Arizona
Places in Arizona worth the detour, from town festivals, lookouts & cabins, and fairs & rodeos, each compiled from its own sources with season, fees, and directions.
Towns: Camp Verde, Willcox, Payson, Safford, Cottonwood, Glendale, Holbrook, Quartzsite, Jerome. All the towns of Arizona.
Point at a dot to see the place.Tap a dot to see the place. Road map of Arizona.
Hot Springs
Swimming Holes
- Fossil Creek Wild and Scenic RiverCamp Verde · Wild and scenic riverA spring-fed creek in a 1,600-foot canyon southeast of Camp Verde, Arizona, where a century of hydropower diversion ended in 2005 and travertine dams have begun to regrow.
- Grasshopper Point Swimming & Picnic AreaSedona · Day-use siteA Forest Service day-use swimming hole on Oak Creek, about two miles north of Sedona, Arizona, where two waterfalls spill into a pool beneath a black and red cliff.
- Pebble Beach Day Use AreaMesa · Developed recreation siteThis site is a most popular inner tube starting and take-out point. With the abundance of tables and shade ramadas, families like to camp out for the day at the water's edge and cool off from the summer heat.
- Sabino Canyon swimming holes (Sabino Dam, Hutch's Pool)Tucson · Recreation sitesThe Sabino Canyon Crawler Tour is a guided, narrated shuttle tour that travels the 3.7-mile Sabino Canyon Road Trail and returns to the Visitor Center.
- Slide Rock State ParkSedona · 43-acre historic apple farm located in oak creek canyonOriginally a homestead apple farm, Slide Rock State Park is one of our most popular recreation spots. Escape the heat in the cool waters of Oak Creek.
- Tanque Verde Falls Recreation AreaTucson · Recreation areaNew trails and amenities at this popular recreation destination invite visitors to experience the stunning desert, beautiful rock formations, and seasonal creek and waterfalls of Tanque Verde Canyon.
- Water Wheel Falls, East Verde RiverPayson · 1.6-mile out-and-back trailA 1.6-mile out-and-back trail north of Payson along Ellison Creek and the East Verde River.
- Wet Beaver Creek day useRimrock · Day-use picnic siteOnce listed as a campground, Beaver Creek is now a day-use site popular for picnicking and birding year round, and water play in the summer. The area has limited space and can get over-crowded on hot days and holiday weekends.
Trailheads
- Burro Creek Recreation Site TrailheadA BLM campground on U.S. 93 between Wikieup and Wickenburg, Arizona, where Burro Creek's deep pools lie below saguaro-studded canyon walls.
- Pine Creek Trailhead (Tonto Natural Bridge)Pine · Hiking trailTonto Natural Bridge State Park is located in central Arizona near Payson. It is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world. There are four hiking trails, a picnic area, and a group use area. The park provides habitat for animals, insects, and birds as well as Interpretive exhibits including artifacts on the history of Tonto Natural Bridge, plus information about travertine, prehistoric inhabitants, and the historic Goodfellow Lodge.
- Red Mountain TrailheadFlagstaff · TrailVolcanic cinder cone that rises 1,000 feet above the surrounding landscape, in the shape of a 'U' with a large natural amphitheater cutting into the cone's northeast flank.
Rockhounding
- Black Hills Rockhound AreaSafford · Rockhound areaA BLM rockhound area about 18 miles north of Safford, Arizona, where fire agate is dug free from the top two feet of ground, no permit required.
- Diamond Point crystal collection sitePayson, Arizona · Crystal collection sitePublic collection area for doubly terminated quartz crystals (locally called Herkimer or Payson diamonds, though they are clear quartz), weathered out of cavities in the Martin Formation along Diamond Rim.
- Round Mountain Rockhound AreaDuncan · Rockhounding areaA popular rockhounding area located near the town of Duncan in eastern Arizona.
Gem Mining
Scenic Drives
- Apache Trail Historic RoadTortilla Flat · Historic roadState Route 88, the Apache Trail, a wagon road built to haul freight to Roosevelt Dam, still runs five unpaved miles beyond Fish Creek Vista in Arizona's Tonto country.
