Arizona Day Trips Travel Guide 2023

foreign [Music] [Music] what's going on everybody this is living in Arizona now and today we're going to show you around some of the best day trips across Arizona show you all across the state let's go ahead and get into it starting out here in Sedona now each one of these day trips doesn't just include the town but it also includes the surrounding areas so here in Sedona you've got a lot of Red Rock country that's what they call it right you have the downtown area which is referred to as Uptown and around here you'll see a lot of different art galleries and boutiques really a nice place to walk around grab a bite to eat soak up some of that Sedona Sun consider taking one of those pink Jeep tours as you'll see those cruising all around Sedona here and before or after checking out Uptown you can actually explore around an area called Oak Creek Canyon here they have Slide Rock and they have several different water holes where people like to swim the more you go up and down the Oak Creek Canyon you'll realize it is a very beautiful place it does get crowded on the weekends and holidays so I would recommend trying to avoid Oak Creek Canyon during that time frame but if you can get up here during the weekdays really a beautiful quiet harmonious place to be and one of my favorite things to do while in Sedona is hiking there's so much hikes up here I mean you can go on Google and type in the top 10 hikes or we can make a video about the top 10 hikes in Sedona if you really wanted but really a beautiful place to get out there in nature they also have some golf courses that kind of blend into the surrounding area as well as this really cool Chapel with views that you can go up to so do check that out next up we're going over to press kit now press kit is considered one of the most up-and-coming areas but they have the Prescott National Forest around here that really makes it stand out so if you get a chance to go up here check out the lakes and the forest do some camping they also have Potato Patch which is a nice area to relax in a cabin also check out Groom Creek then you have downtown where you have the old state house building and you have Whiskey Row a popular place to go at night or even in the afternoon nice place to grab a bite to eat and some drinks this is considered downtown Prescott as we continue to cruise around Prescott actually used to be the capital of Arizona for a few years before they moved it back down to Phoenix so lots of History up here it's a National Registry site in some of these places as well you'll notice that the homes are like a Victorian style which is different than what you see across Arizona so lots of History out here in Prescott for you to explore and understand some of my favorite Lakes out here include Watson Lake Lynx Lake lower Goldwater Lake and horse thief Basin Hassayampa Lake get out there and explore some of these Lakes do some kayaking even consider checking out some of these Farms this one here is Mortimer Farms but the Farms out here are popular during The Fall season people come up from Phoenix to go to the pumpkin patches take pictures and do the whole Halloween thing you year round you'll find something going on at one of these Farms across Prescott near Watson Lake there's this patch of Boulders here headed up towards Chino Valley that you should also check out next up way up in northern Arizona is the Grand Canyon one of the most popular destinations in all of the country especially here in Arizona now you have the south rim and the north rim the area around the Grand Canyon is vast and expansive they also have an area called Horseshoe Bend so if you wanted to come up to the Grand Canyon for three or four days and explore the south rim and the north rim that's probably a good amount of time to see a lot of the rim although you could easily spend a week up here and even hike down into the Grand Canyon where they have the Colorado River and then if you go Downstream a bit they have Havasupai Creek which is where the Havasupai waterfalls are very beautiful and world renowned but if you stay up top up here you get great views going all around you can camp in the north rim at the Kaibab National Forest there is also camping on the south rim so wherever you go around the Grand Canyon you can find lodging but if you just want to do a day trip from Phoenix it takes about three hours to get to the Grand Canyon so six hours of driving round trip you could easily walk around the Grand Canyon for six hours also and hang out up here so easily a day trip there's also some really cool museums and Exhibits art galleries up here that you can check out they have these old rock structures symbolize desert Southwest or American southwest lifestyle with the Native Americans out here so getting around the Grand Canyon north rim south rim checking out places like Horseshoe Bend can all easily be done in a day if you leave early enough and willing to come back at in the evening next up we're headed to Verde Valley now here in the Verde Valley you have Jerome you have Cottonwood Clarkdale Cornville and the Verde Valley area including Camp Verde as well so nice place to hang out along the water people come up here and do barbecues picnics get in the water and swim cool off they have flumes up here also this place is about an hour and a half north of Phoenix probably about two and a half to three hours away from Tucson just depends on where you're coming from but you can see people out here just floating along the Verde River they've also got some Native American sites that you can check out around here the downtown area in Cottonwood is probably the best place to walk around and hang out get a bite to eat whether it's lunch or dinner maybe even some breakfast downtown Cottonwood is probably one of the most up-and-coming areas in Arizona