Arizona Attractions Guide

Northcentral

Phippen Museum - Museum of Western Art whose exhibits lend insight into the lives of people in the region.

Fort Apache Historic Park - Visitors may stroll through old Fort Apache with the aid of a self-guided walking tour or a guided tour. Over twenty buildings dating from the 1870's through the 1930's comprise the 288-acre historic site. Also located on the premises are prehistoric ruins, prehistoric and historic petroglyphs, the old military cemetary, the Apache Culture Center, and a recreated Apache Village.

Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery - Jerome has been a Mecca for artists since its near ghost town days. The picturesque buildings, mining sites, and stately ruins provide rich materials for a variety of art forms.

Sharlot Hall Museum - Sharlot Hall Museum explores human and natural history through festivals, outdoor theater performances, exhibits, publications and research services.

Butterfly Lodge Museum - The storied past of a famous Western writer and his artist son springs to life at Butterfly Lodge Museum. Inspiring and rustic, you'll find beautiful butterflies still fluttering in the meadow! A step back in time, you'll enjoy the original furnishings, artifacts, and a gift and book area that include the creative works of both father and son.

Verde Canyon Railroad - Verde Canyon Railroad is an excursion train that takes you on a 3-hour, 40-mile round trip through the Sycamore Wilderness Area and North Verde River Canyon. Some call this region the 'other' Grand Canyon.

Northern

The Arboretum At Flagstaff - Explore 200 acres of botanic beauty featuring the landscapes of the High Southwest. Located at 7,150 feet above sea level, The Arboretum is dedicated to helping visitors understand the unique environment of the Colorado Plateau. Explore 200 acres of gardens and natural habitats with over 2,500 plant species representing everything from high desert to alpine tundra.

Grand Canyon Railway - Relive the excitement of the Old West aboard a historic train to America's national treasure - Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon Railway departs daily from Williams, Arizona. The excitement begins at the Williams Depot where you can enjoy many attractions and activities such as a free museum and a live Wild West shoot-out and then...All Aboard!

The Sedona Heritage Museum - The Sedona Heritage Museum tells the stories of Sedona pioneers, how they lived and the things they used. The museum also features a US Forest Service exhibit, a room that commemorates more than 80 feature movies made in Sedona, a room that shows the life of the real cowboys and how they worked, a 4000-square-foot Apple Barn and a gift shop.

Museum Of Northern Arizona - Museum showcases the arts, the Native American cultures and the natural sciences of the Colorado Plateau. Tour the many galleries and exhibits.

Meteor Crater Visitors Center - Created about 50,000 years ago when a gigantic meteor impacted the area at almost 40,000 miles per hour! The facility also offers the Museum of Astro-geology.

John Wesley Powell Museum - Sketches, photos and other memorabilia of Powell's epic Colorado River voyages in 1869 and 1871, along with a unique collection of Native American and pioneer artifacts.

Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts - Within this Spanish colonial style arts and crafts complex, nestled beneath shade sycamores on the banks of beautiful Oak Creek, are over forty specialty shops, renowned fine art galleries, superb restaurants, and more.

Lowell Observatory - In 1930, Pluto was discovered here. The 24 inch Clark Refractor Telescope is used for occasional viewing. Tours are available along with lectures and an outstanding slide show.

Phoenix

Schnepf Farms - Family entertainment farm. Offers a tour of an operating family farm with gardens and orchards, including a train ride, country store and bakery.

Arizona Science Center - Located in Heritage and Science Park in downtown Phoenix, the Center features a five-story giant-screen theater, over 300 hands-on exhibits, and a 200 seat digital planetarium.

Phoenix Zoo - Phoenix Zoo offers four distinctive trails: Arizona Trail, Tropics Trail, Discovery Trail and Africa Trail. Visit Harmony Farm to experience life on a working farm and see Desert Lives, showcasing the bighorn sheep and Arabian Oryx in natural desert environments.

Scottsdale Museum Of Contemporary Art - The museum explores modern culture from the perspectives of art architecture and design. Adjacent to the Scottsdale Center for the Arts.

Phoenix Art Museum - The largest in the Southwest, the Museum features over 16,000 works in its collection of American, European, Asian, Latin American, Contemporary, and Western American art, and fashion design.

Heard Museum - The museum's 10 spacious exhibit galleries and beautiful outdoor courtyards feature outstanding traditional and contemporary Native American art.

Deer Valley Rock Art Center - Public access to the Hedgpeth Hills petroglyph site, to interpret the cultural expressions found here, and to be a center for rock art studies.

Enchanted Island Amusement Park - Nestled in the heart of Phoenix's Encanto Park, and surrounded by water complete with ducks, fish and pedal boats, this famous landmark is home to the 50-year-old Encanto Carousel, C. P. Huntington train and eight other great rides geared to the younger child.