- Black Hills Back Country BywayBetween Safford and Clifton · Type II bywayA 21-mile convict-built dirt road through the volcanic Black Hills between Safford and Clifton, Arizona, crossing the Gila River on a 1918 double-arch concrete bridge.
- Coronado Trail National Scenic BywayClifton · National scenic bywayThe Coronado Trail carries U.S. 191 from the copper pit at Clifton and Morenci up over the Mogollon Rim to Springerville, through what ADOT counts as 460 curves.
- Desert to Tall Pines Scenic RoadYoung · Scenic bywayA partly unpaved back road from the Mogollon Rim to Roosevelt Lake in Gila County, Arizona, crossing the Salt River on a one-lane Parker truss bridge built in 1920.
- Parker Dam Road Back Country BywayParker · Back country bywayThe Parker Dam Road "Thread of Life" highlights the scenic, natural, historic, and prehistoric values along an 11 mile road that travels along the California shore of the Colorado River.
- Swift Trail ParkwaySafford · Scenic driveClimbs more than 7,000 feet over 35 miles with views of the surrounding landscape.
Train Rides
- Grand Canyon RailwayWilliams · Heritage railroadA daily train from Williams, Arizona, up the 1901 Santa Fe branch to the Grand Canyon's South Rim, on select days behind a steam engine burning waste vegetable oil.
- Verde Canyon RailroadClarkdale · Scenic excursion railroadScenic excursion railroad through Arizona with open-air cars.
Roadside Attractions
- Bedrock City at Raptor RanchValle · Historic cartoon landmarkA 1972 Flintstones roadside town on Highway 64 at Valle, Arizona, hand-sculpted from wire mesh and gunite, now kept open inside a birds-of-prey ranch.
- Giganticus Headicus at Antares PointActivityA 14-foot green tiki head and a 16-foot scrap-metal Guardian stand outside a former Route 66 motel on the two-mile curve northeast of Kingman, Arizona.
- Jack Rabbit Trading PostJoseph City · Trading postA Route 66 souvenir post west of Joseph City, Arizona, whose yellow "HERE IT IS" billboard has faced the old highway on the same boards since 1949.
- Rainbow Rock Shop DinosaursHolbrook · Dinosaur statues: seven brontosaurusesOwner Adam Luna built each dinosaur as a steel skeleton covered with rebar netting and coated with concrete skin.
- Space Age LodgeGila Bend · Motor lodgeSpace-themed motor lodge off Interstate 8 in Gila Bend with retro roadside charm and modern comfort near the Sonoran Desert.
- The ThingBenson · Tourist stop and museumThe Thing is not only the name of the store, but of the star exhibit of the museum. Originally owned by lawyer Thomas Binkley Prince, The Thing was built as a tourist stop and museum around the strange exhibit and other collected items.
- Wigwam Village Motel #6Holbrook · MotelOne of the most iconic landmarks along historic Route 66; the motel offers a nostalgic journey back to the golden age of American road trips, with distinctive teepee-shaped units.
- World's Largest KokopelliCamp Verde · StatueThis statue stands 32-feet tall. In case you're wondering a Kokopelli is the Navajo Indian God of wealth and fertility. The statue stands in front of the Krazy Kokopelli Trading Post in Camp Verde.
- World's Tallest Kachina DollCarefree · Roadside attractionStanding nearly 40 feet tall, the massive Kachina doll statue is believed by some to be the largest of its kind. Built in the 1970s as the neighborhood developed, the structure weighs about 14.5 tons and is made of cement blocks and steel.
Lookouts & Cabins
- Apache Maid CabinCamp Verde · Rustic forest service cabin rentalRustic Forest Service facility at the eastern base of Apache Maid Mountain, 2 hours north of Phoenix, Arizona, and 45 minutes north of Camp Verde, Arizona, in the shade of a ponderosa pine forest just south of the Mogollon Rim.
- Big Springs Cabin SiteFredonia · Cabin siteSeven rental cabins beside a working ranger station on Arizona's Kaibab Plateau, where the plateau's most abundant spring runs down a limestone cliff into two ponds.
