AtoZ Bucket List
"Where have you been?"
Featured Video
AZ Places
This is our personal record of places explored — not a curated list from a travel site, but real trips, real roads, and real firsthand experience. Forests, deserts, lakes, rivers, hot springs, caves, peaks, ghost towns, ancient ruins, and more. Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and beyond. Go find your next one.
Abandoned & Ghost Towns
Arizona's boom-and-bust history left behind trading posts, mining towns, homesteads, and roadside relics slowly being reclaimed by the desert. These are places that once thrived — some for decades, some for just a few years — before the ore ran out, the railroad moved on, or the money dried up. What remains ranges from crumbling foundations to standing walls and rusted equipment that looks like it was abandoned last week.
Desert
The Sonoran Desert is one of the most diverse and visually striking landscapes on earth, and we've barely scratched the surface of what's out there. Box canyons, boulder fields, towering saguaros, and wide open bajadas — the desert has its own rhythm if you slow down enough to notice it. This section covers the places that belong to the low desert with some great desert camping.
Historical & Ancient Ruins
History in Arizona isn't just in textbooks — it's in the ruins, the old roads, the mine shafts, and the homestead foundations scattered across the land. From Cold War missile silos to ancient Native American sites, these places connect the present to something bigger. We believe in seeing history firsthand whenever possible.
Lakes & Rivers
Arizona has more water than most people expect — mountain lakes tucked into the pines of the Mogollon Rim, desert rivers that carve through canyon country, and quiet shorelines that feel a world away from the city. These are places for fishing, swimming, kayaking, camping on the water, and simply sitting next to something that moves. Several of the lakes and rivers in this list are spots we return to year after year.
Caves
From lava tubes to sandstone alcoves, Arizona's caves and caverns are some of the most overlooked destinations in the state. Whether you're squeezing into a slot or standing inside a massive natural bridge, these underground worlds offer a completely different view of the landscape. Worth every step it takes to get there.
Forest
Arizona's forests surprise people who only know the desert side of the state. The Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Prescott, and Tonto National Forests cover millions of acres of tall pines, mountain meadows, and canyon country at elevation. This is where we do most of our camping — and where AZ Places guided trips are based.
National & State Parks
Arizona's parks protect some of the most dramatic landscapes in North America, from the Grand Canyon to ancient cliff dwellings to petrified forests. These managed lands offer infrastructure, interpretation, and access to places that would otherwise be difficult to reach. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a longtime Arizona resident, the parks always deliver.
