11 Best Small Towns in Arizona 2023

what's going on everybody this is living in  Arizona now and today we are going to do a video   about the best small towns in Arizona some of  these remote towns in Arizona are so far off the   grid it's going to take a dirt road to get there  we're going to go across the northern part of   Arizona the southern part of Arizona Central and  also all the way out towards the Colorado River   Valley First up we're going to start out here on  the Colorado River with the border of California   in Parker this town is just south of Lake Havasu  City with a population of 3 400 people it's really   popular with people who enjoy being out on the  water with their boats jet skis bringing their   motor home down here or an RV also living in  a mobile home right there on the banks of the   Colorado River if you wanted to visit here there  are hotels but they're few and far between so   consider an Airbnb or just bring your RV down this  way also one of the popular things to do is party   on one of these beach bars is right there on the  Colorado if you go on Google you can research if   they have any motor home rentals down here or even  boat rentals while you're down in the area the   best time to visit is probably going to be anytime  but the summer because in the summer months the   temperatures can get all the way up to 120 degrees  right here in this area and just a few things to   do while you're here check out the desert bar at  Nelly e Saloon or Buckskin Mountain State Park   all right from the Colorado River we're going  to head to Southern Arizona to an old Arizona   Boom Town Bisbee an old copper mining town with  Phelps Dodge the population here is 5500 people   and while visiting you can consider checking  out the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum Old   Bisbee ghost tour or the queen Mind tour Bisbee  is high up there in the mule mountains at 5500   feet elevation the town was founded in 1880 as a  copper gold and silver mining Boomtown town named   after judge DeWitt Bisbee nowadays it's mostly  known for its art cafes and the mining tours also   this is a reminder in the time stamps Below in the  description you can click on one of those links to   bounce around the video to any other small towns  and the best time to visit Bisbee is probably   anytime because they consider themselves to have  some of the best climate in the world although it   can snow in the winter time just a heads up  next up we're going to head down the road a   bit towards New Mexico and end up in Portal now  portals hits on the other side of the chiricahua   mountains along an area known as Cave Creek there  are two areas of Cave Creek in Arizona this is the   Southern Arizona variety nighttime Skies that are  perfect for stargazing and bird watching in the   afternoon sitting at an elevation of 4 700 feet  it does get brisk in the winter time and expect   Frosty ground the population here is under a  thousand people estimated to be around 750 people   the largest big city in Arizona is Tucson and  that's 107 miles away so you're really going to   be far out there and this is a place where you  will find dirt roads pretty much getting around   here in fact the closest town to portal might  just be Silver City New Mexico and because of its   isolation like that that's why they have Star City  nearby where there's no real light pollution so   you have very dark skies that allow people to see  the stars more clear out here all right now we're   going to stay on the Eastern side of Arizona and  we're going to head north towards Greer right up   here in the White Mountains sitting at an altitude  of 8 300 feet now the exact population is hard to   get a finger on but they say there's 159 residents  although if you search it on Wikipedia or the   internet they'll say that the census reported zero  now it is an unincorporated area nearby Greer you   will find Arizona Snowbowl which is a great place  to do skiing in the winter time they get lots   of snowpack and it's home to the second largest  mountain in Arizona Mount Baldy in the summertime   this is popular with people who want to get out  of the valley of Phoenix or even Tucson escape   the Heat come up here and get some very brisk cool  nights it could be 112 degrees in Phoenix and you   come up here and you'll see it's 79 degrees all in  the same day all right now we're gonna head over   to Jerome which is basically bisbee's twin brother  of sorts both of which have connections to felt   Dodge and copper and gold mining and it is common  to hear Jerome referred to as a ghost town but by   definition it's not even close to a ghost town  because the term Ghost Town means that the only   thing left in the town is the ghost of the past  because all the buildings are vacant well when you   come up to Jerome you'll realize the buildings  are inhabited but they do say that some of the   buildings are haunted with ghosts the cool thing  about Jerome is you go up this mountain where you   see the big J on the hill and you wind through  the town along with ghost tours and staying at   haunted hotels some other things to do are explore  the art scene and explore the wine country around   the area as well as the Verde Valley Railroad  and the population of Jerome is 451. now what do   you guys say we head south down towards the deonza  trail to Tubac now the interesting thing about the   deonza trail is it connects the Camino Real out  in California I consider this area to be Sedona   2.0 in terms of the Arts but also this is where  the Southern Arizona Wine Country exists while   down here it's popular to go to an art gallery a  cigar store and do some wine tasting in the town   and then head down south to tamakuri to check  out the Old Mission along the De Anza Trail   the population of Tubac is around 1200 people also  I would like to remind you