- Caldwell CabinAlpine · Rustic forest service cabin rentalA 1920s log homestead turned Forest Service rental cabin southwest of Alpine, Arizona, where a stone fireplace is set with Luna agate and the water is hauled in.
- Crescent Moon Ranch CabinSedona · Ranch houseA 1930s ranch house of Oak Creek cobbles on the old OK Ranch below Cathedral Rock in Sedona, rented by the night beside the steel water wheel that once lit it.
- Groom Creek SchoolhousePrescott · Historic schoolhouse and group picnic siteA granite-fieldstone schoolhouse on the Senator Highway south of Prescott, Arizona, that taught Groom Creek's children until 1952 and still keeps its chalkboards on the walls.
- Half Moon RanchDragoon · Cabin electricA seven-room Forest Service ranch house for rent in East Cochise Stronghold in Arizona's Dragoon Mountains, with a barn and corrals for up to six horses or mules.
- Horsethief CabinCrown King · Electric cabinA 1939 Forest Service fire crew cabin on Forest Road 52 below Crown King, Arizona, idle by the 1980s and now rented by the night beside Horsethief Basin Lake.
- Hull CabinTusayan · Cabin nonelectricHull Cabin, a sheep ranch's log house of the late 1880s just south of the Grand Canyon, became a ranger station in 1907 and now rents by the night.
- Jumpup CabinFredonia · Rustic two-room log cabinRustic two-room log cabin on the Kaibab National Forest listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the cabin sits on the edge of Jumpup canyon with a panoramic view of Kanab Creek Wilderness.
- Kendrick CabinFlagstaff · Retired u. s. forest service fire guard stationThis rustic three-bedroom masonry and wood cabin is in the scenic Kendrick Park area. It has wonderful views of the San Francisco Peaks, Kendrick Mountain, and the surrounding forest.
- Kent Springs CabinGreen Valley · Cabin rentalKent Springs Cabin is located in the Madera Canyon Recreation Area, 15 miles southeast of Green Valley, Arizona in the Coronado National Forest. Located in an area boasting unique natural features and historical sites, the secluded and private cabin is an ideal location for guests seeking relaxation and recreation although less than an hour from Tucson.
- Kentucky Camp CabinSonoita · Cabin and headquarters buildingNestled in the scenic Santa Rita Mountains near Sonoita, Kentucky Camp consists of five adobe buildings: the headquarters, two cabins, the assay office and the remains of a barn. A small cabin and headquarters building have been restored for public use in the "Rooms with a View" program.
- Palisades Ranger Residence CabinTucson · Five-room cabinThe cabin has indoor plumbing, electricity, a full kitchen, furniture, beds and an enclosed front yard.
- Portal BunkhousePortal · CabinAt the entrance to Cave Creek Canyon at 5,000 feet, on the eastern slope of the Chiricahua Mountains; Cave Creek, a perennial stream, flows nearby.
- Portal CCC HousePortal · Five-room cabinThe Portal CCC House is a five-room cabin just west of Portal, Arizona; its fieldstone masonry cabin is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the few remaining structures from the 1930s-era Cave Creek CCC Camp.
- Sollers CabinTucson · Two-story, six-room forest service cabinLocated off the scenic Mt. Lemmon Highway, the Sollers Cabin sits at the end of a dirt road and provides a unique recreational opportunity for hikers, picnickers, birders, bicyclists, artists, photographers, researchers, and nature lovers of every age. The large two-story, seven-room cabin consists of three bedrooms, one and half bathrooms, a diving/living room, and a fully equipped kitchen.
- Spring Valley Cabin & BunkhouseParks · Historic cabin rentalFurnished abode north of Parks, AZ, between Williams and Flagstaff; the cabin has a capacity of eight people for overnight stays, with the bunkhouse adding six more for a total of 14; available year-round subject to winter road access.
- Sycamore CabinDugas · Cabin electricA 1938 CCC-built ranger's residence on the edge of Sycamore Creek, with a riparian area just outside the back door.
