Arizona holds some of the most significant landmarks in the American West, from the greatest canyon on earth to Spanish missions older than the country itself. This is a state where ancient Puebloan cliff dwellings, frontier mining towns, and living tribal lands all share the same sun-baked horizon. I taught American history for years before I started visiting these places, and nowhere stretches the timeline of the continent quite like Arizona does.
Below is our list of 25 landmarks in Arizona worth building a trip around. Many are National Park Service units, and I have noted the exact designation for each so you know what you are visiting. A few are tribal parks or state sites. For more on the state’s wild side, see our guide to Arizona National Parks.
Arizona Landmarks At A Glance
| Landmark | Area | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon National Park | Northern Arizona | National Park (NPS) |
| Monument Valley | Navajo Nation | Navajo Tribal Park |
| Saguaro National Park | Tucson | National Park (NPS) |
| Casa Grande Ruins National Monument | Coolidge | National Monument (NPS) |
| Coronado National Memorial | Hereford | National Memorial (NPS) |
| Petrified Forest National Park | Northeast Arizona | National Park (NPS) |
| Fort Bowie National Historic Site | Bowie | National Historic Site (NPS) |
| Navajo National Monument | Navajo Nation | National Monument (NPS) |
| Glen Canyon National Recreation Area | Page | National Recreation Area (NPS) |
| Old Spanish National Historic Trail | Multi-state | National Historic Trail (NPS) |
| Phoenix Art Museum | Phoenix | Art museum |
| Sonoran Desert | Southern Arizona | Desert region |
| Tonto National Monument | Roosevelt | National Monument (NPS) |
| Tumacácori National Historical Park | Tumacácori | National Historical Park (NPS) |
| Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site | Ganado | National Historic Site (NPS) |
| Wupatki National Monument | Flagstaff | National Monument (NPS) |
| Tombstone Historic District | Tombstone | National Historic Landmark district |
| Pioneer Living History Museum | Phoenix | Living history museum |
| San Xavier del Bac Mission | Tucson | Historic Spanish mission |
| Scottsdale’s Museum of the West | Scottsdale | Art museum |
| Copper Queen Mine | Bisbee | Historic mine tour |
| Old Town Scottsdale | Scottsdale | Historic district |
| London Bridge | Lake Havasu City | Relocated historic bridge |
| Yuma Territorial Prison | Yuma | State Historic Park |
| Arizona Museum of Natural History | Mesa | Natural history museum |
25. Arizona Museum of Natural History
We start in Mesa with a museum that covers the natural and cultural history of the Southwest. The Arizona Museum of Natural History is best known for Dinosaur Mountain, a three-story exhibit with animatronic dinosaurs and a simulated flash flood.
Beyond the dinosaurs you will find exhibits on the ancient Hohokam people, a recreated territorial-era jail, and galleries on Arizona’s geology. It is a great stop for families and a solid introduction to the deep history of the region.
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24. Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park
At number 24 is one of the most notorious prisons of the Old West. The Yuma Territorial Prison held convicts from 1876 to 1909, earning a fearsome reputation in the desert heat, though it was relatively progressive for its day, with a library and electricity.
Today it is an Arizona State Historic Park where you can walk the original cell blocks, see the grim dark cell, and learn the stories of the 3,000 men and women who served time here. It is a vivid window into frontier justice.
23. London Bridge
Number 23 is one of the most unusual landmarks in the country. The London Bridge in Lake Havasu City is the actual 1830s bridge that once spanned the Thames in London, sold by the city of London in 1968 and shipped stone by stone to Arizona.
Businessman Robert McCulloch bought it and reassembled it over a channel he dredged from the Colorado River, and the bridge helped put his new desert town on the map. It remains the centerpiece of Lake Havasu City and a genuinely strange piece of transatlantic history.
22. Old Town Scottsdale
At number 22 is the historic heart of Scottsdale. Old Town preserves the early character of the city that bills itself as the West’s most Western town, with wooden storefronts, art galleries, and Old West atmosphere.
The district blends history with a lively modern scene of restaurants, shops, and nightlife. It is an easy, walkable place to spend an afternoon, and a good base for exploring the museums and resorts of the greater Phoenix area.
21. Copper Queen Mine
Number 21 takes us underground in Bisbee. The Copper Queen Mine was one of the richest copper mines in the world, the engine of a boomtown that was once the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco.
The mine closed in the 1970s, but you can still ride a mine train deep into the tunnels on a tour led by former miners, kitted out with a hard hat and headlamp. The town of Bisbee above has reinvented itself as a quirky arts community well worth a wander.
20. Scottsdale’s Museum of the West
At number 20 is a showcase of Western art and culture. Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West opened in 2015 and is a Smithsonian Affiliate, telling the story of the American West and the greater Western region.
