There’s plenty to see on the Navajo Nation, and that generally means doing plenty of driving. That’s to be expected, given that the tribe’s land covers 27,000 square miles, including much of Arizona’s northeast corner. Thankfully, the in-between stretches are worth seeing, too — including the Tse’nikani (Flat Mesa Rock) Scenic Road, a section of U.S. Route 191 that forms part of a route from Monument Valley to Canyon de Chelly.
The human history of Red Rock Country stretches back much further than the late 1800s, when a handful of hardy settlers founded the community that later became Sedona. Deep in the sandstone canyons and alcoves are archaeological sites created by the area’s early inhabitants, some of whom were there at least 13,000 years ago. The two sites along Forest Road 525 aren’t quite that old, but they’re among Red Rock Country’s largest — and the view along the road is worth seeing, too.
We hear it a lot: “Why do so many of the scenic drives in Arizona Highways require a high-clearance vehicle?” It isn’t by design. But there are only so many paved scenic roads in Arizona, and on dirt roads, the quality of the roadway tends to be inversely correlated to the quality of the view out the window.
War and peace. They’re more than the title of the Leo Tolstoy novel everyone falsely claims to have read. They’re also the two basic states of human existence. This 37.5-mile drive, southwest of Tucson, is bookended by symbols of both of them — and, unlike Tolstoy’s 1,200-page tome, it’s easy to get through.
For a reservoir that once was among the world’s largest, Theodore Roosevelt Lake doesn’t get a ton of attention — possibly because it’s been surpassed by, among other human-made bodies of water, Lake Mead and Lake Powell. But while Arizona shares those reservoirs with Nevada and Utah, respectively, Roosevelt remains the largest body of water located entirely in Arizona. A-Cross Road, which runs along the north side of the lake, offers a little-seen perspective of it, along with plenty of Sonoran Desert scenery.
Northwestern Arizona isn’t widely known for fall color, but this part of the state has its share of high country — including the Hualapai Mountains, southeast of Kingman. And while many of the area’s ranges are remote and hard to access, the Hualapais are only a short drive from town on paved, scenic Hualapai Mountain Road. That road is this drive’s centerpiece, but a later stretch of dirt road offers even more scenery, along with some area history.
When you’re trekking to some attractions on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim — from Bright Angel Point, an easy quarter-mile walk from Grand Canyon Lodge, to Cape Royal, at the end of a paved road — there’s no mistaking where you are. The Canyon is everywhere, and every break in the rocks or trees offers a different glimpse of the natural wonder. Crazy Jug Point, west of the developed North Rim area on the Kaibab National Forest, is different: Until the last mile, you’ll have a hard time knowing you’re on your way to one of the Canyon’s most scenic and least visited overlooks.
There’s so much to see along the Coronado Trail — the steep, twisting 120-mile jaunt between the Eastern Arizona towns of Springerville and Clifton — that most travelers stay near the pavement of U.S. Route 191, of which the Coronado Trail is a part. But beyond the pines and overlooks of the National Scenic Byway is Upper Eagle Creek Road, and if you’ve got time for a 22-mile detour, the rewards include seldom-seen views, cool creek water and plenty of shade for a summer day.
“Directly west of the town of Prescott, [Arizona Territory], this solitary butte shows conspicuously, rising its head from a sea of pines, a monarch of this waving forest army which nods, bows and whispers, sending forth its ‘ocean-borrowed murmur,’ its only tribute of courtly worship.” That was how The Weekly Arizona Miner described Thumb Butte in 1872, and more than 150 years later, the Prescott area’s best-known landmark still inspires a feeling of awe. That’s especially true when it’s seen up close — one of the many allures of this loop drive.
There’s so much natural beauty in the White Mountains that it’s easy to overlook the reminders of pioneer life also on display in this part of Eastern Arizona. This route, which runs from State Route 260 near Greer to the Vernon area, will give you hearty helpings of scenery and history — and it’s suitable for any SUV or truck in good weather.