Ghost Towns
- OatmanOatman · Historic route 66 village, ghost townThe home of the Last Big Gold Boom in the United States, sitting on the longest remaining stretch of the original historic Route 66, with surviving historic buildings (Oatman Jail, Oatman Drug Building, Oatman Hotel), wild burros, and Wild West gunfighter shows.
- PearceSunsites · Mining ghost townMining ghost town founded by James Pearce around the Commonwealth Mine, the greatest gold mining settlement in Arizona. Historic buildings and the century-old Pearce Cemetery are still present.
- Swansea Historic Ghost TownBouse · Historic and cultural siteRuins of a mining boom town: several adobe and brick buildings, the railroad grade, numerous foundations, and the mine shafts remain.
- Tortilla FlatTortilla Flat · Stagecoach stopA 1904 stagecoach stop in the Superstition Mountains that rebuilt after fires and floods and now operates as a small Arizona tourist town with a saloon, schoolhouse museum, country store and mercantile gift shop.
- Vulture City Ghost TownWickenburg · Preserved 1860s old west gold mining ghost townAuthentic preserved 1860s gold mining town built around the richest gold strike in the state. Original and restored buildings, mining relics, ADA-accessible pathways, self-guided daily access with a complimentary Sunday guided history tour.
Observatories
- Dorrance DOME at Arizona Science CenterPhoenix · Planetarium - a permanent feature of the arizona science centerAn LED dome opened in October 2025 that welcomes 205 guests in 200 premium seats, plus five ADA-compliant spaces.
- Flandrau Science Center & PlanetariumTucson · Science center and planetarium
- Lowell ObservatoryFlagstaff
Factory Tours
- Open Studio TourTubac · Free self-guided open studio tourA free, self-guided tour of working studios in Arizona's Santa Cruz Valley, run each spring by Tubac Center of the Arts, where more than 100 artists open homes and workshops.
- Page Springs Fish HatcheryCornville · State-run fish hatcheryA state trout hatchery on Lower Oak Creek near Cornville, Arizona, where springs at a constant 68 degrees grow out fingerling trout on James Page's old ranch.
- Silver Creek Fish HatcheryShow Low · Fish hatcheryA state trout hatchery on spring-fed Silver Creek northeast of Show Low, Arizona, where every Apache trout stocked in the state is raised.
- Sonoran Glass SchoolTucson · Nonprofit educational organizationA nonprofit glass school in a former tire station at the dead end of West 18th Street in Tucson, where a 400-pound furnace runs as hot as 2,300 degrees.
- The Gold King Mine Ghost TownJerome · Ghost townA mining-camp ghost town a mile north of Jerome, Arizona, where Don Robertson's hundred-odd vehicles weather beside an 1890 mine shaft and a 1914 sawmill still cuts lumber.
- Tonto Creek Fish HatcheryPayson · Fish hatcheryA state trout hatchery near the headwaters of Tonto Creek beneath the Mogollon Rim, where visitors feed trout at a show pond and all of Arizona's Apache trout are hatched.
Flea Markets
- Arizona MarketplaceYuma · Open air swap meetAn open-air swap meet on South Avenue 4 East in Yuma, Arizona, open November through April, that took in vendors from the Yuma Swap Meet when Border Patrol sought that land in 2023.
- Flagstaff Urban Flea MarketFlagstaff · Monthly eclectic marketA twice-monthly summer flea market in the City Hall parking lot in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, started in 2016 for the artisans a farmers market kept turning away.
- Mesa Market Place Swap MeetMesa · Swap meetArizona's Largest Outdoor Shopping Market; covered misted breezeways with hundreds of vendors; artisans, jewelers, crafts, clothing, and more; free parking, free admission, and live entertainment.
- Peddlers Pass Old Time Farmers and Flea MarketPrescott Valley · Flea marketOur flea market named best in Arizona is open every weekend all year round something for everyone always something new always something different so come on out and join the fun
- Phoenix Park 'n SwapPhoenix · Flea market & swap meetOpen-air swap meet with over 1,000 vendor selling spaces plus Auto Row vehicle sales, drawing more than a million visitors a year; new and used bargains, food concessions, and monthly promos.
