Arizona · best-of list
18 Top Things to Do in Arizona
All 18 things to do our route editors picked in Arizona, across 6 destinations, gathered in one list. 14 come with an insider tip, and 9 cost nothing to visit.
Our curated picks
18 things to do in Arizona, grouped by destination. Destinations with the most picks come first; this is not a ranking.
Phoenix 4 picks
Camelback Mountain – Echo Canyon Trail
Phoenix · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Steep, rocky 1.2-mile climb to the city's best summit view.
Tip: Start at sunrise; the lot fills fast and the trail closes in extreme heat.
Photo: David Packer · Google
Heard Museum
Phoenix · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Deep collection of Native American art, jewelry and Hopi katsina dolls.
Photo: Yassie · CC BY-SA 3.0
Musical Instrument Museum
Phoenix · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Thousands of instruments from about 200 countries, with headphone audio at each display.
Tip: Allow at least 3 hours; it is bigger than it looks.
Photo: Diane Merrill · Google
Taliesin West
Phoenix · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Frank Lloyd Wright's desert home and studio, seen on guided tours.
Tip: Book the tour ahead; most of the walking is outdoors.
Photo: Lar (primary) User:Lar (secondary) · Public domain
Sedona 4 picks
Cathedral Rock Trail
Sedona · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Short, steep scramble up slickrock to a saddle between red spires.
Tip: Grippy shoes are essential; skip it in rain.
Photo: Benjamin Lin · Google
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Sedona · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Chapel built into red-rock buttes in 1956, with wide valley views.
Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0
Devil's Bridge Trail
Sedona · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Popular hike to a natural sandstone arch you can walk across.
Tip: Start at dawn or take the free Sedona Shuttle to skip the parking crush.
Photo: Jonathan Davis · Google
Pink Jeep Tours
Sedona · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Open-air off-road tours over the red rocks, running since 1960.
Tip: The Broken Arrow route is the most thrilling; book ahead.
Photo: Pink Jeep Tours · Google
Downtown Tucson 3 picks
Downtown Bowl Bash
Downtown Tucson · On our Tucson New Year's Eve route
Tucson's free New Year's Eve street party, with music and food trucks, ending in a lighted taco drop and fireworks at midnight.
Tip: The site has moved between years; check downtowntucson.org in December.
Fox Tucson Theatre
Downtown Tucson · On our Tucson New Year's Eve route
A restored 1930 movie palace on Congress Street with a neon blade sign, now hosting concerts and films.
Tip: Check the holiday calendar; there is often a show the week of New Year's.
Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Rialto Theatre
Downtown Tucson · On our Tucson New Year's Eve route
A 1920 theater across from Hotel Congress that is now Tucson's main mid-size concert hall.
Tip: Look for a New Year's Eve show and pair it with the taco drop.
Grand Canyon 3 picks
Bright Angel Trail
Grand Canyon · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Classic switchback trail below the rim; turn around at the 1.5- or 3-mile resthouse.
Tip: Going down is the easy half; budget twice the time to climb back.
Photo: Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY-SA 4.0
Desert View Watchtower
Grand Canyon · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Mary Colter's 1932 stone tower at the east end, with wide views of the river.
Photo: Grand Canyon National Park · Public domain
Yavapai Geology Museum
Grand Canyon · On our Grand Canyon & Arizona route
Glass-walled museum on the rim that explains the canyon's rock layers.
Photo: Yavapai Geology Museum · Google
Downtown Phoenix 2 picks
Heritage Square
Downtown Phoenix · On our Phoenix New Year's Eve route
Block of restored 1890s houses from the original Phoenix townsite, now home to restaurants and the Rosson House museum.
Tip: Walk it before dinner at Pizzeria Bianco; the Rosson House is lit up at night.
Phoenix Symphony New Year's Eve
Downtown Phoenix · On our Phoenix New Year's Eve route
The symphony's annual NYE concert at Symphony Hall, ending with a champagne toast; held again in 2025.
Tip: It ends early enough to walk to a bar for midnight.
Papago Park & Camelback 2 picks
Desert Botanical Garden
Papago Park & Camelback · On our Phoenix New Year's Eve route
Garden of saguaros, agaves and desert wildflowers set against the Papago Buttes, with trails of under a mile each.
Tip: Confirm Jan 1 hours and book a timed ticket; the morning light is best for photos.
Photo: Scotwriter21 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Phoenix Zoo
Papago Park & Camelback · On our Phoenix New Year's Eve route
Zoo in Papago Park whose ZooLights season ran from late November to mid-January in 2025-26.
Tip: ZooLights tickets are timed; the evening of Jan 1 is quieter than the week before Christmas.
Photo: Jedijoe82 · CC BY-SA 3.0
How we picked these
Every entry is a stop on at least one of TripsCircle's hand-curated routes, chosen by our route editors, who wrote the reason to go shown with each place. These are our curated picks, not a scored ranking: we haven't rated or reviewed them against each other. The list is grouped by destination, and within each destination places that appear on more routes come first.
Prices ($ to $$$$) and visit lengths are rough guides from our route notes, not quotes. Check opening hours before you go.
About this list
How did you choose the things to do in Arizona?
Each one is a stop on a TripsCircle route that our editors built by hand, and each comes with a written reason to go. This page shows all 18 of them. They are curated picks, not a ranked score.
Which part of Arizona has the most things to do on this list?
Phoenix and Sedona lead with 4 each; the other picks are spread across 4 more destinations.
Are any of these free?
9 picks on this list are marked free in our route notes: Camelback Mountain – Echo Canyon Trail, Cathedral Rock Trail, Downtown Bowl Bash, Bright Angel Trail, Heritage Square, and more. Check ahead, since parking or special exhibits can cost extra.
More lists for Arizona
Top things to do nearby
Destinations on this list
- Phoenix 4 on this list
- Sedona 4 on this list
- Downtown Tucson 3 on this list
- Grand Canyon 3 on this list
- Downtown Phoenix 2 on this list
- Papago Park & Camelback 2 on this list
Turn this list into a plan
Open a curated route in TripsCircle, add the spots your crew wants, vote with polls and keep everyone on one shared itinerary.