Arizona's Top Ten Attractions

Land of the amazing Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Arizona is a spectacular vacation destination with unique desert landscapes, crystal-clear waters and breathtaking mountain peaks, and a colorful culture. From Native communities and mysterious prehistoric structures to America's fastest growing cities, from alpine ski resorts to outstanding golf courses, Arizona offers travelers a stunning adventure of amazing sights and a unique Native American heritage. Plan your Arizona vacation with these incredible attractions . . .

1. Lake Mead National Recreation Area
   Lake Mead National Recreation Area offers a wealth of things to do and see. With Lakes Mead and Mohave as its center, visitors enjoy a variety of water sports and activities, such as boating, fishing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking and sunbathing in a rugged and picturesque setting. Lakes Mead and Mohave offer Nevada's best sport fishing, and the desert rewards hikers, wildlife photographers, and sightseers with thousands of desert plants and animals, adapted to survive in an extreme place. Discover paved roads that wind through the dramatic desert scenery, shaded picnic areas and several marinas throughout the area. Towering stark mountains, plateaus, desert basins of cactuses and creosote bush, and vertical-walled canyons are some of the sights motorists will encounter.
   
   
2. Grand Canyon
   One of the natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge in Arizona, carved by the Colorado River for 6 billion years. Largely within Grand Canyon National Park, the most visited national park in the US, the chasm is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and over a mile deep. With awe-inspiring views, the Grand Canyon is a natural treasure for exploring roads, hiking trails, braving helicopter rides, or rafting the turbulent currents of the Colorado River. The canyon is a gift of timeless beauty and majesty that transcends experience.
   
   

   Watch the changing light and shadows lengthen across the spires and buttes, time passing into the depths of the canyon. Discover beautiful hiking trails and follow the ravens soaring above the north and south rims. Listen for the roar of the rapids, savor a sunset and explore the incredible sites and attractions. Adventurous ways to explore the rugged parts of the Canyon are by pack trail and backcountry roads. Fly above the canyon on exciting helicopter and airplane tours that land in the basin, or explore by train, van, river raft or horseback.

3. Arizona Trail
   A National Scenic Trail, the Arizona Trail is a narrow band of earth stretching across Arizona from Mexico to Utah. The nearly 800-mile, non-motorized Arizona Trail traverses the state, linking deserts, mountain ranges, canyons, public lands, communities and people. A favorite destination of hikers, bikers, joggers and equestrians, the Arizona Trail is a beautiful, primitive, long distance trail that highlights the state's topographic, ecological, biologic, historic and cultural diversity. Originating at the Coronado National Memorial on the U.S.-Mexico border and ending at the Utah border, the Trail winds through the most rugged and spectacular scenery in Western America.
   
   

   The trail's primary users are hikers, equestrians, mountain bicyclists, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, joggers and pack stock users. As of late 2005 over 720 miles has been signed and open to the public, and 600 have been "officially" designated. The Trail is made up of 43 passages, ranging from 11 to 35 miles.

4. Mystery Castle
   Created out of recycled materials and found objects, Boyce Luther Gulley built a unique "sand castle" in the desert outside of Phoenix. Diagnosed with tuberculosis, he spent the last 15 years of his life creating an 18-room mansion out of native stone, adobe, chunks of petroglyphs, and automobile parts. The mysterious three-story marvel, built on top of a gold mine, is a mish-mash of stone walls and adobe held together by a mortar of sand, cement, calcium, and goat's milk.
   
   
5. Heard Museum
   The scope of the Heard Museum emphasizes the life ways of indigenous people of the southwest, and the museum collection and exhibitions cover the living cultures and arts of contemporary Native peoples. With locations in Phoenix and Scottsdale, the museums feature beautiful galleries and exhibits with Native American art and objects. The 21,000-square-foot Native People in the Southwest exhibition at the downtown Phoenix museum showcases the finest works from the Heard's permanent collection and marks the culmination of the Heard Museum's 75th anniversary celebration. Opened June 2007, the new Heard Museum North Scottsdale displays an array of paintings, sculpture, jewelry, baskets, Kachina dolls, pottery, textiles and weaving from the Heard Museum collection. The museum hosts events like the Heard Museum Indian Market, Spanish Market and World Champion Hoop Dance Contest.
   
