inside the Kaibab National Forest. Sycamore Falls is one of the most striking and impressive waterfalls in Arizona, yet one of the least crowded landmarks. Not too many people know about this remote trail along the Sycamore Canyon, so if you visit you will probably have the views all to yourself.
Sycamore Falls was one of my favorite places we visited because it was so rugged and natural, untouched by tourists or gift shops.
Read more about how to visit Sycamore Falls here.
The Meteor Crater
45 minutes east of Flagstaff you can visit a massive crater created by a 160-ft wide meteor as it struck the earth. The Meteor Crater is nearly a mile in diameter and 560 feet deep. It is home to the Barringer Space Museum, where guests can also learn about more meteors and how scientists study them. It was an incredible sight to see, although I will warn you that I suffered from super intense altitude sickness when I traveled from the top of the crater’s rim to a lower point inside and back. Definitely bring some IBUProfen and Tums along with you!
The Grand Canyon
No Arizona road trip could ever possibly be complete without a stop at our national icon, The Grand Canyon. Austin had visited the Grand Canyon northern rim on a trip to Las Vegas when he was much younger, but I had never seen it in person. We spent an entire day walking along the southern rim and taking pictures. It actually softly snowed inside the canyon while we were there, which was extra cool!
Read more about visiting the Grand Canyon here.
The Painted Desert & Petrified Forest
Last but not least, my absolute favorite place we saw on our Arizona road trip was the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. It’s a HUGE national park and we actually wished we had devoted much more time to exploring than the 2.5 hours we allotted.
The Painted Desert is a series of hills and mountains marked by colorful stripes where different layers of sediment stacked up over time. There are sandy pinks, vivid blues, and striking white stripes encircling the peaks that are unlike anything I have ever seen before.
The Petrified Forest formed when tree trunks fossilized and crystalized into rock. These chunks of wood-like rock are clustered throughout the sandy hills, sparkling in the sun with their own unique colors. It’s almost like visiting another planet when you wander through this national park.
Read more about the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest here.
Planning Your Own Arizona Road Trip
After we returned from our Arizona road trip, Austin and I agreed that it was our favorite vacation we have ever taken as a couple. There was so much natural beauty around every corner in Arizona, and we would love to visit again someday!
If you’re planning your own Arizona road trip, check out these blogs for tips, guides, and reviews.
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