- Tyson Wells Market CentreQuartzsite · Outdoor marketsTyson Wells Enterprises in Quartzsite, Arizona was founded by Lloyd & Lavoun Dyer in 1977. It began with an open lot which a R.V. Park was developed and the Sell-A-Rama Show started in 1978. Soon Tyson Wells became World known as a leading Rock & Gem Show in the United States.
- West Wind Glendale Swap MeetGlendale · Swap meet & public marketVisit the Glendale Swap Meet, a lively open-air market where you can shop for bargains, fresh produce, clothing, antiques, and more. Enjoy great food, unique finds, and a fun, family-friendly atmosphere every weekend.
U-Pick Farms
Wineries
- Bodega PierceWillcox · Vineyard and tasting roomA two-generation family winery on the Willcox Bench, 15 miles southeast of Willcox, Arizona, bottling only grapes grown on its own 80-acre estate.
- Caduceus CellarsJerome · Tasting roomThe Jerome, Arizona, tasting room of Caduceus Cellars, the winery Tool singer Maynard James Keenan founded in 2004, pours Arizona-grown wine from vineyards as high as 4,900 feet.
- Callaghan VineyardsElgin · Winery and estate vineyardEstate winery on Elgin Road in southeastern Arizona, planted during a 1990 heat wave, its vineyard named for a laborer's shout of "Buena Suerte."
- Carlson Creek VineyardWillcox · Winery/vineyardA family-owned estate winery north of Robbs Road outside Willcox, Arizona, begun in 2008 when Robert Carlson III quit stockbroking to farm wine grapes with his parents.
- Chateau TumbleweedClarkdale · Tasting roomsChateau Tumbleweed is a winery and tasting room on State Route 89A in Clarkdale, Arizona, that owns no vineyards and trucks most of its fruit up from Willcox.
- Deep Sky VineyardElgin · Arizona winery and tasting room in elginA tasting room and custom crush winery on Elgin Road in southern Arizona, started by a couple who bought an Argentine Malbec vineyard on a birthday trip.
- Four Tails VineyardSonoita · Small, boutique vineyardA Sonoita tasting room for wines grown on a family ranch in Pearce, where every label carries a rescue dog and dogs are welcome on the patio.
- Los Milics VineyardsElgin · Arizona wineryA winery and vineyard lodging in Elgin, Arizona, where a tasting room hides behind a cone of twenty-foot weathered-steel monoliths facing a rounded peak called the Biscuit.
- Merkin VineyardsCottonwood · Winery and trattoriaWinery and trattoria with on-site production facility, vineyard, restaurant, and tasting room in Cottonwood, Arizona.
- Page Springs CellarsCornville · WineryFamily-owned Arizona winery and vineyard tucked into the volcanic landscape overlooking pristine Oak Creek Canyon, just 15 minutes south of Sedona in the Verde Valley; produces Rhone style wines, working primarily with Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Mourvedre.
- Pillsbury Wine CompanyWillcox · Vineyard and tasting room100% Arizona High Elevation, Regeneratively Farmed, Wild Yeast Fermented Estate Vegan Wines: Vineyard and Tasting Room, Willcox AVA.
- Rune WinesSonoita · Off-grid tasting room and vineyardWe are the only solar powered and off-grid tasting room and vineyard in Arizona, and we strive to run our business sustainably and with minimal impact.
- Sonoita VineyardsElgin · Oldest commercial vineyard and winery in arizonaCome and view the vineyards, pursue the gift shop, see the barrel room, and enjoy a glass of wine.
- Superstition MeaderyPrescott · Tasting roomFrom a Skull Valley start to a historic Prescott tasting-room renovation, a state-of-the-art production facility, and the world's first mead and food pairing restaurant in Downtown Phoenix, an Arizona entrepreneurial success story on a mission to reintroduce the world's oldest fermented beverage.
Fairs & Rodeos
- Apache County FairSt Johns · County fairThe Apache County Fair at St. Johns, Arizona: four late-August days of 4-H barns, ranch rodeo and midway, free at the gate since 1942 by its own count.