Its galleries hold paintings, sculpture, Native American art, and rotating exhibits, all in a striking modern building in Old Town Scottsdale. It is one of the finest museums of its kind in the Southwest.
19. San Xavier del Bac Mission
Number 19 is one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States. San Xavier del Bac, known as the White Dove of the Desert, is a Catholic mission on the Tohono O’odham Nation just south of Tucson.
The current church was completed in 1797 and is still an active parish serving the O’odham community. Its brilliant white facade and richly painted interior, filled with original statuary and murals, make it a National Historic Landmark and one of the most beautiful buildings in the West.
18. Pioneer Living History Museum
At number 18 is a recreated frontier town north of Phoenix. The Pioneer Living History Museum gathers original and reconstructed 19th-century buildings, including a church, a schoolhouse, and a blacksmith shop, on a sprawling outdoor site.
Costumed interpreters bring frontier Arizona to life, and the authentic buildings have made it a popular filming location for Western movies and television. It is a hands-on way to experience territorial Arizona, especially with kids.
17. Tombstone Historic District
Number 17 is the most famous town in the Old West. Tombstone boomed as a silver-mining camp in the 1880s and earned eternal fame as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the 30-second shootout in 1881 involving Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.
The town that called itself too tough to die is preserved as a National Historic Landmark district, with the original Bird Cage Theatre, Boothill Graveyard, and daily gunfight reenactments on Allen Street. It is touristy, but the history beneath the show is the real thing.
16. Wupatki National Monument
At number 16 is a remarkable set of ancestral Puebloan ruins. Wupatki National Monument, north of Flagstaff, preserves red-sandstone pueblos built by ancestral peoples around 900 years ago, the largest of which once had more than 100 rooms.
The site includes a ball court and a natural blowhole, and it sits in a stark landscape shaped by the nearby eruption of Sunset Crater. Established as a national monument in 1924, Wupatki connects deeply to the histories of the Hopi, Navajo, and other tribes who hold the land sacred.
15. Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
Number 15 is the oldest continuously operating trading post on the Navajo Nation. John Lorenzo Hubbell bought the post at Ganado in 1878 and built it into a center of trade and culture between the Navajo people and the outside world.
The trading post is still active, selling Navajo rugs, jewelry, and goods much as it has for nearly 150 years. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and a National Historic Site in 1965, and it remains a working window into Navajo history.
14. Tumacácori National Historical Park
At number 14 is a haunting Spanish mission ruin. Tumacácori National Historical Park, south of Tucson, preserves the remains of three Spanish colonial mission communities, the oldest of which dates to 1691 when Father Eusebio Kino first visited the O’odham village here.
The weathered adobe church of San José de Tumacácori, never quite finished, remains a moving monument to the meeting of Spanish and Native worlds on the frontier. Established as a national monument in 1908 and redesignated a national historical park in 1990, it is run by the National Park Service.
13. Tonto National Monument
Number 13 is a pair of well-preserved cliff dwellings. Tonto National Monument, in the Sonoran Desert east of Phoenix, protects masonry dwellings built into natural caves by the Salado people around 700 years ago.
A short but steep trail leads up to the Lower Cliff Dwelling, where you can step inside rooms the Salado built and look out over Roosevelt Lake far below. Established in 1907, it is one of the more accessible ancient sites in the state.
12. Sonoran Desert
At number 12 is the landscape that defines southern Arizona. The Sonoran Desert spreads across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and it is the only place on earth where the iconic saguaro cactus grows wild.
It is one of the most biologically rich deserts in the world, home to coyotes, javelinas, gila monsters, and a spectacular spring wildflower bloom. You can experience it across the region, including at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson.
11. The Phoenix Art Museum
Number 11 is the largest art museum in the Southwest. The Phoenix Art Museum, founded in 1959, holds a collection of more than 20,000 works spanning American, Asian, European, Latin American, and Western American art.
It is especially known for its fashion design collection and for Yayoi Kusama’s mesmerizing Firefly infinity room. With rotating major exhibitions, it is the cultural anchor of downtown Phoenix and a fine break from the desert heat.
10. Old Spanish National Historic Trail
At number 10 is a trade route that stitched the early Southwest together. The Old Spanish Trail was a network of pack-mule routes linking Santa Fe to Los Angeles, used heavily in the 1830s and 1840s to carry woolen goods west and horses and mules east.
Congress designated it a National Historic Trail in 2002, administered by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Sections cross northern Arizona, and interpretive markers let modern travelers trace one of the great commercial arteries of the Mexican-era West.
9. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Number nine is a vast playground of water and red rock. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area surrounds Lake Powell, the reservoir formed when Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963 on the Colorado River, stretching across the Arizona-Utah border.
