State park · 38 min northwest
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park
What may be the world's largest travertine natural bridge, with trails down to the creek below it.
- 2 hrs · Moderate
- Year-round (closed Christmas)
- State park entrance fee
Day Trippin' › Arizona › From Payson
Day trips from Payson
Payson sits under the Mogollon Rim, with Tonto Natural Bridge minutes away, Fossil Creek's blue-green pools nearby, and the Rim Road's lakes and Sedona's red rocks in reach for the day. The best day trips from Payson, by drive time.
52 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
10 day trips from Payson
- Tonto Natural Bridge State Park 38 min northwest
- Fossil Creek 1 hr 27 min west
- Fort Verde State Historic Park 1 hr 32 min northwest
- Montezuma Castle National Monument 1 hr 43 min northwest
- Desert Botanical Garden 1 hr 47 min southwest
- Old Town Cottonwood 1 hr 57 min northwest
- Lost Dutchman State Park 1 hr 59 min south
- Jerome 2 hr 10 min northwest
- Petrified Forest National Park 2 hr 48 min northeast
- Meteor Crater 2 hr 58 min north
Within an hour from Payson 1 spots
1 to 2 hours from Payson 12 spots
National monument · 1 hr 43 min northwest
Montezuma Castle National Monument
A five-story Sinagua cliff dwelling tucked in a limestone cliff above Beaver Creek.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- NPS entrance fee (same pass covers Tuzigoot)
Garden · 1 hr 47 min southwest
Desert Botanical Garden
Thousands of desert plants along garden trails in Papago Park, beautiful in spring bloom.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Admission
Historic site · 1 hr 32 min northwest
Fort Verde State Historic Park
Original 1870s army post buildings with rooms set up as they were.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- State park entrance fee
State park · 1 hr 59 min south
Lost Dutchman State Park
Trails at the foot of the Superstition Mountains, gold with wildflowers in a good spring.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy to moderate
- Fall to spring
- State park entrance fee
Waterfall · 1 hr 27 min west
Fossil Creek
Turquoise spring-fed pools and a waterfall in a remote canyon.
- Half day · Moderate
- Year-round; permit needed April 1 to October 1
- Forest Service permit April 1 to October 1 (Recreation.gov); free October 2 to March 31
Town · 1 hr 57 min northwest
Old Town Cottonwood
A walkable main street of tasting rooms and restaurants at the heart of Verde Valley wine country.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
Lake · 1 hr 2 min northeast
Woods Canyon Lake and the Rim Road
A pine-ringed lake on top of the Mogollon Rim, with the cliff edge view road nearby.
- Half day · Easy
- Late spring to fall
- Day-use fee (check)
Museum · 1 hr 52 min southwest
Musical Instrument Museum
Instruments from nearly every country in the world, with headphones that play automatically as you walk up.
- 2-4 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Admission
2 to 3 hours from Payson 39 spots
Town · 2 hr 10 min northwest
Jerome
A former copper boomtown hanging off Cleopatra Hill, now full of galleries, tasting rooms and views.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- None; paid parking in some town lots
National park · 2 hr 48 min northeast
Petrified Forest National Park
Fallen logs turned to rainbow stone, Painted Desert views and old petroglyphs along a 28-mile park road.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas)
- NPS entrance fee
Landmark · 2 hr 58 min north
Meteor Crater
A nearly mile-wide crater left by a meteorite 50,000 years ago, with a museum on the rim.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Admission
Trail · 2 hr 1 min northwest
Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte
Easy loop around two big red rock buttes right off the highway, with as much or as little climbing as you like.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy to moderate
- Year-round
- Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass
Lake · 2 hr 28 min west
Watson Lake
A lake in the Granite Dells, a maze of rounded boulders great for paddling and scrambling.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy to moderate
- Year-round
- City of Prescott parking fee (free Wednesdays)
State park · 2 hr 22 min northwest
Slide Rock State Park
Slide down a natural sandstone water chute in Oak Creek, in a historic apple orchard.
- Half day · Easy
- Swimming in summer; open year-round
- State park entrance fee (per vehicle)
Trail · 2 hr 9 min northwest
Cathedral Rock
A short, steep scramble up slickrock to a saddle between Sedona's most famous red rock spires.
- 1.5-2 hrs · Hard (scrambling)
- Year-round; summer mornings only
- Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass
Trail · 2 hr 20 min northwest
Devil's Bridge
Walk out onto Sedona's largest natural sandstone arch for a classic photo.
- 2-3 hrs · Moderate
- Year-round
- Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass
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Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 85541 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.