- Cochise County FairDouglas · County fairThe Cochise County Fair, held each fall on the fairgrounds just north of Douglas, Arizona, where the Sunday of the fair opens with Cowboy Church at seven in the morning.
- Coconino County FairFlagstaff · County fairThe Coconino County Fair fills Fort Tuthill County Park, south of Flagstaff, each Labor Day weekend, with 4-H stock shows held among former National Guard mess halls.
- Gila County FairGlobe · FestivalGila County's four-day September fair at the fairgrounds just north of Globe, Arizona, began with six children who wanted to show steers and a rancher's gift of land for agriculture, fairs, and racetracks.
- Graham County FairSafford · County fairSafford, Arizona's October county fair, whose 2026 edition is billed as its hundredth, still judges pigeons, rabbits, and field crops a few steps from a carnival midway.
- Greenlee County FairDuncan · County fairA county-run September fair at the fairgrounds outside Duncan, Arizona, with 4-H livestock sales and college rodeo, first held for one day at the Union High School in 1919.
- La Paz County FairParker · County fairA three-day March county fair at Parker, Arizona, begun in 1958 as the Northern Yuma County Fair, whose exhibit hall judges dates by the quart and Chemehuevi baskets.
- Mohave County FairKingman · County fair & rodeoThe Mohave County Fair, four September days at the Kingman fairgrounds, began in 1947 with two former air base barracks set on bare ground among greasewood and ant hills.
- Navajo County Fair & RodeoHolbrook · County fairNavajo County's fair and rodeo, held in September on the Holbrook fairgrounds since 1931, where the 2026 edition ran its demolition derby through a muddy arena.
- Northern Gila County FairPayson · County fairA fall county fair in Payson, Arizona, dating its count to 1955, whose Saturday auction sells the pigs, goats, steers and turkeys raised by Rim Country children.
- Prescott Frontier Days - World's Oldest RodeoPrescott · RodeoA seven-day PRCA rodeo at the Prescott, Arizona, rodeo grounds that dates itself to a July 4, 1888, cowboy tournament won by Juan Leivas of the Date Creek Ranch.
- Santa Cruz County Fair & RodeoSonoita · County fair and rodeoThe membership-owned fairgrounds at Sonoita, Arizona, where the Santa Cruz County Fair and Labor Day Rodeo reached their 111th editions in 2026, on grounds volunteers began building in 1916.
- Tucson Rodeo (La Fiesta de los Vaqueros)Tucson · Professional rodeoLa Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson's February professional rodeo since 1925, whose parade admits no motor vehicles and closes Tucson-area schools for two days.
- Verde Valley FairCottonwood · County fairCottonwood's spring fair, begun in 1965 as a calf sale on a downtown ball field, where Verde Valley 4-H and FFA youth still show and auction their livestock.
- Yavapai County FairChino Valley · County fairThe Yavapai County Fair, held each September at the Prescott Rodeo Grounds in Prescott, Arizona, has run on the same ground since its first fair in October 1913.
- Yuma County FairYuma · County fairYuma County's spring fair, held since 1953 on grounds across the road from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, whose flight path moved the midway in 2024.
Town Festivals
- Andy Devine DaysKingman · Annual paradeKingman's September parade down Beale Street, first formally organized in 1970, honors Andy Devine, the gravel-voiced film sidekick who grew up in the town's Beale Hotel.
- Apache Leap Mining FestivalSuperior · Mining festival & carnivalA free three-day March festival in Superior, Arizona, where contestants race the clock at spiking, hand-sawing, jackleg drilling and mucking beneath the cliff called Apache Leap.
- Billy Moore DaysAvondale · Multi-day festivalA four-day October carnival and Saturday-morning parade in Avondale, Arizona, honoring Billy Moore, a Coldwater postmaster who, the local historical society says, dispensed moonshine with the mail.
- Coolidge Cotton Days FestivalCoolidge · FestivalCoolidge, Arizona's three-day Cotton Days, where teams roll cotton bales for sport and three irrigation districts were named grand marshals of the 2026 parade.
