National Parks + Landmarks to See in Arizona

Okay, I’m convinced I might need to move to Arizona one day because I completely forgot how much I love it there after recently visiting on my Southwest road trip! Given we didn’t make it past the whole Northern portion of the state, it’s just so insanely beautiful there everywhere you go and full of so many cool places to see. I was just completely mind blown the entire time and it was actually one of my favorite days out of our whole road trip spending the day exploring Northern Arizona. Even driving through “the middle of nowhere” there was always so much to look at with how pretty all the rocks and canyons are! Today I’ll be rounding up some of the top landmarks and national parks you need to see when visiting Arizona. They really will not disappoint! I’ll also leave a link here to one of my recent vlogs on my YouTube channel for a more visual look at our day exploring Arizona.

Monument Valley

Monument Valley is right on the border of Utah and Arizona and is located closer to the Northeast corner of Arizona and Southeast corner of Utah and is such a cool place to see. It’s one of those places that you would really only see on a road trip like this, in the middle of nowhere and kind of out of the way, but is 100% worth the visit! Not a ton of traffic comes through there so it’s pretty easy to find the time to pull off on the side of the highway (they have designated spots where you can pull over), get out of your car, walk in the middle of the highway and snap some cool pics! (Of course, be mindful or cars driving through and keep your eye out for any incoming traffic!) We found a spot to pull over for amazing views of Monument Valley, a spot also known as the Forrest Gump point if you’ve seen the movie, and is where I captured these photos! It really makes for such a cool spot to take photos and videos.

Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend is another must-see in Arizona and is one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen. I just remember the whole time being there looking at the bend, it never stopped giving me that, “How is this place even real?” feeling. Horseshoe Bend is located in Page, AZ which is right around the middle of the Northern part of the state. When arriving at the Horseshoe Bend entrance, we were honestly a bit confused because after what we had researched online, it made it sound like you just drive right up to the overlook. But when arriving, you don’t see any of it and just looks like a parking lot and then dirt, we really thought we were in the wrong place lol. So I wanted to make sure to note here if this is your first time visiting so you know what to expect! Horseshoe bend is an overlook that requires a short walk to get to. The trail is about a mile and a half round trip and is a very easy trail (just make sure to pack a lot of water because it can get so hot during the summer and make the hike feel so much more difficult than it really is). Once arriving at the overlook, there are so many places you can view the Horseshoe Bend and snap some cool pics, even with how heavily trafficked the landmark can get. There were quite a bit of people when we visited but we had no problem finding spots to take photos with no one else in our shot or in the background.

Grand Canyon National Park

The Grand Canyon is hands down the most amazing place I’ve ever seen, it’s seriously SO INCREDIBLE! We visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on this trip, and while that was already so mind-blowing, we’ve actually heard that the South Rim is even better, so I would love to visit that part someday! When looking out at the canyon it just looks like it goes on forever and all the rock formations are so pretty to look at.

One thing I thought was kind of funny about visiting the Grand Canyon and something I was not at all expecting when visiting was also how spooky it is lol! We all know the Grand Canyon is very high up and high elevation from the ground but that didn’t really kick in until we walked to the main overlook of the North Rim and how slim the walking path was on the cliffside. I always knew this place was pretty and high up, but I feel like no one ever tells you how scary it is at times haha! Another thing that I wasn’t really expecting about visiting the Grand Canyon was the drive to the North Rim that takes you through the Kaibab National Forest. All you’re looking at is a bunch of trees for a majority of the drive that you really don’t know where you’re at until it opens up and all of a sudden you’re at the top of the Grand Canyon 9000 ft in elevation gain.

Sedona

I had to include this one on the list, even though neither Josh nor myself have been, but is a place that is on our bucket list! We’ve had so many friends and family visit Sedona and all just have amazing things to say about it, plus every time I see the photos it just looks so amazing! I may need to plan another trip to Arizona now to visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and of course, some time relaxing in Phoenix or Scottsdale.

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