20 Beautiful Places to Visit in Arizona, From Stunning National Parks to an Incredible Art Exhibit.

• Best tourist destination: Grand Canyon National Park
• Underrated hidden gem: Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
• Best for families: Meteor Crater and Barringer Space Museum
• Best for couples: Chapel of the Holy Cross
• Best for solo travelers: Horseshoe Bend

Arizona is known for its stunning landscapes, from towering buttes that meet hills covered with saguaro cacti to arid canyons that hide towering waterfalls. Archaeological sites like cliff dwellings and ancient petroglyphs only enhance the often otherworldly scenery.

Our list of the most beautiful places to visit in Arizona includes iconic natural landmarks like the Grand Canyon and quirkier attractions, including an impressive art installation in Phoenix and a midcentury chapel perched on the red rocks of Sedona. Here are 20 beautiful places you’ll want to add to your Arizona itinerary.

Grand Canyon National Park

Perhaps the most popular outdoor space in the state, if not the entire country, Grand Canyon National Park is a beautiful place to visit on any trip to Arizona. Staggering in size, it spans almost 1.2 million acres, while the actual canyon measures an average of 10 miles wide and one mile deep. (For comparison, the deepest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench, is seven miles deep.) Explore the South Rim of this awe-inspiring national park by hiking, cycling, or catching one of the free shuttle buses. Note that the North Rim side of the park is closed seasonally from December 1 to May 14, while the South Rim side remains open all year.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, located within the Navajo Nation, offers some of the most stunning desert views in the world. The expansive valley is dotted with towering sandstone pinnacles that seem to shoot out of the Earth, reaching heights of 400 to 1,000 feet. Take in the sights along the 17-mile loop drive, learn about the area’s Indigenous history and culture in the visitor center, try some Navajo and American dishes at Haskenneini Restaurant, and visit the Indigenous artisans selling handcrafted jewelry and other locally sourced souvenirs. You could even spend a night or two under the stars at the on-site MonetValley Eco Hogan, a traditional off-grid structure made of sand, bark, and juniper wood.

Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum

If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if a meteor struck the Earth, make your way to the Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum near Winslow, Arizona. The dramatic depression, which is about 550 feet deep and measures roughly a mile wide, resulted from the impact of a 150-foot-wide meteor. You can view it by walking along the rim or from the visitor center at its edge. This also happens to be one of the best places to stop along Route 66 if you’re exploring the state as part of the legendary road trip.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Built among the vibrant red rock on the outskirts of Sedona, the Chapel of the Holy Cross is one of the most unusual churches in the U.S. Located within Coconino National Forest, the site draws pilgrims as well as tourists who visit for the striking midcentury architecture and stunning views over the desert landscape. As you can imagine, it’s also a popular spot for weddings.

Horseshoe Bend

Aptly named Horseshoe Bend has become one of the most photographed sites in Arizona. This perfectly horseshoe-shaped bend in the Colorado River sits within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about a 10-minute drive from the town of Page. Keep in mind that the hike from the parking lot to the viewing point is about 1.5 miles round-trip and takes roughly 20 minutes to traverse in each direction, so give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the view once you get there. And be sure to wear a hat in the sun—or pack a poncho if it’s cloudy—as there is no cover along the trail.

Petrified Forest National Park

There are just three national parks in Arizona, among a total of 22 National Park Service monuments, sites, and recreation areas. And while the Grand Canyon soaks up all the attention, Petrified Forest National Park often slips under the radar. The visually stunning site is best known for its Rainbow Forest, which features colorful petrified wood that’s more than 200 million years old, as well as several petroglyphs and a visitor center featuring paleontology exhibits. It’s also part of the Great Circle Road Trip, which passes through nine national parks on an epic journey through the American Southwest.

Yayoi Kusama’s Fireflies Infinity Mirror Room

Not all of Arizona’s most beautiful places are found outdoors. The Fireflies Infinity Mirror Room at the Phoenix Art Museum was envisioned by renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Her work, “You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies,” is exactly what it sounds like—a mixed-media installation that uses LED lights and mirrors to create the effect of being surrounded by fireflies in the dead of night. In a word, it’s magical—and it’s a great place to spend a few hours if you need a break from the desert heat.

The Wave

This stunning rock formation (its official name is Coyote Buttes North) resembles a wave made of sandstone and is just one notable feature of the expansive 112,500-acre Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. It’s so photogenic that it has long drawn travelers and photographers willing to go through the competitive permit process and make the difficult 6.4-mile round-trip hike to reach it.

Havasu Falls

One of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, the spectacular blue-green water of Havasu Falls has captivated visitors for generations. You’ll find them on the Havasupai tribal lands located near the remote Indigenous communities of Supai and Grand Canyon National Park. Accessing the village, falls, and spectacular—but carefully protected—scenery requires plenty of planning and a permit, which must be purchased ahead of time.