- Douglas DaysDouglas · Weekend celebrationDouglas Days, the City of Douglas's annual birthday weekend at Raul Castro Park in Cochise County, where fire crews and gas-company teams race wheeled beds down Ninth Street.
- Eagar DaysEagar · Community celebrationEagar Days is the Town of Eagar's one-day summer celebration at Ramsey Park in Arizona's White Mountains, opened at 8 a.m. by a fishing tournament on Cowpuncher Pond.
- Fall FestivalQuartzsite · Annual fall festivalThe Quartzsite Fall Festival is a free one-day gathering in the town park at Quartzsite, Arizona, where four bands, one of them an AC/DC tribute, mark the end of the desert summer.
- Fall Fountain Festival of Fine Arts and CraftsFountain Hills · Juried festivalA juried arts and crafts fair held each November and February along the Avenue of the Fountains in Fountain Hills, Arizona, begun in Fountain Park with 60 artists in 1974.
- Fort Verde DaysCamp Verde · Annual homecomingCamp Verde, Arizona's annual homecoming fires artillery at the Indian Wars post the town grew around, and in 2026 marks its 70th year.
- Fountain Hills OktoberfestFountain Hills · Annual festivalA two-night German festival at the Fountain Hills Community Center in Arizona, hosted by the town's Sister Cities group, with a band that flies in from Germany every year.
- Gila Valley Pioneer DaysPima · CelebrationGila Valley Pioneer Days, a two-day July celebration whose host rotates among Gila Valley towns, came to Pima, Arizona, in 2026, its fireworks paid for by $5 pulled-pork plates.
- Gold Rush DaysWickenburg · Premier annual eventThe annual February festival in Wickenburg, Arizona, honoring an 1863 gold strike on the Hassayampa, with gold panning, a mucking contest and a Senior Pro Rodeo.
- Helldorado DaysTombstone · CelebrationHelldorado Days, held in Tombstone, Arizona, the third weekend of October, puts gunfight reenactments on Allen Street and dates to 1929, when 44 townsmen pledged to grow whiskers.
- Hi Jolly Parade and CamelpaloozaQuartzsite · Camel-themed paradeEach January in Quartzsite, Arizona, live camels walk in a parade down Moon Mountain Avenue to a festival at an old adobe store, honoring the Army camel driver Hi Jolly.
- Joseph City Founders DayJoseph City · Community eventAn evening at the Historical Joseph City Dam, a parade and Saturday activities.
- Lost Dutchman DaysApache Junction · Annual eventApache Junction's rodeo weekend at the end of February, begun in 1965 as a one-day event and named for Jacob Waltz's lost gold mine in the Superstition Mountains.
- Marana Founders' Day Parade & FestivitiesMarana · Parade and festivalMarana, Arizona, marks its 1977 incorporation each March with a parade down Marana Main Street begun by Ora Mae Harn and Mrs. Kern, whose grandson still coordinates it.
- Old Miners' DayChloride · Parade and festivalChloride, Arizona's October parade and fair for the hard rock miners of the Cerbat Mountains, which opens each year with a corner bake sale of pecan pie and pineapple upside-down cake.
- Pioneer Day Parade and FiestaWellton · Annual parade and fiestaAn annual February parade and fiesta in Wellton, Arizona, a railroad well town east of Yuma, running along Los Angeles Avenue and ending at Butterfield Park.
- Pleasant Valley DaysYoungThrough one weekend each July the town of Young remembers the infamous Pleasant Valley War and celebrates local history with three days of history, heritage, roping, a parade, food and drink.
- Rex Allen DaysWillcox · FestivalA celebration of tradition, music, and community in Willcox, Arizona.
- Snowflake Pioneer DaysSnowflake · Community organizationAn Inheritance of Faith. This video provides a narration of the founding of Snowflake Arizona, detailing the Pioneers arriving to the area around the 24th of July.
- St. David Pioneer DaysSt. David · Pioneer days celebrationA two-day July celebration in St. David, Arizona, recalls the Mormon families who settled the San Pedro River in 1877 and ends with fireworks over the high school football field.
