Museum · 27 min north
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
Day Trippin' › Arizona › From Phoenix
Day trips from Phoenix
From Phoenix the Superstition Mountains are under an hour away, Sedona's red rocks and the Verde Valley's cliff dwellings are about two hours north, and the cool pines of the Mogollon Rim make an easy escape from the heat. The best day trips from Phoenix, by drive time.
48 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
10 day trips from Phoenix
- Musical Instrument Museum 27 min north
- Taliesin West 41 min northeast
- Lost Dutchman State Park 57 min east
- Arcosanti 1 hr 19 min north
- Fort Verde State Historic Park 1 hr 42 min north
- Montezuma Castle National Monument 1 hr 45 min north
- Downtown Prescott and Whiskey Row 2 hr north
- Watson Lake 2 hr 1 min north
- Tonto Natural Bridge State Park 2 hr 13 min northeast
- Jerome 2 hr 13 min north
Within an hour from Phoenix 3 spots
State park · 57 min east
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
Landmark · 41 min northeast
Taliesin West
Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and studio in the desert foothills, seen on a guided tour.
- 1.5-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Tour ticket
1 to 2 hours from Phoenix 8 spots
National monument · 1 hr 45 min north
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)
Landmark · 1 hr 19 min north
Arcosanti
An experimental desert town of concrete domes and arches, famous for its bronze and ceramic wind bells.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- Guided tour fee
Town · 2 hr north
Downtown Prescott and Whiskey Row
A historic courthouse square and old-west saloon row with shops and restaurants.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round
- No pass or fee needed
Historic site · 1 hr 42 min north
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
Museum · 2 hr north
Sharlot Hall Museum
Territorial-era buildings including Arizona's first governor's mansion, and history of the region.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Year-round (closed Mondays)
- Admission
National monument · 1 hr 54 min north
Montezuma Well
A limestone sinkhole lake fed by springs, with cliff dwellings and an ancient irrigation ditch.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Historic site · 1 hr 57 min north
Crane Petroglyph Heritage Site
More than a thousand petroglyphs on a sandstone cliff, the largest known petroglyph site in the Verde Valley.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round, Friday to Monday only; mornings only in summer
- Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful pass
Town · 2 hr north
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
2 to 3 hours from Phoenix 35 spots
State park · 2 hr 13 min northeast
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
Town · 2 hr 13 min north
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
Lake · 2 hr 1 min north
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)
Trail · 2 hr 3 min north
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
State park · 2 hr 24 min north
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 10 min north
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 23 min north
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
National monument · 2 hr 9 min north
Tuzigoot National Monument
A hilltop Sinagua pueblo with views over the Verde River and Tavasci Marsh.
- 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- NPS entrance fee (same pass covers Montezuma Castle)
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Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 85004 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.