The Grand Canyon State: Your full guide
to Arizona

1.    Grand Canyon National Park

One of the world’s greatest natural wonders, the Grand Canyon is the ultimate adventure destination. Ancient and immense, America’s biggest rock star stretches for 365km and in places plunges to more than a mile deep, cutting through two billion years of geological history. This rugged wonderland is a magnet for thrill-seekers, with boundless opportunities for hiking, biking and river-riding. Explore the historic buildings and overlooks of the Canyon’s South Rim, or hike the less-visited North Rim and more than 640km of backcountry trails on foot. A multi-day white water rafting trip along the Canyon floor’s rumbling Colorado River is one of the USA’s bucket-list expeditions, while mountain bikers can enjoy some of the country’s most spectacular and challenging routes above. Prefer an adventure of the aerial kind? Helicopter flights offer an eagle-eye view of the Canyon from the air, landing in some of the most iconic picnic spots on Earth. 

2.    Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Travel through the sandstone buttes of Monument Valley in northern Arizona, and you may get the feeling you’ve been here before: one of the USA’s most recognisable vistas has provided the backdrop for countless movies – and with good reason. Lying on the border with Utah, this epic, red-rock tribal park is on Navajo Tribal Land, and its cultural and spiritual significance makes a visit to this stunning stretch of Arizona even more mesmerising. While many explore the Valley’s iconic highlights by car on a 27km loop, you’ll deepen your connection adventuring by mountain bike, where you can hear the stillness of the desert, instead of the sound of the engine. Windy days when the sand and dirt are blowing are best avoided, and plan to start the trail early in the morning or later in the afternoon, to avoid the heat of the day. 

3.    Patagonia Lake State Park

While it’s known for its breathtaking desert landscapes, Arizona has 128 lakes and five major rivers, so there’s plenty of action to be had on the water. If you’re after some adventures of the paddling kind, head to Patagonia Lake State Park, a tranquil oasis in the desert region of Southern Arizona. Rent a canoe, row boat or kayak to explore the east end of the lake, which is a “no-wake” zone, and a haven for birdlife, while the short Sonoita Creek trail is a good spot to see a variety of bird species, including flycatchers and hummingbirds, on foot. Cabins with lake views are available to rent, with opportunities to spot some of the park’s resident white-tailed deer, or for a true multi-day wilderness adventure, paddle to one of the “boat-in” campsites, and enjoy some solitude under the most dazzling of night skies. 

4.    Saguaro National Park

The king of the cacti, the giant saguaro, dominates the landscapes of Saguaro National Park near Tucson in southern Arizona. With prickly limbs reaching up to 15 metres into the sky, these striking symbols of the southwest can live over 250 years, but are only found in this patch of the state, with the densest population in the western section of the park. At sunset, their silhouettes dance across the horizon, the cacti flower from mid-May to early June, creating a scenic landscape for a hike or horseride along more than 240km of trails. To the east, the Rincon Mountains form a striking backdrop for backcountry pursuits including mountain biking adventures, and to the west, the trek up to Wasson Peak in the Tucson Mountains offers excellent views of Tucson and the desert beyond from its 1,429-metre summit. Take plenty of water and a hat, and head out early to avoid the heat.   

5.    Petrified Forest National Park

This unique national park in northeastern Arizona offers visitors the opportunity to combine some epic hiking with a fascinating exploration through a prehistoric petrified coniferous forest, which dates from the Late Triassic Period, 225 million years ago. A fossil-hunter’s dream, the park continues to offer up treasures including petrified tree logs and ferns, along with dinosaur remains, artefacts from prehistoric peoples and petroglyphs. To the north, the Park yields magical landscapes, including vibrant rock formations in a region known as the Painted Desert, where the short Painted Desert Rim Trail offers opportunities for spotting desert critters including lizards and some of the region’s 200 species of birds. The Long Logs and Giant Logs loop trails wind past some of the park’s best-preserved petrified trees, and backcountry routes lead further into the badlands, where primordial landscapes like the towering hoodoos of the Devil’s Playground await.