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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Arizona

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

Updated March 7, 2025

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Cities

Top Cities
All Cities
  1. Ajo
  2. Benson
  3. Bisbee
  4. Camp Verde
  5. Casa Grande
  6. Chandler
  7. Clarkdale
  8. Douglas
  9. Flagstaff
  10. Florence
  11. Globe
  12. Golden Valley
  13. Grand Canyon Village
  14. Green Valley
  15. Holbrook
  16. Jerome
  17. Kayenta
  18. Kingman
  19. Lake Havasu City
  20. Leupp
  21. Littlefield
  22. Marble Canyon
  23. Mesa
  24. Oracle
  25. Page
  26. Parker
  27. Payson
  28. Peach Springs
  29. Phoenix
  30. Picacho
  31. Quartzsite
  32. Rimrock
  33. Scottsdale
  34. Sedona
  35. Tempe
  36. Tombstone
  37. Tonalea
  38. Tucson
  39. Wickenburg
  40. Willcox
  41. Williams
  42. Winslow
  43. Yavapai County

Unusual Attractions in Arizona

See All 280 Things To Do in Arizona

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Arizona

See all 23 Places to Eat in Arizona
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

These 8 Arizona Ghost Towns Will Transport You to the Wild West

Sponsored by Visit Arizona

In the desert of Arizona, a string of ghost towns have been preserved and refurbished to give visitors a glimpse into the history of miners and the businesses who served them during the boom times of the turn of the century. Whether you want to pan for gold, discover junk art, or stay a night in a mining engineer’s cabin, these ghost towns will transport you into Arizona’s Wild West past.

View Itinerary

Explore Arizona

Native Americans 32
History 29
Architecture 25
History & Culture 24
Geology 23
Deserts 22
Museums 21
Ecosystems 20

Arizona Leaderboard

Recent Arizona Activity

Stories About Arizona

How to Be a Food Bank Influencer

Kristina Wong uses comedy to address inequality in the food system.
by Andrew Coletti

Podcast: Montezuma Well

A mysterious sinkhole in Arizona has a strange world at its sandy bottom.
by The Podcast Team
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
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
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

Podcast: Tumbleweed Christmas Tree

This is how you do the holidays in the desert.
by The Podcast Team

Podcast: Navajo Code Talkers Burger King

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team

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
City: under construction - http://raisethestakeseditions.com/basin-and-range/
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

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