7 Of The Most Adorable Small Towns In Arizona
Arizona shines in its smaller towns. You can walk Whiskey Row and take in a live show at the courthouse square in Prescott. The hillside streets of Jerome open up to art galleries and an after-dark ghost tour. Sedona's red rock country is home to hikes like Devil's Bridge, steps from downtown. In Historic Ajo Plaza, the road leads to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. These adorable small towns showcase the mining history, desert scenery, Old West streetscapes, and working arts communities that make Arizona worth exploring at a slower speed.
Ajo
Ajo is a copper-mining town reinvented as an artsy desert outpost. The Guest House Inn, the town's bed and breakfast, was built to put up visiting officials of the New Cornelia mine and still serves a cooked breakfast, with a shared lounge and mountain views off the porch. Uptown, Tacos El Tarasco turns out tacos, burritos, carne asada fries, and milkshakes worth ordering after a long afternoon in the sun.
Historic Ajo Plaza sits in the center of town, a green square with benches and shade that makes a natural stop on the way south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The plaza doubles as the town's event space. Every September, residents mark the International Day of Peace by decorating it with wooden murals sponsored by local businesses, then staging a multicultural parade of about 200 participants.
Prescott
The city of Prescott is built for walking, with a pedestrian-friendly downtown, Victorian architecture, and a tree-lined town square that gives it the feel of a working Wild West community. Courthouse Plaza is the center of it all, a place to take in the Yavapai County Courthouse, sit on a park bench, and catch whatever the city has scheduled. The plaza's summer concert series is the best-known of those events, with local and regional artists performing on weeknights through the warmer months.
Across from Courthouse Plaza is Whiskey Row, a single block carrying most of the town's shops, restaurants, and bars. The Palace Restaurant and Saloon is a mainstay, serving steaks and burgers in a classic, comfortable setting. A short walk south is the Grand Highland, a boutique hotel with a courtyard.
Cave Creek
Cave Creek sits about 30 miles north of Phoenix, but has still managed to keep both its frontier storefronts and its open desert edges. The Villas of Cave Creek rents suites that work more like condos, each with its own kitchen, alongside two fireplaces and hot tubs on the property. Just south of the villas, the Black Mountain Trail climbs 1.8 miles up Black Mountain over rough, rocky ground, with long views back over town.
On Skyline Drive, the Cave Creek Museum showcases the community's history through rotating exhibits of artifacts, pottery, and woven baskets, plus a full-size replica of a Hohokam house. On the opposite side of town, Rancho Mañana Golf Club runs a semi-private 18-hole course with dramatic elevation changes and desert views, built on the grounds of a 1940s dude ranch. It has a practice range and a pro shop, and Tonto Bar & Grill.
Payson
Payson sits up in pine country below the Mogollon Rim, with a western history that still echoes in the streets. The Rim Country Museum and Zane Grey Cabin stand together in Green Valley Park, with exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the region. The original cabin was lost to the Dude Fire in 1990. The replica that opened in 2005 holds copies of Grey's writing chair and cot table, along with assorted cowboy boots and hats. A short drive away, the Peach Orchard Trailhead opens onto a 2.7-mile loop into Tonto National Forest, steep enough to count as a workout, with long views out over the rim country.
Just off State Route 87, Buffalo Bar and Grill serves green chile cheeseburgers, the Cowboy Club, and wings in a rustic room that keeps its regulars. On the northern outskirts of town, the Houston Mesa Interpretive Nature Trail runs a moderately challenging route that turns rocky and muddy in places, connects into the longer Houston Loop, and stays shaded under the forest canopy most of the way.
Jerome
The town of Jerome is one of the state's most striking, thanks to its steep hillside setting, its arts scene, and the ghost-town reputation it plays up. On the corner of Main Street, the Connor Hotel has been a fixture of the community since the late 1890s. Rooms sit upstairs above a gift shop, and the Spirit Room downstairs pours cocktails and books live music. Across the street, the Jerome Historical Society Mine Museum highlights the town's mining past through equipment, ore samples, and mineral displays, along with salvage from its gambling saloons.
On the northern outskirts of town, Jerome State Historic Park preserves the Douglas Mansion, built beside the Little Daisy Mine, with wide views over the town and the landscape below. The mansion now works as a museum, displaying mining artifacts, minerals, and a 3D model of the town, with ore carts standing on the ground outside. The Jerome Ghost Tour and Pub Crawl starts at the Connor Hotel after dark and runs about an hour, covering the town's haunted addresses and stopping at local bars along the way.
Sedona
About 28 miles northeast of Jerome on State Route 89A, Sedona sits in the middle of the red rock country, with an arts scene set against the sandstone. On the north side of town, the Devil's Bridge Trail runs roughly four miles out and back to Devil's Bridge itself. Hikers can walk across the span, though there are no guardrails. Closer to the center of town, Adobe Grand Villas is a small luxury resort with private spa services and villas with fireplaces, kitchenettes, and chef-prepared meals.
Rene at Tlaquepaque has been serving French Mediterranean cooking in the Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village since 1978, with a courtyard setting, a wine list built up over decades, and a private dining room for groups. The Cacio e Pepe is a fixture on the menu. A few doors along in the same village, Navarro Gallery shows the bronze work of sculptor Chris Navarro alongside paintings by other represented artists, with more sculpture out in its garden.
Tubac
Tubac is a census-designated place that pairs a long history with a downtown you can cover on foot. The Tubac Center of the Arts, in the heart of the village, runs exhibits and a sculpture garden, and books performances, concerts, and art lectures throughout the season. Up in La Entrada de Tubac, Elvira's Restaurant serves authentic Mexican dishes with a wine list long enough to make it a gathering spot in its own right.
A trailhead on the east side of the village opens onto the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, the 1,200-mile route that Anza's party of soldiers and settlers followed in 1775 and 1776. The walkable local segment runs about 4.5 miles along the Santa Cruz River between Tubac and Tumacácori National Historical Park, and it draws hikers, birdwatchers, and riders. Skip it in high summer, when heat and flash flooding along the river make it a poor bet, and keep dogs on a leash. On the south end of town, Valle Verde Ranch is a 1938 adobe property with rooms and casitas, a pool, and a boundary that runs along the Anza Trail itself.
A Quieter, More Personal Side of Arizona
If you are looking for a version of Arizona that runs at a slower speed, these seven towns are a great place to start. Each one puts something specific within a short walk of its main street, like the mine museum in Jerome, the parade plaza in Ajo, the Anza Trail in Tubac, and the concert-season courthouse square in Prescott. Whether you want red rock trails, pine forest under the Mogollon Rim, gallery afternoons, or a quiet Saturday, small-town Arizona is the best way to see the state at close range.