- Territorial DaysChino Valley · CelebrationChino Valley's four-day Labor Day festival in Yavapai County, Arizona, marks Arizona's first territorial capital at Del Rio Springs with a parade, pancakes and an FFA corn dinner.
- Tombstone Wild West DaysTombstone · Parade and street entertainmentTombstone Wild West Days is a March parade and street weekend on Allen Street in Tombstone, Arizona, staged by a local Marine Corps League detachment as a salute to the armed forces.
- Williams Rendezvous DaysWilliams · City parkOpen during summer months for day use, the park includes two cabanas, barbecue pits, basketball and volleyball court, and horseshoe pits. The lake is stocked regularly by Arizona Game and Fish, and the park has a the trail head to several trails maintained by the forest service.
Holiday Celebrations
Old-Time Music
- Ajo Oldtime Fiddle ContestAjo · Old time fiddlers contestAn old-time fiddle contest held each February at the clubhouse of Ajo's community golf course, a former Air Force officers' club, with jamming from Thursday to Sunday.
- Arizona State Fiddle ContestPayson · State fiddle contestArizona's state fiddle championship, held in Payson since the 1960s, where in 2026 the top two fiddlers settled the title on the county fair's evening concert stage.
- Bluegrass on the BeachLake Havasu CityA bluegrass festival on the Lake Havasu State Park shoreline in Arizona, held the first weekend of March, where campers arrive Monday and jam all week before three days of concerts.
- Desert Bluegrass FestivalMarana · Bluegrass festivalA three-day spring bluegrass festival on a town soccer field in Marana, Arizona, where Friday is free and pickers draw names from a bucket to form bands.
- FFOTM Wednesday open jamFlagstaff · Open jamAn open bluegrass jam held every Wednesday at noon in Flagstaff, Arizona, in Wheeler Park in summer and beside the Flagstaff Mall fireplace in winter.
- Glendale Folk & Heritage FestivalGlendale · Folk and heritage festivalA free two-day folk festival at Sahuaro Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, where musicians play from the porches of an old fruit ranch and workshops teach spoons and saw.
- Matheson Music FestivalSafford · Music festivalA February festival of bluegrass, old-time and Americana at the Graham County Fairgrounds in Safford, Arizona, where the camping rules set no quiet hours for acoustic music.
- Phoenix Old Time Music Society jamsGlendale · Old-time traditional music jamsGathering around the Valley for over 20 years, playing a mix of traditional fiddle tunes, Appalachian Mountain music, Canadian, Irish & Scottish tunes (jigs, polkas, reels, waltzes, hornpipes) and more.
- Pickin' in the Pines Bluegrass FestivalFlagstaff · Bluegrass festivalA three-day September bluegrass festival at Fort Tuthill's Pepsi Amphitheater south of Flagstaff, Arizona, where campers jam in the ponderosas and a Friday caller runs a free square dance.
- Prescott Bluegrass FestivalPrescott · Bluegrass festivalA free two-day bluegrass festival on the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza in Prescott, Arizona, begun as a fiddle contest for a local fiddler and free since 1996.
- Salome FiddlefestSalome · Multi-day old-time fiddle festivalA multi-day old-time fiddle festival held at the Salome Lions Club, with RV parking, meals, and open jamming for fiddlers and friends.
- Southern Arizona Old Time Fiddlers weekly jamTucson · Old-time fiddle jamWeekly jams every Tuesday at 2:00 PM Mission View RV Park
- Tucson Fiddle ContestTucson · Fiddle contestAnnual public fiddle contest with age divisions, free admission, cash prizes.
- Verde Valley Old Time Fiddlers jamCottonwood · Old-time fiddle jamArizona Old Time Fiddlers chapter meeting with weekly jams.
- Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival and ContestWickenburg · Bluegrass festivalA three-day bluegrass festival and string contest held each November in Wickenburg's rodeo arena, started in 1980 by a western swing performer known in town as Buck Wayne.
- Yuma Silver Spur Fiddle ContestYuma · Old time fiddlers contestSponsored and hosted by the Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo; now in its 49th year, a weekend of competition, dancing, and community bringing together fiddlers of all ages and abilities from across Arizona and the Southwest.
Next door: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.