Things to Do in Scottsdale: Tours, Tickets & Day Trips

Ranked by traveller reviews: 1) the Old Town pedal bar crawl, 2) a guided ATV or UTV tour across the Sonoran Desert, 3) the Old Town Segway tour, 4) an Old Town food tour with six tastings, 5) the Grand Canyon and Sedona day trip, 6) a sunrise hot-air balloon flight, 7) the stretch-limo golf-cart tour of Old Town, 8) an e-bike ride to Hole-in-the-Rock and Tempe Town Lake, 9) the Tom’s Thumb or Pinnacle Peak hike in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and 10) Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West.

Plan two to three days plus day trips. Day one: a Segway or golf-cart tour of Old Town, the galleries of Main Street and Marshall Way, a food tour and the Entertainment District at night. Day two: a balloon flight or Pinnacle Peak hike at dawn, brunch, an ATV tour into the Sonoran Desert, sunset from the Scottsdale Waterfront. Day three: Taliesin West, the Musical Instrument Museum, Hole-in-the-Rock and the Thursday ArtWalk. Day four: Sedona (two hours), or the 13-hour Grand Canyon and Sedona tour.

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve’s 225 miles of trails — Gateway Loop, Pinnacle Peak Park and Tom’s Thumb — Old Town’s Historic District with its Rusty Spur Saloon and bronze horse fountain, the Thursday ArtWalk (year-round), the Scottsdale Waterfront and Arizona Canal, the wild horses along the Salt River near the Coon Bluff and Phon D Sutton recreation sites, Hole-in-the-Rock in Papago Park, SMoCA on Thursdays, Canal Convergence’s light-art in November and the Scottsdale Civic Center park with its Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture.

Sedona’s red rocks (two hours), the Grand Canyon South Rim (3.5 hours; combined Grand Canyon and Sedona tours $229–243), the Apache Trail with Tortilla Flat and a Canyon Lake steamboat cruise (one hour), the Superstition Mountains, Lost Dutchman State Park and Goldfield Ghost Town (45 minutes), Salt River tubing in summer (40 minutes), the desert towns of Cave Creek and Carefree (30 minutes), Tonto Natural Bridge (90 minutes) and Tucson with Saguaro National Park (two hours).

Old Town’s Entertainment District — the pedal bar crawl, rooftop bars, Maya and the clubs around Indian Plaza; the Thursday ArtWalk and the Old Town galleries; a country night at the Rusty Spur or Handlebar J; a Western cookout with stargazing in the desert north of the city; Talking Stick Resort’s casino and shows; the pool bar at Hotel Valley Ho; Spring Training night games in March; and dinner along the Scottsdale Waterfront. Downtown Phoenix and Tempe’s Mill Avenue are 20 minutes away.

Winter is the season: sunny days in the high 60s°F for golf, hiking, ATV and balloon trips. January brings the Barrett-Jackson car auction, February the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale — the loudest week in golf — and the Arabian Horse Show, and March Cactus League spring training with the Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. From late November Scottsdazzle lights Old Town, Canal Convergence lights the waterfront and the Desert Botanical Garden runs its Luminaria nights nearby.

OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland at the Salt River reservation, the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park’s trains and carousel, Hole-in-the-Rock and the Phoenix Zoo in Papago Park, an easy hike at Pinnacle Peak or the Gateway trailhead, Salt River tubing in summer (age eight and up), Cracker Jax fun park, spring-training games in March, a gentle ATV or jeep tour with a family operator, Great Wolf Lodge’s indoor water park and the Musical Instrument Museum’s experience gallery.

October to April, with February and March the peak for weather, spring training and the Phoenix Open — book early and expect resort prices. November and January are quieter with the same sunshine. From June to September highs reach 105–115°F; resorts slash rates, and hikes, balloons and ATV tours move to dawn.

Yes — Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio in the McDowell foothills is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most distinctive building in Arizona, built from desert stone and canvas to frame the mountains and the light. Tours run about 90 minutes and sell out in winter, so book ahead; the late-afternoon slots have the best light.