50 Things to Do in Arizona Your First Year

You’re not a real Arizonan until you’ve eaten a Sonoran dog at midnight, argued about the best Cactus League park, and watched a haboob roll in from your patio. Here’s your first-year bucket list.

Updated October 2026. Rules and fees change; confirm with the official source linked in each section.

Outdoors

1. Hike Camelback Mountain (Echo Canyon or Cholla) at sunrise
2. Summit Piestewa Peak
3. Catch sunset at Hole-in-the-Rock in Papago Park
4. Explore South Mountain, one of the largest city parks in the U.S.
5. Walk the Desert Botanical Garden (and return in December for Las Noches de las Luminarias)
6. Tube the Salt River in summer
7. Kayak or boat Saguaro Lake, Canyon Lake or Lake Pleasant
8. Hike Flatiron in the Superstitions (experienced hikers only)
9. See spring wildflowers at Lost Dutchman State Park
10. Wander Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior

Road trips

11. Stand on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
12. Hike red rocks and eat your way through Sedona
13. Explore Jerome, the hillside mining town turned art town
14. Spend a cool summer weekend in Flagstaff
15. Walk Whiskey Row in Prescott
16. Explore Tucson: Saguaro National Park, Mount Lemmon and the food
17. Visit Tombstone and Bisbee
18. See Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon near Page
19. Find the Mogollon Rim and Tonto Natural Bridge near Payson
20. See Montezuma Castle near Camp Verde

Plan them with Best Day Trips from Phoenix.

Sports

21. Catch Cactus League spring training (15 MLB teams train here every February–March)
22. Watch the Diamondbacks at Chase Field (the roof closes in summer)
23. See the Suns or Mercury downtown
24. Tailgate a Cardinals game in Glendale
25. Experience the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale (the 16th hole is a party)
26. Go to an ASU or U of A game day
27. See NASCAR at Phoenix Raceway

Arts & culture

28. Heard Museum for American Indian art and culture
29. Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)
30. Phoenix Art Museum
31. First Friday art walk on Roosevelt Row
32. Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home
33. Arcosanti, the experimental desert town off I-17
34. Arizona Science Center
35. A show at the Orpheum, Herberger or ASU Gammage

Food & drink

36. Eat a Sonoran hot dog (bacon-wrapped, beans, salsa, on a bolillo)
37. Find your favorite carne asada taco spot
38. Try a chimichanga in Tucson, where (allegedly) it was invented
39. Order anything with green chile
40. Eat Navajo frybread
41. Shop a farmers market (Old Town Scottsdale, Gilbert, Uptown Phoenix)
42. Taste Arizona wine in Willcox, Sonoita or the Verde Valley
43. Get a date shake

Explore our restaurant guide.

Arizona traditions

44. The Arizona State Fair every fall
45. The Arizona Renaissance Festival (February–March)
46. Día de los Muertos celebrations
47. Holiday lights: ZooLights, Glendale Glitters, Tempe’s boat parade
48. Barrett-Jackson car auction in January
49. Watch a monsoon lightning storm
50. Have Thanksgiving dinner on the patio
51. Smugly check the weather back home in January