The 48th state
More than anything, tourists like Arizona for its year-round sunny climate that allows them to enjoy the outdoor activities of their choice almost anytime. It offers a vast expanse of beautiful desert scenery that can be low and flat, or mountainous. Famous for its desert, the state also boasts a cluster of lakes as well as, of course, part of the Grand Canyon.
Arizona, the 48th U.S. state, also appeals to tourists with an interest in southwestern foods and architecture, Old West lore and Native American experiences.

About Arizona
The state has a unique profile. Travelers refer to Arizona’s warm and comfortable weather as much as they refer to its beauty and scenery. At other destinations, the beauty of a place tends to overshadow thoughts about the weather. During the winter, most of the state basks in warm days and comfortable evenings, with pleasant, dry air and gentle desert breezes that create a feeling that all is well, travelers say.
Arizona is unique in another way. Unlike most destinations, all personality types tend to like the state for the same reasons.
The opportunity to play golf and tennis abounds at major resorts in the Phoenix/Scottsdale and Tucson areas. For authentics, golf offers the chance to socialize with friends and make new acquaintances. Venturers say they can unwind from their hectic schedules by playing an occasional round. Centrics can also relax, eat good food and let wait staff and other service personnel respond to their every wish.
That doesn’t mean active visitors eschew all chances to get involved. They go to the mountains and the lakes, go hiking and ride horses, and visit the Grand Canyon — one of the state’s most popular attractions and a place where it is a little hard to be too laid back.
Other perennial favorites are the Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon area, Phoenix/Scottsdale and Tucson. Some travelers also laud Arizona’s big lake areas in the north (Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam Recreation area and Lake Mead). The lake areas win points with travelers as alternative places to unwind and forget their cares. And northern Arizona appeals to those wanting a cooler spot in summer.
Visitors also like the towns and cities for their Southwest architecture, for historically significant sites and for great shopping and dining (Scottsdale is tops for both). Surprisingly, the beautiful open desert areas around Tucson with Saguaro cactus and other native plants that bloom profusely after the summer rains and the breathtaking Painted Desert region east of the Grand Canyon don’t receive spontaneous comment from travelers. Arguably, these travelers are overlooking an opportunity.

• Take a mule trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Or take a rafting trip down the Colorado inside the canyon.

• The western half of the state is a water wonderland fed by the Colorado River. Tubing, river rafting, waterskiing, powerboating, sailing and swimming are all excellent. Look to the Lake Havasu area, Glen Canyon Dam or Lake Powell regions for good locations.

• Hit the trail — on a horse. Organized riding usually takes you out into the desert, sometimes with a midnight rendezvous at a spot where cowhands set up tasty buffets for tired greenhorns.

• Take cooking classes that teach you how to make tamales or enchiladas, or other regional specialties.

• Go hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon National Park.

• Or, make that a mountain biking and camping trip on the rim of the Grand Canyon.

• Run in the Arizona marathon, from Phoenix to Tempe. Set for January, it is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon. Alternatively, you can participate in the half-marathon which occurs at the same time.

• Choose a backpacking trek from Sedona; for a shorter trip, choose a two-hour hike along the Boynton Canyon Trail on sacred Native American land.

• Go horseback riding or take a Safari Jeep Tours’ trip on the back roads of Red Rock Country, to see wildlife and the scenery.

• Visit Montezuma Castle National Monument to see the ruins of often-photographed prehistoric Native American cliff dwellings (built in the 12th and 13th centuries).

• Stay at a dude ranch.

• Do your bird-watching in Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains, deemed one of America’s top birding locations.

• You don’t have to ride a mule to see and love the Grand Canyon. The canyon vistas themselves are stunning; the Kaibab National Forest surrounds it. Regardless of your activities or mode of travel, the Grand Canyon is a must.

• Help milk and feed the goats at the Strawberry Fudge Factory on the Fossil Creek Llama Ranch in Strawberry. Or, in the afternoon, help make and taste both the fudge and the ranch’s goat cheese. The llamas guard the dairy goats.

• Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona are must-sees, as well. The canyon is lush and narrow, with vegetation that is quite different from that seen elsewhere in the state. The red rocks of Sedona offer a stunning backdrop for your photos.

• Go boating. At Lake Powell in the north, choices include houseboating and recreational boating.
Alternatively, Lake Havasu on the Colorado River, calling itself the Personal Watercraft Capital of the World, offers a variety of boating activities. In addition, the White Mountains, with 65 lakes and streams, offer many choices.

• Drive the 31-mile San Francisco Peaks Scenic Road. It circles the Peaks while taking drivers through thick forests of aspens, ponderosas, junipers and more.

• Attend the National Native American Days at the CRIT (Colorado River Indian Tribes) Reservation. It is a monthlong (October) annual event featuring a powwow, tribal royalty pageant, a parade and other activities.
Or, attend the weeklong Navajo Nation Fair at Window Rock, which includes arts and crafts, a powwow, rodeo, horse racing, traditional song and dance and other activities.

• Search out some of Arizona’s old, small cities with their intriguing histories. Try to get to Tombstone (south of Tucson), where you can see humorous headstones and the graves of some famous people, and Jerome, a former copper mining town that now attracts artists and their galleries.

• In the Phoenix area, go boating on the Tempe Town Lake.

• Shop in Sedona’s art galleries, noted for Native American jewelry, pottery, crafts, rugs and gifts. Lunch at Tlaquepaque, internationally renowned for its fine shops and galleries.

• Watch spring training baseball games.

• See London Bridge at Lake Havasu City; go shopping in the London Village there, and have a pint in London Arms Pub. Attend London Bridge Days in October. The bridge was relocated from London — all 22 million pounds of granite in 10,276 pieces — reconstructed, then dedicated in 1971.

• Taste Arizona’s wines; also, taste the oils at Queen Creek Olive Mill, east of Gilbert.

• Play golf in perfect weather.

• Study the skies at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, which boasts the world’s largest collection of optical telescopes. Nightly programs provide an introduction to astronomy and a hands-on tour of the stars all around us.

• Visit some of Arizona’s natural wonders (besides the Grand Canyon). The Petrified Forest (eastern portion of state) has rainbow-colored remains of logs that became mineralized. The nearby Painted Desert rivals all other grand vistas you may have encountered.