On the Road Arizona

The Tepees are among the many unusual geologic formations in Petrified Forest National Park.

​Arizona roads go on forever

​One thing about Arizona is you'll never run out of places to explore in a lifetime. There's so much territory to cover on Arizona highways from the the Four Corners of the Navajo Reservation to the other “corners," canyons and mountains of this vast state. 

There are railroad and highway towns, mining and ghost towns, sun-bleached desert crossroads, farming towns, ranches, oases and alpine villages with cool air in the world's largest Ponderosa pine forest. 

And if that’s not enough, there’s Canyon de Chelly, the San Francisco Peaks, Petrified Forest, Saguaro National Park, Sunset Crater, Havasupai, Horseshoe Bend and the Grand Canyon. You can spend decades exploring the Big Ditch and never see all of its glory. Be sure to take the long way around to see the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

 I’ve seen much of the state over the past 48 years but there’s a lot of places I’ve never been and always another back road to explore or rediscover with fresh eyes.

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​When I arrived in Arizona in 1974, there were fewer than 2.2 million folks living here. That made for a lot of wide open spaces and empty wilderness where it was easy to be alone with the critters and sounds of wilderness. Route 66 was still carrying traffic across Northern Arizona.

Now there are more than 7 million people here. Sometimes you have to share the space with other people drawn to Arizona’s diverse landscapes. It helps that half of Arizonans live in Phoenix and Tucson. Travelers can still find  many places to get away and leave the cities behind.

On the Road Arizona is focused on exploring those wide open spaces and the places in between. Take a peek at our pages (use the index above) and Best of Arizona selections. We advocate getting on the road for scenic drives to see the landmarks, small towns, historic buildings, neon signs, road ruins and other windshield attractions.

Arizona has18 national monuments, three national parks, 35 state parks and  countless recreational opportunities in  national forests, rivers and canyon lakes. Go do it all!