It draws boaters, anglers, and hikers to its labyrinth of side canyons, and it is the gateway to Rainbow Bridge, one of the largest natural bridges in the world. Managed by the National Park Service, it is also a place of ongoing debate over water and the river’s future.
8. Navajo National Monument
At number eight are some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the Southwest. Navajo National Monument, on the Navajo Nation, protects three large ancestral Puebloan villages, Betatakin, Keet Seel, and Inscription House, built into sheer canyon alcoves around 1250.
Despite the name, the dwellings were built by ancestral Puebloan peoples, ancestors of today’s Hopi and other tribes, before the Navajo arrived in the region. Established in 1909, the monument offers ranger-guided hikes to the dwellings and free overlook trails with dramatic canyon views.
7. Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Number seven is a remote site central to the Apache Wars. Fort Bowie guarded Apache Pass, a vital spring and route through the mountains, and was the focus of the long conflict between the U.S. Army and the Chiricahua Apache led by Cochise and Geronimo.
Today the adobe ruins are reached by a 1.5-mile trail that passes a stage station, a cemetery, and the site of the Battle of Apache Pass, giving the visit a reflective, walk-back-in-time quality. It is managed by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site.
6. Petrified Forest National Park
At number six is a landscape of stone trees and painted badlands. Petrified Forest National Park preserves one of the world’s largest concentrations of petrified wood, fallen trees turned to colorful quartz over more than 200 million years.
The park also takes in part of the Painted Desert, ancient petroglyphs, and a stretch of historic Route 66. First protected as a national monument in 1906 and made a national park in 1962, it is an easy and rewarding stop along Interstate 40. Learn more in our guide to Petrified Forest National Park facts.
5. Coronado National Memorial
Number five marks the arrival of the Spanish in the Southwest. Coronado National Memorial, in the Huachuca Mountains on the Mexican border, commemorates the 1540 expedition of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, the first major European entry into what is now the American Southwest.
The memorial offers sweeping views into Mexico from Montezuma Pass, a cave to explore, and hiking trails along the border of two nations. Run by the National Park Service, it is a quiet place to reflect on a pivotal moment of contact between worlds.
4. Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
At number four is an ancient marvel of desert engineering. Casa Grande Ruins protects the Great House, a four-story earthen structure built by the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People, the Hohokam, around 1350, along with the remains of a sophisticated irrigation society.
The purpose of the towering Great House is still debated, with theories ranging from an astronomical observatory to a ceremonial hall. Protected in 1892 as the first archaeological preserve in the country and made a national monument in 1918, it is sheltered today beneath a modern canopy.
3. Saguaro National Park
Number three protects the symbol of the American desert. Saguaro National Park, in two districts flanking Tucson, safeguards dense forests of the giant saguaro cactus, the towering, many-armed plant that can live more than 150 years and grow over 40 feet tall.
First protected as a national monument in 1933 and made a national park in 1994, it offers scenic loop drives, desert hikes, and ancient petroglyphs at Signal Hill. For routes, see our guides to the best Saguaro National Park hikes and things to do at Saguaro.
2. Monument Valley
At number two is the most cinematic landscape in America. Monument Valley, on the Navajo Nation along the Arizona-Utah border, is a vast desert of towering red sandstone buttes that has appeared in countless Western films and become a global symbol of the American West.
It is a Navajo Tribal Park, not a National Park Service unit, owned and operated by the Navajo Nation. A scenic drive loops past the famous mittens and spires, and Navajo-led tours take you into backcountry areas closed to the public. It is sacred land, and a place of genuine awe.
1. Grand Canyon National Park
Topping the list is one of the natural wonders of the world. Grand Canyon National Park protects 277 miles of the canyon carved by the Colorado River over millions of years, a mile-deep chasm that lays bare nearly two billion years of the earth’s history.
It draws around six million visitors a year to the South and North Rims, with viewpoints, rim trails, and the demanding routes that descend to the river below. Protected as a national monument in 1908 and a national park in 1919, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. There is no better place to end a tour of Arizona.
More Things To Do In Arizona
Arizona rewards travelers who go deeper. If you are building an itinerary, here are a few ways to keep exploring:
- Plan your wild side with our guide to Arizona National Parks, from the Grand Canyon to Saguaro.
- Base a trip in the cities with our roundups of national parks near Phoenix and national parks near Tucson.
- Learn how the New Deal shaped many of these parks in our piece on the Civilian Conservation Corps.
- Cross the border into Utah at one of the great parks next door with our guide to the best things to do in Zion National Park.
However you build your trip, give Arizona the time it deserves. These 25 landmarks are a strong start, and each one connects to a larger chapter in the long story of the Southwest.