so if you're going to be here for a while you should at least check it out and see how they're developing this rustic Vintage Town into something that really drives people from far and wide to come hang out and then from there you can go just about 30 to 40 minutes away to Jerome if you look up onto the mountain to the West you'll see the J on the mountain that's how you know you're in Jerome and this is a popular area for people to walk around even though it's up on the mountain it's still considered part of the Verde Valley really because it's in that vicinity this is an old mining boom town they call it a ghost town but still people live up here and it's really a cool place from Phoenix I would say the Verde Valley is probably the easiest one for you to get to next up we're going to Flagstaff now out here in Flagstaff you will find so much activities up in the High Country that people like to beat the heat with if you wanted to find snow you can go up to Arizona Snowbowl and do some skiing and snowboarding I think the elevation up here is around 7 000 feet here in Flagstaff but if you go up to snowball it's around 9 200 to 11 500 feet just depends because it's a mountain you know you're always going up or coming down and you really will see how fast you can descend an elevation as you drive up and down the mountain Flagstaff is a college town with Northern Arizona University up here so you have the downtown area with many breweries and art galleries some shopping lots of people here hanging out especially on Friday night Saturday nights good place year round to be then they have places like Sunset Crater which is an old volcanic lava field that you can walk around and they have some Native American sites that are very interesting here this one here is called wupatki then they also have Walnut Canyon you can go down there and explore lower some of the cliff dwellings but you can see just how amazing it is I consider this to be the Arizona Machu Picchu right next to San Francisco Peak some call it Mount Humphreys and as we continue to show you around I want to let you know we did make travel guides for each one of these locations so check the links in the description below to watch those next up we're headed to Tucson so in the Tucson area you have the downtown Tucson which is a very nice place to get a bite to eat walk around in the evening time not too much going on down here but it's worth checking out I would say the surrounding areas of Tucson are really where it's going to shine you have the Catalina Foothills very popular with Resorts and also golfing you'll see then they have the Sonoran Desert museum which is nearby they also have some caves they have Colossal Cave Karchner Caverns which is right down the road so just the vicinity around Tucson very interesting as well as going up to Mount Lemon they have a ski resort up there as well there's also Old Tucson where they film many movies and some other areas around here where they have old rustic Western lifestyle going on Tucson is also a college town this is where the University of Arizona Wildcats are located a beautiful campus known for its astronomy actually among other things they have the Pima Air and Space Museum because down here at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is a popular military installation for the United States Tucson is about an hour and a half to two hours away from Phoenix depending on where you're coming from if you go right down the I-10 pretty much by cars the way to do it then they also have Sabino Canyon and some other hiking areas that we talked about before but really a beautiful place around Tucson they have the Saguaro National Forest over here so if you're really into Cactus and Hiking checking it out in the fall or in the winter months even the spring perfect a little bit too hot in the summer to get out there and do these hikes out here but it can be done then there's San Javier air Mission which is this beautiful church out here just south of Tucson about 15 to 20 minutes so so much to do in Tucson I would recommend coming down here for a day trip doing Mount Lemon and some of these other exhibits now from Tucson we're actually headed towards the California border along the Colorado River this year is Lake Havasu City so around Lake Havasu City and the surrounding areas you have Parker and everything in between then you can go out to the island they have the Crazy Horse campgrounds out there they have the nautical beach resort also crossing the London Bridge yes this is the London Bridge that came from London people come out here and just cruise around Lake Havasu like I said it's right there on the border with California if you go a little further south you have places like Scott's Beach you have Parker where they've got the Parker Strip near the Bucks skin Mountain State Park nice area to hang out people bring their RVs out here it does take about three hours to get here from Phoenix probably about four hours from Tucson so take that into consideration leave early in the morning come back late at night you can easily do that Lake Havasu City is extremely hot in the summertime even hotter than Phoenix so if you're coming out here and you're not planning to be on the water I would say just avoid entirely from June until August for sure but if you're coming out during the months of say March April May or September October November really a nice place to be out on the water hanging out people bring their Jet Boats party boats barges they do Fourth of July celebration out here it's okay at night but in the daytime it's scorching hot so make sure you plan accordingly but really a water park destination for people who just like to be out on the water hanging out having a good time if you really are considering a trip out to Lake Havasu City I would recommend you check out our video that we