Out Of Africa Wildlife Park - Out of Africa is a garden-like setting that allows visitors to actually encounter the kingdom of the wild. The animals come to you in nine unrehearsed, educational programs everyday. There are no tricks, no training and no facades - everything is real.

The Arizona Science Center - Located in Heritage and Science Park in downtown Phoenix, the Center features a five-story giant-screen theater, over 300 hands-on exhibits, and a 200 seat digital planetarium.

Rawhide Wild West Town - Rawhide offers western fun for the whole family. From train, stagecoach, hay wagon, jeep and horseback rides, to an 1880?s carousel, gunfights in the streets and live musical entertainment seven days a week.

Tucson

Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium - The center, on the UofA campus in Tucson, presents both standard star shows and laser light shows set to music. Exhibits feature minerals and hands-on demonstrations for all ages. During clear evenings, visitors may gaze through the 16-inch telescope.

International Wildlife Museum - Built as a replica of a French Foreign Legion fort in Chad, Africa, this museum features over 400 different species of insects, birds and mammals from all over the world. Other features include videos, interactive computers and hands-on exhibits.

Kitt Peak National Observatory - Many call southern Arizona the 'astronomy capital of the world.' Kitt Peak is one reason why. The observatory located 56 miles east of Tucson sits atop a 6,882-foot mountain, and features five major telescopes, tours, a visitor's center and exhibits.

Old Tucson Studios - Theme park and movie studio, built in 1939 and used for more than 300 film and television productions. Highlights include skits, gunfights, gold panning and a ride through a haunted copper mine.

Asarco Mineral Discovery Center - This award-winning facility is Arizona's only public exhibit center and tour of a modern, working, open-pit copper mine and mill. The free exhibit center explains the production and uses of the red metal, and The Company Store gift shop offers a variety of Southwestern arts and crafts, copper and silver jewelry, books, rocks and minerals.

Pima Air & Space Museum - One of the largest air museums in the world, with commercial and military aircraft, an assortment of bombers, fighters, cargo planes and helicopters, as well as Air Force memorials. It also includes the SR-71 Blackbird, a once top-secret spy plane.

Discovery Park - A state-of-the-art museum that allow visitors to measure sun radio emissions and hear the sounds of distant galaxies. There is a 'Tunnel of Time' exhibit, a planetarium and a 20-inch telescope.

Biosphere 2 - Biosphere 2 is one of the largest living laboratories in the world. It is an air tight greenhouse covering 3.15 acres and 7.2 million cubic feet of volume. Inside Biosphere 2 is a rainforest, a million gallon salt water ocean, a coastal fog desert, and four other wilderness ecosystems.

Tucson's Children's Museum - All the exhibits are hands-on, encouraging interaction and triggering each child's intellect. The highlight of Dinosaur Canyon is the robotic animation of four life-sized dinosaurs: a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Kentrosaurus, a Protoceratops and a Deinonychus.

Arizona Folklore Preserve - Nestled beneath towering Cottonwood and Sycamore trees, in the beauty of Ramsey Canyon, an unforgettable experience awaits you. Where Arizona's songs, legends, poetry and myths are preserved and presented

Colossal Cave Mountain Park - Beautiful 2,000-acre desert park, on the National Historic Register, showcasing crystal-filled Colossal Cave and historic La Posta Quemada Ranch. Plan an exciting day: tour the Cave, browse through the historical museum, sluice for gemstones, picnic, hike, take a real Western trail ride.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place.

Sonoran Sea Aquarium - Anticipated to open in the spring 2004, the Sonoran Sea Aquarium will be the only research and education institution worldwide to focus on this unique 'circle of life', from desert rivers to open sea.

West Coast

The Historic Yuma Theatre - Located on Main Street in the City of Yuma's central business district, the Yuma Theatre building was constructed in 1912 and originally functioned as a vaudeville and movie house. The Yuma Theatre building has performed an important role in Yuma's commercial, cultural, and social history ever since.

The London Bridge - In 1962, London Bridge was falling down. The British government decided to put the bridge up for sale, and Robert McCulloch, Founder of Lake Havasu City, submitted the winning bid of $2,460,000. The bridge was dismantled, and each stone was carefully marked. Reconstruction began on September 23, 1968, and the bridge was dedicated on October 10, 1971.

Yuma Crossing State Historic Park - The Yuma Crossing State Park preserves Yuma?s early history. It features the original Quartermaster Depot, which Congress authorized in 1865 as a material transfer and distribution point for troops stationed in Arizona Territorial outposts. The Park features an early adobe house, stagecoaches, mule wagons, a steam train, an historic adobe corral and a visitor center.

Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park - The Yuma Territorial Prison, overlooking the Colorado River, was built between 1876 and 1909. This penitentiary housed many of Arizona Territory?s most dangerous and notorious criminals. The prison was depicted in literature, movies and television, and its remains are now Arizona?s most-visited state historic park.