The Wave
Arizona is one of the most historic and naturally beautiful states in the United States. A rugged place that brings to mind cowboys on horseback and camping under the stars. From the state’s busy cities to the endless open spaces of its wilderness, these are the most beautiful places in Arizona for you to visit, explore, and photograph.
Just outside the town of Sedona is the Airport Mesa Trail, which loops around Table Top Mountain. While it can be dangerous to the unprepared and unfocussed hiker, the Airport Mesa Loop is a rewarding hiking trail, offering views so spectacular that this is easily one of the most beautiful places in Arizona.
The temptation to take photos at every turn, from the very first mile of the hike, is almost uncontrollable. This is one of the most instagrammable places in Arizona, as it demonstrates the raw, untamable landscape of the Arizona wilderness.
You can trawl every desert the world over and not find a natural phenomenon quite like The Wave. This almost magical place is a perfect example of time’s effects on our environment, and what time has built makes for one of the most instagrammable places in Arizona.
Sandstone dunes, affected by the weathering effects of wind and rain over the course of 180 million years, have calcified into a hypnotic display of smoothly winding rock that has to be seen to be believed. Visitors often describe walking through the area like wandering through a dreamscape as it ripples and undulates beneath your feet.
If you’ve ever turned on the TV and seen an old Spaghetti Western playing, you’ve seen Monument Valley. This incredible stretch of land in Arizona, made iconic by its many tall, alien-looking towers of sandstone, is one of the most beautiful places in Arizona.
The 17-mile-long Valley Drive takes you through Monument Valley, where you can stop, get out, hike the trails, and get up-close with these amazing buttes. The contrast between perfectly flat land and the enormous towering buttes of Monument Valley makes this place look like it should be found on another planet. An unforgettable experience.
This incredible Arizona landmark has a fascinating history. Built by a local sculptor who, in the 1930s, was inspired by the Empire State Building. She first tried to build it in Budapest but the plans were scuppered by World War II and so she built it into the buttes outside Sedona, Arizona instead.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a bizarre but beautiful piece of brutalist architecture; tall and thin with an enormous cross taking up its entire front facade. There is nothing else quite like this building anywhere in Arizona, and the juxtaposition between its concrete brutalism and the rugged cliffs into which it is built makes the chapel one of the most instagrammable places in Arizona.
A visit to Tombstone is the easiest way to step back in time. Tombstone is a true Wild West town; an example of how Arizona looked a century ago. Gas lamps, swinging saloon doors, and even horse-and-carriages make this an authentic Wild West tourist destination.
Tombstone offers more than just one of the most instagrammable places in Arizona. You can also act out duels in the street, take a carriage ride, and get dressed up in period costumes as you stroll along the town’s dusty streets. Tombstone is a true Spaghetti Western film set come to life, and is one of the most beautiful places in Arizona for history and film buffs.
Like Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam is one of the iconic beautiful places in Arizona that has to be talked about. Any list of instagrammable places in Arizona that omits Hoover Dam isn’t giving the state its due.
One of the most impressive feats of engineering in the USA also happens to be one of the most epic views, combining impossibly large man-made structures with the open wilderness of Arizona. The stark contrast of orange rocks and the deep blue waters of Lake Mead also help to make this one of the most instagrammable places in Arizona.
Located at the northern edge of South Mountain Park and Preserve is the aptly named Mystery Castle. It took the eccentric and enigmatic Bryce Luther Gulley fifteen years to build this castle in Phoenix, which he abandoned his wife, child, and job to set out and do.
Gulley died in 1945, and the notice of his death was the first bit of news his wife and child had received since he vanished. After his death, however, his daughter moved into the castle and offered daily tours to visitors.
Though she is also no longer with us, tours of the castle are still available every Thursday through Sunday between the months of October and May. While not particularly beautiful, Mystery Castle is a strange and fascinating local landmark and easily one of the most instagrammable places in Arizona.
Similar to The Wave, Antelope Canyon offers visitors a peek behind the curtain of nature at work and at its most beautiful. Found outside the city of Page, Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon that, during the day, dances with the sunlight as it seeps through and bounces from the walls of the canyon, making this one of the most instagrammable places in Arizona.
Guided tours of Upper Antelope Canyon give you plenty of opportunity to explore the canyon on your own and take photos of what is, undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful places in Arizona.
There isn’t much that can be said about the Grand Canyon which hasn’t already been said. Ask any person, from any country in the world, to list ten iconic natural spots in the US and the Grand Canyon will be at the top. That says it all.
Few people would argue, whether they’ve seen it for themselves or not, whether they’re a local or a tourist, that the Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful places in Arizona (if not the single most beautiful). A visit to Arizona must include a visit to the Grand Canyon. You don’t really have a choice.
The town of Jerome was founded back in the 19th Century on a hill overlooking the Verde Valley. Over the past hundred years it has devolved from a bustling copper mining town to a ghost town, and that ghost town status has made it something of a tourist attraction.
Elements like the Sliding Jail (a hundred year old jailhouse which has slowly shifted over the years and now stands 2,500ft away from where it was built) make this a strange and exotic place to visit. And the views of the surrounding landscape make Jerome one of the most beautiful places in Arizona.
If you’re struck by the beautiful blend of oranges and blues found at Hoover Dam, then Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a must-visit spot in Arizona. Located near the city of Page, this area — including the manmade Lake Powell — was formed following the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in the 1950s.
Made up of outcroppings of sandstone and deep blue waters, this is a refreshing change from the many other dry and endless scenes of desert landscape that Arizona has to offer.
One of the most beautiful places in Arizona is, hands down, Montezuma Castle. Found in Camp Verde, this is a collection of amazingly well-preserved dwellings built by the native Singua people of Arizona. Montezuma Castle was constructed somewhere between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.
While its name is far from accurate, Montezuma Castle is still a jaw-dropping icon of Arizona history. Built into a limestone cliff, views of the ancient dwelling from the ground give it an epic scale that really takes your breath away. An amazing sight to see.
Found on the Havasupai Indian Reservation is the hundred-foot-high Havasu Falls, which pours into a series of turquoise pools at its base. Visitors can wade through the pools and get up close and personal with the waterfall. However, it isn’t accessible to everyone.
You need to pay for a reservation but it is certainly worth the effort to see one of the most beautiful places in Arizona.
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