   
6. Montezuma Castle National Monument
   Discover this historic five-story Native American dwelling carved out of an ancient limestone cliff. Gaze through the windows of the past into one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. Nestled into a towering limestone cliff of the Verde Valley, the 20-room high-rise apartment tells a 1,000 year-old story of ingenuity and survival in an unforgiving desert landscape. Marveling at this enduring legacy of the Sinagua culture reveals a surprising people. Montezuma Well, a unique geologic feature located 11 miles from Montezuma Castle, is home to species of animals found nowhere else on the planet. Wander the trails exploring pre-historic Sinaguan cliff dwellings, pueblo ruins, and a 1,000 year old irrigation ditch still in use by local residents. Begun during the twelfth century, Montezuma Castle took three centuries to complete.
   
   
7. Lowell Observatory
   Lowell Observatory is a research institution that studies astronomy, our solar system and its evolution, and conducts research in astronomical phenomena. The Observatory has been the site of many important findings including the discovery of the large recessional velocities (redshift) of galaxies, a result that led to the realization the universe is expanding, and the discovery of Pluto in 1930. Lowell's 19 astronomers use ground-based telescopes around the world, telescopes in space, and NASA planetary spacecraft to conduct research in diverse areas of astronomy and planetary science. Lowell Observatory's Mars Hill campus in Flagstaff offers tours, telescope viewing, and educational programs.
   
   
8. Biosphere 2
   Nestled in the foothills of Arizona's Santa Catalina Mountains, Biosphere 2 is a major tourist attraction in the Tucson area. Built in the late 1980s, Biosphere 2 was designed as an airtight replica of Earth's environment (Biosphere 1). This 7,200,000-cubic-foot sealed glass and space-frame structure contains 5 biomes, including a 900,000-gallon saltwater ocean, a rain forest, a desert, agricultural areas and a human habitat. By sealing people inside Bio 2, designers interested in space travel and colonizing the Moon or Mars, hoped to learn what problems would arise from living in a closed system. Today, you can enjoy a spectacular tour of Biosphere 2, as well as the visitor center, theater, and gift shop.
   
   
9. Navajo Nations in Arizona
   For a thousand years, Native Americans, including the vast Navajo Nation, inhabited present-day Arizona. Famous Navajo sites in Arizona include Window Rock, the Navajo's capital and home of the Navajo Nation Administration Center, the mysterious Redstone arch rock formation and Navajo Veteran's Memorial which honors the Navajos who served in the U.S. military, many for their role as Code Talkers. Preserving the rich culture of the Navajo Nation, the Navajo Museum features native displays, authentic Navajo hogans and an outdoor amphitheater. Visit Navajo National Monument and capture a glimpse of Arizona's two largest ruins - Betatakin and Kiet Seel. See how ancient Navajos lived more than 900 years ago. Beautifully preserved ruins can be seen from Betatakin Overlook, which has replicas of ancient hogans and sweat lodges on the grounds. Other famous Navajo land sites include: Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Navajo Bridge, Navajo Nation Council Chambers, Navajo National Monument, Navajo Nation Zoo & Botanical Park, Navajo Arts & Crafts Enterprise, Oljato Trading Post, and Shiprock.
   
   
10. Arizona National Parks & Monuments - Saguaro National Park
    preserves the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert, and protects the impressive forests of the Giant Saguaros on the edge of Tucson. These enormous sub-tropical cacti, silhouetted are the universal symbol of the American West. Saguaro National Park offers scenic hiking and biking paths for viewing native plants and animals surrounded by the spectacular scenery of the Sonoran Desert.
    
    
11. Wupatki National Monument
    preserves the Citadel and Wupatki pueblos on 35,422 acres in Arizona's Flagstaff area, and is world-renowned for its well-preserved archeological resources. Wupatki represents a cultural crossroads, home to numerous peoples over thousands of years. Tour the 100-room Wupatki Pueblo, the largest pueblo in Arizona, flourishing 700 years ago as a meeting place of different cultures. Take the self-guided trail to see five prehistoric pueblos. Don't miss the blowhole, a fascinating geologic feature. Walk down the easy Lomaki Pueblo Trail and Doney Mountain Trail which ascends .5 mile from the picnic area to the top of the cinder cone for spectacular views of the surrounding area.
    
    

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