The 7 best road trips in Arizona to discover ancient culture and modern wonders

Arizona has always lured road trippers to its wild desert landscape, crisscrossed by highways threading through this sprawling swath of the American Southwest, from the state’s surprising ski hills in Flagstaff to its saguaro cactus-studded ghost towns mere minutes from Mexico. 

Despite having hundreds of routes to choose from (Arizona is the country’s sixth-largest state), you’ll see more if you go slow. Discover a museum in a former copper boomtown now exhibiting artwork from luminaries like Ai Weiwei and Cey Adams or stop in a high-altitude town to taste locally made wine.

Stake out some routes, settle in and explore at your own pace. To see everything from Indigenous cliff dwellings to quirky towns on Route 66, here are the seven best road trips in Arizona.

1. High-desert whiskey and wine road trip

Best road trip for wine country

Prescott – Sedona; 60 miles 

Find your brand of relaxation in northern Arizona’s mile-high city of Prescott, famed for its Gold Rush-era saloons on Whiskey Row and Watson Lake’s granite dells. This route switchbacks up Mingus Mountain into Jerome, a cliffside village best known for its ghosts, which is also part of the excellent Verde Valley Wine Trail.

Continue through the pines down to the historic towns of Clarkdale (Tuzigoot National Monument is worth a stop), Cottonwood, and Cornville, which have a dozen wineries between them, on the way to Sedona. 

2. Craters and cave dwellings road trip

Best road trip for historic sites

Sedona – Wupatki National Monument; 88 miles 

From Sedona’s red rock canyons, this route climbs through forests to almost 7000ft in Flagstaff, the gateway to the area’s geological and cultural past. Distinguished by its numerous historic sites and monuments, head east of Flagstaff to Walnut Canyon, home to 25 cave dwellings built by the pre-Columbian Sinagua people, then proceed to Winona – its namesake bridge is a picturesque relic from Route 66.

Continue north to stand by the rim of a cinder cone at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. After an eruption just over a thousand years ago destroyed the fertile land, the Sinagua migrated through the ponderosa pines and Painted Desert to the area that’s now Wupatki National Monument, where you can see their ancient pueblos. 

Detour: Stop at the Museum of Northern Arizona, a small but perfectly formed gallery that celebrates Native American culture and history, as well as the biology and anthropology of the surrounding area. Check the website for the calendar of events, workshops and field classes.

3. Route 66 road trip

Best road trip for Americana

Kingman – Seligman; 87 miles 

This road trip on Route 66, the longest stretch still in use, is the perfect wind-down if you’ve been partying it up in nearby Las Vegas. Check out sights like the Route 66 Museum and dozens of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kingman, then hit the historic “Mother Road” that threads through the sagebrush and villages to Seligman.

Those quirky red signs planted on the roadside? They’re an homage to the historic Burma-Shave ad campaigns. From Seligman, you’ll still see Route 66 signposts pointing to Ash Fork. But purists take note – although the Mother Road technically continues to Williams, a buzzy town that’s the departure point for the Grand Canyon Railway, most of the original road is buried under the I-40. 

Planning tip: Admission to the Arizona Route 66 Museum also includes the theater and Electric Vehicle Museum. The Kingsman Visitor Center, where it is all housed, has lots of information and memorabilia about this iconic road. 

4. Cactus giants and gunslingers road trip

Best road trip for living deserts and the old Wild West

Tucson – Bisbee; 97 miles 

Set in the Sonoran Desert, Tucson is the epicenter for exploring the long relationship between people and plants. Stop at the Tucson Botanical Gardens or the 21-acre Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for a primer on desert culture, guided hikes and art exhibits. Then drive deep into the belly of Saguaro National Park to commune with its century-old namesake cacti, which bloom and bear edible fruit in spring.

After driving among the spiky sentinels, the road brings you to Tombstone, the “Too Tough to Die” town. Once the staging grounds for gunfights at the OK Corral, the community plays hard into its Wild West history. Continue south to Bisbee, a former copper boomtown that’s now focused on the arts. The Artemizia Foundation exhibits contemporary work from celebrated artists such as Cey Adams and Ai Weiwei.

5. Navajo culture and heritage road trip

Best road trip for Navajo culture

Kayenta – Monument Valley; 27 miles 

Although this road trip is a short jaunt, it goes deep into the heart of Navajo culture. Start your journey in Kayenta at the open-air Navajo Shadehouse Museum to learn about the code talkers employed by the military during the Second World War. Driving north, this route traces the remains of volcanic upheaval such as Agathla Peak rising above ancient ancestral Puebloan cave dwellings. 

Planning tip: To access these sites up close, you’ll need to head to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, crossing into Utah before doubling back into Arizona to get to the entrance.

6. Coronado Trail Scenic Byway 

Best road trip for thrill-seekers

Springerville – Morenci; 117 miles 

The Coronado Trail Scenic Byway seems to be a straight shot south, but there’s a big twist to this road trip – 460 turns to be exact. Originally built in 1981 and echoing the 1600s-era route traveled by its namesake Spanish explorer, it was given the not-so-subtle highway number 666 and nicknamed “The Devil’s Highway.”

Renamed Highway 191, this road trip in Arizona’s White Mountains near New Mexico sets off from Springerville, the site of the Casa Malpais Archaeological Park, before dipping and weaving through the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. A great spot to gas up and grab lunch is at the Hannagan Meadow Lodge. Near Clifton, look out for an oddball national landmark – the Arrow Tree, a dead pine punctured with arrows.

Local tip: While you’re taking the last twists and turns to Morenci, keep an eye out for wildlife such as bears, bobcats, bighorn sheep and wolves. 

7. Grand Canyon rim-to-rim road trip

Best classic road trip

South Rim – North Rim; 210 miles 

It’s easy to get fixated by Grand Canyon National Park with its layers of limestone and the Colorado River snaking a mile below the South Rim. Gaze at the gorge’s expanse, trek the trails and then explore the other side of the 1.2-million-acre park on a road trip from rim to rim. Exit due east, stopping at Duck on a Rock Viewpoint for photo ops or visiting the 1916 trading post in Cameron to shop for antique Navajo rugs.

This road trip gains elevation, passing through Marble Canyon near Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, celebrated for the Wave, a formation composed of sandstone swirls. This is condor territory, so watch for these winged giants gliding overhead, then travel southbound through the conifers in Kaibab National Forest to the North Rim, which sits at 8000ft. 

Planning tip: Before you set off on this road trip, check the park’s website for extreme heat warnings at the South Rim in summer and for closures at the North Rim in late fall.