Visiting Arizona on a Budget
Arizona's tourism economy is built around the Grand Canyon, but the state rewards budget travelers who linger. The Phoenix metro — the nation's fifth-largest city — hides a surprising amount of free and cheap fun: hikes up Camelback Mountain and Papago Park's Hole-in-the-Rock, the free Arizona Capitol Museum, and pay-what-you-wish nights at the Phoenix Art Museum, plus the world-class Musical Instrument Museum for $20. To the north, Sedona's red rock amphitheater — Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, and the cliffside Chapel of the Holy Cross — is free with a $5 Red Rock Pass for parking, and Flagstaff sits in cool ponderosa pine at 7,000 feet near the free Lava River Cave. South in the Sonoran Desert, Tucson pairs Saguaro National Park with the historic Mission San Xavier del Bac. Spring and fall are ideal; the desert is brutally hot June through September.
Cities in Arizona
Pick a city to see free attractions, cheap activities, and budget travel tips.
Phoenix, Arizona
The nation's fifth-largest city hides a surprising amount of free and cheap fun under its desert sun. Hike Camelback Mountain or scramble to Papago Park's Hole-in-the-Rock for free, drive to Dobbins Lookout in vast South Mountain Park, and tour the copper-domed Arizona Capitol Museum at no charge. Downtown holds the 1915 St. Mary's Basilica and Victorian Heritage Square, while the world-class Musical Instrument Museum ($20) and pay-what-you-wish nights at the Phoenix Art Museum anchor the culture. Add the ancient Hohokam village at S'edav Va'aki and the serene $14 Japanese Friendship Garden for a full, low-cost weekend.
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Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale wears its wealth lightly enough to leave budget travelers plenty. Walkable Old Town packs free public art, galleries, and a Western-meets-modern shopping district, while SMoCA opens free every Thursday and the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park charges nothing to enter (just $3 for a train or carousel ride). Two more free museums — the Penske collection of Indy 500–winning race cars and Paolo Soleri's Cosanti bronze-bell foundry — reward the curious. For the outdoors, the vast McDowell Sonoran Preserve and the granite domes of Pinnacle Peak Park lace North Scottsdale with free, well-built desert trails.
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Mesa, Arizona
Mesa, the Valley's largest suburb, leans into family-friendly culture and desert outdoors. Downtown anchors the cheap stuff: the Arizona Museum of Natural History's animatronic Dinosaur Mountain ($16), the hands-on i.d.e.a. children's art museum ($10), and the free contemporary galleries and mural-lined plazas of the Mesa Arts Center. At Falcon Field, the Commemorative Air Force Museum keeps WWII warbirds flying ($20). For nature, the free Riparian Preserve in neighboring Gilbert draws 300-plus bird species to its recharge ponds, while Usery Mountain Regional Park ($10/vehicle) laces the Sonoran foothills with trails just east of town.
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Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is Arizona State University's lively college town, and most of its best stops are free. The ASU Art Museum shows contemporary art and ceramics at no charge, and the Tempe History Museum (also free) tells the valley's story. Outdoors, the 5-mile loop around man-made Tempe Town Lake passes 20-plus public artworks, and the short, steep climb up 'A' Mountain — Hayden Butte, studded with 1,000-year-old Hohokam petroglyphs — earns a downtown panorama. Wander the historic Hayden Flour Mill, browse the shops and patios of the Mill Avenue District, and catch a free exhibition at the lakeside Tempe Center for the Arts.
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Prescott, Arizona
Mile-high Prescott trades desert heat for pine forest and Old West history. The four-acre Sharlot Hall Museum ($9) tells Arizona's territorial story across restored historic buildings, while downtown's elm-shaded Courthouse Plaza and the saloon-lined Whiskey Row are free to wander. Two more cheap museums — the Western-art Phippen ($12) and the Museum of Indigenous People ($10) — flank a $10 sanctuary zoo of rescued wildlife. Outdoors, the surreal granite dells around Watson Lake ($3 parking) draw kayakers and scramblers, the free Highlands Center for Natural History runs trails and programs, and Thumb Butte offers a short, steep climb to big mountain views west of town.
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Sedona, Arizona
Sedona sits in a red rock amphitheater that ranks among the most photographed landscapes in America — and most of the iconic experiences are free or under $20. Hike the steep Cathedral Rock Trail to the famous saddle between its sandstone spires, walk the easy Bell Rock Pathway alongside the most recognizable formation in town, and visit the 1956 Chapel of the Holy Cross built directly into the cliffs (free). Wander Tlaquepaque's cobblestone arts village, catch sunset from the Airport Mesa overlook, and tour Palatki's 1150 CE Sinagua cliff dwellings. A $5 Red Rock Pass covers parking at most trailheads.
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Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet in a ponderosa pine forest on the edge of the Colorado Plateau — a mountain town surrounded by ancient cliff dwellings, volcanic craters, and world-class hiking, much of it free. Walk the rim of Walnut Canyon National Monument past Sinagua cliff dwellings ($15 per person), explore the lava-tube Lava River Cave with a flashlight (free), climb the cinder cone at Sunset Crater Volcano, and stroll the 2-mile Buffalo Park loop with San Francisco Peaks views. Historic downtown along Route 66 is free to wander, and the 1904 Riordan Mansion has $5 grounds-only entry.
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Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is one of America's great desert cities — surrounded by five mountain ranges, two units of Saguaro National Park, and an extraordinary Sonoran Desert ecosystem that's spectacularly beautiful and largely free to explore. Drive or hike both districts of Saguaro National Park ($15/vehicle for 7 days), tour the 1797 Mission San Xavier del Bac (free, the 'White Dove of the Desert'), climb Sentinel Peak for skyline views at sunset, and wander Historic Fourth Avenue's century-old shops and murals. Sabino Canyon's shaded creek trails are spectacular in the cool months, and the Tucson Museum of Art is free on First Thursday evenings.
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More on Arizona from TravelCheapUS
In-depth budget travel guides from our companion blog that mention Arizona.