Northern Arizona

Northern Arizona is a region in Arizona, a state of the United States of America. It is most famous for the Grand Canyon but includes a wide range of other destinations that are notable for their scenery and diversity.

Cities

Map of Northern Arizona

34.3425-112.10061 Arcosanti — a planned community in Arizona notable for its crafts
35.221111-112.4872222 Ash Fork
35.115556-114.5886113 Bullhead City
34.566667-111.8561114 Camp Verde
36.989444-112.9780565 Colorado City — the largest polygamist community in the US may also be the remotest town in the lower 48, both geographically and culturally (though this is rapidly changing)
34.732145-112.0185656 Cottonwood — a more populated city close to the Red Rock region of Sedona and the Verde River Valley
35.199167-111.6311117 Flagstaff — the biggest city in the area
36.949444-112.5216678 Fredonia — gateway to the Grand Canyon
34.748889-112.1138899 Jerome
36.714167-110.26027810 Kayenta
35.208333-114.02583311 Kingman — gateway to Nevada and California
34.9475-111.45222212 Mormon Lake Village
36.914167-111.45972213 Page — slot canyons and Lake Powell
35.534444-113.42333314 Peach Springs
34.541667-112.46944415 Prescott
34.86-111.78916716 Sedona — Red Rock mountains and crystal healing energy vortices
35.328333-112.87416717 Seligman
36.129167-111.23861118 Tuba City — largest town in the Navajo Nation
35.249444-112.1919 Williams — gateway to the Grand Canyon and Route 66
35.028611-110.70083320 Winslow

Other destinations

36.1553-109.5091 Canyon de Chelly National Monument — beautiful and historic canyon landscapes, smaller but at least as beautiful as the more famous Grand Canyon
35.414444-114.1994442 Chloride — a "living ghost town" just off the road to Vegas
36.993611-111.4869443 Glen Canyon National Recreation Area — Lake Powell
36.3-112.64 Grand Canyon – the world's most famous canyon
36.4-113.75 Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument – a national monument protecting the western end of the Grand Canyon
36.1267-112.0096 Kaibab Plateau
36.186944-109.5736117 Navajo Nation
36.678332-110.5409728 Navajo National Monument
34.716111-111.919 Page Springs — Wine Country, Northern Arizona's answer to the Napa Valley
36.861944-112.73722210 Pipe Spring National Monument — a site of historical interest near Fredonia.
35.365579-111.50065211 Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument — preserves an 11th-century volcanic cinder cone of scenic and scientific interest.
36.806389-111.74111112 Vermilion Cliffs National Monument — beautiful colorful cliffs and rock formations
35.171667-111.50972213 Walnut Canyon National Monument — an important archaeological site in a scenic setting
35.565556-111.38694414 Wupatki National Monument — also has interesting archaeological sites

Understand

For purposes of this article, North (Arizona) is taken to be everything in the state north of Interstate highway 40 (following the historic Route 66), west of (and including) Winslow and east of Kingman. The region also extends southward along I-17 from Flagstaff toward Phoenix, to include attractions within 20 miles or so of the highway north of Greater Phoenix. This definition is arbitrary, as region definitions for this state vary.

This is a geographically diverse area that contains not only the famous Grand Canyon but also some mountainous country near Flagstaff and lesser canyon/mesa terrain to the east and west. Part of Navajo Nation falls within this region. There are a number of national parks and monuments here, many of them either clustered around Flagstaff or within Navajo Nation. Flagstaff makes a good base of operations from which to explore these attractions, most of which do not feature lodging themselves.

The northernmost part of this region is separated from the rest of it by the Grand Canyon and is known as the "Arizona Strip" - no relation to the "Strip" in Las Vegas, although that city isn't far away as the crow flies. Getting to the Arizona Strip from elsewhere in northern Arizona can be tricky owing to the obvious logistical difficulties imposed by the Canyon, and as a result, it has acquired a cultural identity that in many regards has more to do with southern Utah than with the rest of Arizona. First settled by Mormon pioneers, the area features several areas of interest such as Pipe Spring National Monument, a onetime Mormon outpost, and Colorado City, a polygamist community on the Arizona-Utah border.

Talk

English in the state of Arizona represents a blend of North Midland and South Midland dialects without clear regional differences. Although English is the primary language of Arizona, many primary and secondary Spanish speakers are prevalent due to the state's proximity to Mexico. Much of the regional language and place-names are directly influenced by Spanish and the local Native American languages. With the possible exception of the Navajo word hogan (earthand-timber dwelling), the linguistic influence of Arizona's Yuma, Papago (Tohono O'odham), Pima(Akimel O'odham), Hiaki (Yaqui), Apache, Navajo(Dine), and Hopi tribes is strongly limited to place-names, including Arizona itself, Yuma, Havasu, Tucson, and Oraibi.

Get in

By plane

Regional airports with air service:

Flagstaff, connecting to Phoenix.
Page, with service from Las Vegas and Phoenix - with Contour Airlines.
Prescott, connecting with Los Angeles and Denver with United Airlines.

Air service to Bullhead City and the Grand Canyon airport in Tusayan has existed in the past.

By train

Amtrak rolls through the region on the Southwest Chief, Amtrak's main line through the southwestern United States, runs east-west through the region, with a major and well-centralized stop in Flagstaff as well as smaller stations in Winslow, Williams and Kingman (daily departure; Chicago - Kansas City - Albuquerque - Flagstaff - Los Angeles).

By car

Primary access into northern Arizona is by road.

Interstate 17 (I-17) is a north-south intra-state route, connecting Flagstaff and Phoenix (and can be a complete zoo on the weekends as Phoenicians get out of town).
Interstate 40 (I-40) is an east-west cross-state route, coming from California across the Colorado River, connecting Kingman, Ash Fork, Williams, Flagstaff, Winslow, and Holbrook; continuing into New Mexico, heading to Albuquerque.
Historic Route 66 follows the route of I-40 along this region's southern edge, with points of interest along the way and reasonably good roads leading north and south. I-17 connects Flagstaff and Phoenix (and can be a complete zoo on the weekends as Phoenicians get out of town).

Access from the north is distinctly limited by the daunting terrain of the Grand Canyon.

US Highway 89 and 89A (ALT 89) enter from Utah north of the Grand Canyon. US 89 crosses Glen Canyon into Page, and US 89A crosses into Arizona further west just south of Kanab. US 89 contiues south from Page and eventually connects to I-40 near Flagstaff.

U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north-south route which gets a lot of Phoenix-Vegas traffic; US 93 starts in Wickenburg, runs through Kingman and on towards Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and on wards into Nevada.

Get around

Drink

Flagstaff and Sedona are the only towns in this region large enough to have significant nightlife. Visitors to the region should note that alcoholic beverages are prohibited within Navajo Nation.

Go next

North – continue north to the Canyon Country region of the state of Utah, if you enjoy the canyon country found here.
South – Western Arizona, Greater Phoenix or Mogollon Rim regions of Arizona.
East – Northwest New Mexico.
West – Southern Nevada with Las Vegas, and or Southern California Desert.

This region travel guide to Northern Arizona is an outline and may need more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. Please plunge forward and help it grow!