made I'll put link to that in the description below along with the other ones from Flagstaff in Sedona but yeah come out here to Lake Havasu City you can see lots of partying and fun going on out here tons of sunshine so be prepared for that you know you might Lake Havasu City some of the most sunny places in America for sure I think it is considered the sunniest place in America out here this little bar we're walking around here is actually down by the Parker Strip Parker Strip is about 45 minutes to an hour south of Lake Havasu City but the general vicinity here is Lake Havasu that's where you really want to check out Parker Dam Etc next up we're going to head down south this time this is towards Bisbee now around Bisbee you also have Tombstone if you wanted to include that but bisbee's an old historical town definitely worth checking out and as with many of these old Arizona towns you'll see the big bee up on the mountain that's how you'll know you're in Bisbee while here you can check out the Copper Queen mine the lavender pit which are big huge mines in the ground back in the 1920s Bisbee was the place to be they even had a baseball team that was about to be in the major league so Bisbee at one point was a huge economic place to be but has since slowed down nowadays it's just an old rustic town you walk around the old town really a cool place to chill get a bite to eat walk around do a little shopping maybe a hike check out the Copper Queen mine like I said and then head out into the mountains and do some exploring up there because they say they've got some of the best weather they're around the world right here in Bisbee it's out of 5 000 feet elevation to get down here from Phoenix takes about four hours so probably adding Tombstone to the list would be a good idea along the way bisbee's also considered far Southern Arizona so if you head towards South Bisbee you'll come right up next to the Mexican border there you can also take the road down south around the mountain you'll head towards Hereford they've got Miracle Valley on highway 92. so just exploring around Bisbee really a fun place next up we're headed north to Petrified Forest now this is an old ancient sea and you'll see these old trees that have since been petrified or at least that's what the scientists tell us right and you'll see many different large tree stumps just out there and they'll tell you hey petrified forests used to be down there by Costa Rica at that same elevation so it was once a tropical Place nowadays you go up there it's hot in the summertime and freezing cold and wind swept in the winter time but certainly a cool place to explore if you're into geology the Petrified Forest takes about three to four hours to get here from Phoenix so do plan accordingly along the way you'll see Holbrook and you can also go through the Mogan rim and Payson along the way so it's definitely worth it you could probably do it in a day pretty easily but there's so many hikes around here you'll probably want to stay longer although a day trip on a weekend is certainly possible the terrain around here is certainly otherworldly it feels like you're on Mars at times just keep in mind it is a national park and around here they do have a museum lots of hiking like I said but also some exhibits that you can do not many lodging accommodation right here in the town but if you go towards Holbrook or Winslow some of the surrounding areas you can easily stay there if you wanted to do more than just a day trip right also they have some Native American petroglyphs that you can check out [Music] next up we're actually going to head back towards Northeastern Arizona this is the White Mountains out here you have the Apache sick Grieves National Forest you have Show Low Pine Top Lakeside that's what you're going to get up here they have some Lakes they also have another ski area up on Mount Baldy which is called Sunrise so several different ski areas across Arizona for you guys to check out this one for a day trip is a bit further away so it takes about four and a half hours to get here you can also check out Greer while you're up in the White Mountains but the White Mountains are a nice escape from that Phoenix heat when it's 110 down in Phoenix it might just be 90 degrees or 85 degrees up here and cool nights is here's a look at Greer I highly recommend checking out Greer while you're up here and again they're going to have some Native American sites worth looking at as well most of the land around here is off limits so it is Native American reservation so keep that in mind as you're going in between towns so you can't really go off-roading too much unless it's not Native American land elevation up here can range anywhere between five to six thousand all the way up to eight thousand five hundred feet elevation so this is definitely High Country cold cold Winters and very mild beautiful Summers spring is a shoulder season very nice also fall you can get those fall colors here now thanks guys for watching this episode of living in Arizona now as we continue to show you around Arizona welcome to all the new subscribers thank you to all our channel members and definitely check the links Below in the description for Sedona Petrified Forest all the videos we'll put those below thanks everybody and we'll see you on the next one you can watch our 33 best things to do in Phoenix video or the small towns video next by clicking on one of these two videos here [Music] foreign

Channel: Living in Arizona Now

Views: 28,888

Keywords: Arizona, Phoenix, moving to Arizona, live in Arizona, Arizona day trip, Arizona travel guide, Arizona travel tips, Tucson, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Bisbee, Flagstaff, lake havasu city, Arizona travel

Id: vgGz0mG7peQ

Length: 17min 40sec (1060 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 14 2023