guys that we have full   video tours of some of these small towns including  tubach Jerome and some others so check the links   in the description below and the comments to watch  any one of those videos nearby tubach is actually   the Mexican border but also a mountain known  as Mount wrightson and Madera Canyon I would   also recommend you go down to the Nogales Wetlands  while in the area really the best way to explain   tubak to you is it kind of is the best kept secret  in all of Arizona for people who like to be out   of sight out of mind that's what this place has to  offer next up let's head up north to Williams with   a population of 3 200 people Williams is actually  along the old historic Route 66. Williams is   unique because of its proximity to Flagstaff and  San Francisco Peak the tallest mountain in Arizona   but the big thing is that it's considered the  gateway to the Grand Canyon National Park because   they're home to the Grand Canyon Railway so if  you wanted to go to the Grand Canyon buy train you   would actually go here to Williams and ride it up  towards the Grand Canyon to the north but if all   that sounds like too much Adventure you can simply  walk around the old historic town they have diners   and cafes that take you back in time to what it  would have been like in the 1950s and 60s right   here in Williams it really seems like a town that  is stuck right here in time in that era also they   commonly do Western shootouts in the evening  but next up we're headed over towards Payson   sitting at the foothills of the Mogan rim with a  population of 16 500 making it the largest town on   this list actually another thing worth mentioning  is it is home to the world's also worth mentioning   it is is home to the world's oldest continuous  rodeo in the world while visiting patients several   things that are popular with visitors is going  to the water wheel which is a hike they also have   nearby the Tonto Natural Bridge and just plenty  of camping around the Tonto National Forest here   if you go up a ways towards the Mogan Rim you'll  find some of the most pristine natural Wilderness   in all of Arizona in my opinion just be on the  lookout for Elk because there's a healthy elk   population up there Payson is growing with people  because of the cool temperate climate that it has   year round it can snow occasionally in the winter  time so do be aware of that it's basically right   where the desert turns into pine trees that's  what happens right in Payson next up we're   gonna head over to Show Low which is actually  just up the way from the Mogan rim on the other   side of the rim show is the second largest town  on this list with a population of just under 12   000 people the elevation here is 6 500 feet in the  winter time it does get a bit brisk and chilly but   it's still another place that's nice to escape the  valley when it is summertime because you can head   up here and get a cabin and it's just outside  of the White Mountain so it serves as a good   base camp area the reason it's not so popular is  because it's so far away from Phoenix it does take   two to three hours just to get up here so people  usually prefer to go to the lower lying elevations   like case in Prescott or even the Verde Valley  next up we'll head down south again to Patagonia   which is right there on the Mexican border this  is actually the true Southern Arizona wine country   with a population of around 793 people it also  sits at a high elevation around a mile high just   below there actually and it's on the other side of  Mount wrightson from two box so tubach Patagonia   Nogales kind of form this triangle of places that  you can visit when you're down in this area people   who enjoy the outdoors will really like hiking out  here or just being down here in general because   it's got this very peaceful Vibe also there's a  lake nearby known as Patagonia Lake there's not   much to see in the town that's why it's considered  a small town but if you're looking to stop and get   some food you can stop at one of the cafes right  there along the main drag you can see it's green   out here this is actually filmed in the summertime  because of the monsoon it keeps this Plateau very   green that's why they can grow grapes up here  very nicely next up we're heading to another   one of those mining boom towns that still hold  non-globe some people refer to it as Globe Miami   and the population of globe is around 7 200 people  the elevation is 3 200 feet so it's not quite as   high as the other ones on this list but it is also  worth taking a look at because of its history it   also serves as a base camp for people who are  looking to go out to Sierra ancha the Wilderness   or if they're just looking to go out to Roosevelt  Lake Globe is also a pit stop for me when I'm   going up through the Apache reservation on the way  up to the White Mountains now I would like to turn   my attention to you guys out in the audience and  ask what kind of content do you guys really enjoy   do you enjoy these small town tours or do you  enjoy more of the things to do and the adventure   stuff you guys let us know because we will do what  you guys in the audience want so put the comments   below let us know what you guys like also let  us know your favorite towns I know there's many   we're gonna go to them but anyway watch some  more of these other videos I will put a link   to things to do in Arizona and also in Arizona  Adventure we will see you on the next one [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Living in Arizona Now

Views: 51,358

Keywords: Arizona, Phoenix, moving to Arizona, live in Arizona, small towns, best small towns in Arizona, Small towns Arizona, Globe, Williams, Arizona small towns, Flagstaff, Tucson

Id: R11cLuEYxKo

Length: 12min 5sec (725 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 22 2023