All the United States Arizona

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Arizona

314 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Arizona

Updated August 7, 2026
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Cities

State not visited
VISITED THIS STATE
Top Cities
All Cities
  1. Ajo
  2. Benson
  3. Bisbee
  4. Buckeye
  5. Camp Verde
  6. Casa Grande
  7. Chandler
  8. Clarkdale
  9. Douglas
  10. Flagstaff
  11. Florence
  12. Globe
  13. Golden Valley
  14. Grand Canyon Village
  15. Green Valley
  16. Holbrook
  17. Jerome
  18. Kayenta
  19. Kingman
  20. Lake Havasu City
  21. Leupp
  22. Littlefield
  23. Marble Canyon
  24. Mesa
  25. Oracle
  26. Page
  27. Parker
  28. Payson
  29. Peach Springs
  30. Phoenix
  31. Picacho
  32. Prescott
  33. Quartzsite
  34. Rimrock
  35. Scottsdale
  36. Sedona
  37. Sun City
  38. Tempe
  39. Tombstone
  40. Tonalea
  41. Tucson
  42. Wickenburg
  43. Willcox
  44. Williams
  45. Winslow
  46. Yavapai County

Unusual Attractions in Arizona

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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Red Rock Over Time: A Road Trip Through Native American History

The Four Corners region of the American Southwest—where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah converge—contains the highest concentration of Indigenous peoples in the United States, and the most extensive and best-preserved record of pre-Columbian civilization anywhere north of Mexico. The Ancestral Puebloans built a road network that stretched 400 miles from a canyon in northwestern New Mexico, with remnants that you can still explore today. The Navajo Nation, at 27,000 square miles, is the largest Native American territory in the country and is still home to more than 170,000 people. Taos Pueblo has been continuously inhabited for more than 1,000 years and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These are not archaeological remains of a vanished civilization. They are places where people live, pray, govern, trade, and make art today exactly as they have done for millennia. This three-day road trip connects eight sites running north from Albuquerque through the heart of the Four Corners to Mesa Verde. It is a route through Indigenous history that is also a route through the Indigenous present.

View Itinerary

Explore Arizona

Native Americans 32
History 30
Route 66 28
Museums 25
Architecture 25
History & Culture 25
Deserts 24
Geology 23

Arizona Leaderboard

Recent Arizona Activity

Stories About Arizona

Biosphere 2 campus (2016)

Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat

This 1991 experiment spawned a wave of new research about engineering, agriculture, and space exploration.
by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura
Eroded rocks of the badlands in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park.

Arizona’s Petrified Forest Is Changing What We Know About the Dawn of the Dinosaurs

New discoveries of small animals that lived more than 200 million years ago are changing how paleontologists think about biodiversity in the Triassic.
by Shaena Montanari, Atlas Obscura

How to Be a Food Bank Influencer

Kristina Wong uses comedy to address inequality in the food system.
by Andrew Coletti, Atlas Obscura
Montezuma Well.

What’s Beneath the Bubbling Sand at the Bottom of the Montezuma Well?

A dive to the bottom of this ancient sinkhole reveals bubbling sand, thick like Silly Putty. Is there another pond beneath it?
by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura
Just 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, a field of California poppies paints Walker Canyon a vibrant orange. The poppies appear in several Indigenous legends. In one Chumash story, a talking lizard describes the flowers by saying, “it is as if the sun itself is on the ground.”

Stunning Wildflower Superbloom Photos That Will Have You Racing to the Hills

Orange, yellow, and purple petals blanket the southwestern United States.
by Sarah Durn, Atlas Obscura
A 171-foot-tall white stain, left by the retreating waters of Lake Powell, looms over a lone human as he strides across a sandstone fin in the heart of Glen Canyon.

The Return of Glen Canyon

As Lake Powell's water levels continue to drop, a stunning landscape resurfaces—along with questions about the future of the Colorado River and those who depend on it.
by Craig Childs, Atlas Obscura
Beware hungry cows.

The Arizona Cattle Ranch Hiding 10,000 Year-Old Petroglyphs

Brantley Baird’s Rock Art Ranch offers tours of canyon-wall petroglyphs and a stunning collection of ancient pottery.
Sponsored By Visit Arizona
Saguaro National Park in full bloom.

The Unique (and Surprisingly Wet) Biodiversity of the Sonoran Desert

In Arizona, the country’s most diverse desert teems with kaleidoscopic spring flowers, charming desert tortoises, and the famous saguaro cactus.
Sponsored By Visit Arizona

Lists Featuring Arizona

Fierce little cat.
Elephants playing in the mud at Elephant Nature Park.
Oh, hello!
Little Spotted Kiwi

10 Ethical Animal Places to Visit in 2019

Unique experiences from Nairobi to Chiang Mai.

12

Including Cat Island, Elephant Nature Park , and India's Giant Technicolor Squirrels

Winter Solstice 2019
The Spiral Jetty
Double Negative’s north trench

A Tour of Spectacular 1970s Art Made From the Landscape Itself

Eight places to witness the incredible ambition of the Southwest land art movement.

8

Including Sun Tunnels, The Spiral Jetty, and Complex City

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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