Wupatki National Monument

Wupatki National Monument is a must for travelers who are fascinated by how the area’s Indigenous people survived and thrived in the hot Arizona desert. While the site sits within a beautiful landscape about a 35-minute drive from Flagstaff, the remains of ancient pueblos are what truly stand out here. Three structures from the early 12th century still stand, the sandstone and limestone buildings paying homage to the Pueblo communities that once lived and traded there.

The Crystal Restaurant at Grand Canyon Caverns & Inn

Editor’s Note: As of this writing, The Crystal Restaurant and all cavern tours are temporarily closed. Here’s what you can normally find there.

Grand Canyon Caverns & Inn’s Crystal Restaurant offers one of the most unique dining experiences around—a meal served 210 feet below the Earth’s surface inside a 345-million-year-old cave network. The menu may be simple, but the scenery is out of this world. Underground diners can enjoy 360-degree views of the ancient cave, which stretches 60 miles from Peach Springs to the Grand Canyon. Reservations are required, while the price includes your lunch entrée with a side, all-you-can-eat dessert, two drinks (including wine and beer), and access to a tour before or after your meal.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

For roughly 5,000 years, the vast Canyon de Chelly National Monument area has been inhabited by several Indigenous groups, including ancient Puebloans (also called the Anasazi) and their descendants, the Hopi. Today, the park sits on Navajo tribal lands in the northeastern part of the state, and is home to 800-foot-tall spires, prehistoric rock art, towering sandstone cliffs, and a surprisingly lush desert canyon.

Antelope Canyon

Northern Arizona’s magnificent slot canyons are located on tribal land that belongs to the Navajo Nation and require a permit and a tour guide to access. The advanced planning you’ll need to do is well worth the experience of hiking through a narrow canyon and seeing the light play upon the red rock. There are two sites worth visiting: Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon. And once you see them, you’ll understand why they’re so widely photographed.

Saguaro National Park

Separated geographically by the city of Tucson, Saguaro National Park has the important job of protecting the cactus-filled Sonoran Desert landscape. But beyond providing a place for the nation’s largest cacti to flourish, it’s home to hiking trails leading to petroglyphs and drives featuring stunning views of the Arizona desert. 

Montezuma Castle National Monument

In Camp Verde, Arizona, this national monument protects a set of dwellings that were built into the rock wall by the Indigenous Sinagua people sometime between the early 11th and 15th centuries. The 20-room wonder that is Montezuma Castle is beautifully preserved and showcases how the area’s former residents lived among their unforgiving desert environment.

Desert Botanical Garden

The desert landscapes of Arizona support a surprising number of plant and tree species, a fact that is not only presented but celebrated at the 55-acre Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. There, several trails lead visitors through displays of otherworldly cacti framed by mountain peaks and vivid wildflowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Get your tickets ahead of time, as this is a pretty popular attraction among locals and visitors alike.

Chiricahua National Monument

In southeastern Arizona, Chiricahua National Monument has been nicknamed “A Wonderland of Rocks” for its surreal formations, which include oddly-shaped hoodoos and precariously balanced boulders. Rising from the desert, the Chiricahua Mountains contain five biomes, ranging from desert to grasslands and forests, and support diverse wildlife, including pig-like peccaries (also called javalina), mountain lions, and Chiricahua fox squirrels, among dozens of other creatures.

Coconino Lava River Cave

Visiting this mile-long lava tube cave, located about a 30-minute drive from downtown Flagstaff in Coconino National Forest, is a memorable experience. Geologists estimate it’s between 650,000 and 700,000 years old, the result of a nearby volcanic eruption. You can still see traces of the “river” of molten rock that carved out the tube, including “lavasicles” (small stalactite-like formations caused by drips) and sections of the floor that resemble waves.

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Walnut Canyon National Monument showcases one of the state’s most interesting geological wonders. The canyon, which dips 350 feet below the rim, is situated about a 15-minute drive southeast of downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. And while Walnut Canyon itself is a stunning sight to behold, it also includes the remains of ancient cliff dwellings that were built into the rock more than 700 years ago. You can view 25 of them by hiking the Island Trail, a strenuous one-mile out-and-back journey that involves descending deep into the canyon.

Biosphere 2

And now for something completely different. Billed as “The world’s largest Earth science experiment,” Biosphere 2 is a controlled environment that was created to help us better understand the planet’s living systems and the impacts of climate change. Visit this University of Arizona lab, about a 45-minute drive from Tucson, to experience diverse ecosystems such as lush mangrove wetlands and humid tropical rain forests. Its beautiful interiors are a far cry from the arid desert that covers much of the state.