Small Towns in Arizona Worth the Drive: 11 Picks by Region

The small towns in Arizona most worth the drive are old copper camps like Jerome and Bisbee, Route 66 stops like Williams, Winslow and Holbrook, and the Old West and border-country villages of southern Arizona, such as Tombstone, Tubac and Patagonia. Below are 11 towns spread across every corner of the state, each with one specific reason to go and what to do once you're there. Every fact comes from the town's own site, its chamber or visitors bureau, or a state agency.

One thing ties most of them together. Each town was built for one job, like mining copper, feeding a railroad or guarding a frontier, and outlived that job. You can still see that first job on the streets of every town here.

How we chose these small towns in Arizona

We picked towns where one visit gets you something specific to do, and we checked each one against its own official site in November 2026.

• One or two per region, so the list works whether you live in Flagstaff, Tucson or Yuma.
• A specific reason to go, not a vague charm. A mine train, a 1930 railroad hotel, a 1752 Spanish fort.
• Official sources only for facts, hours and prices, which change, so check before you go.
• No big cities. Phoenix, Tempe and Tucson are not on the list.

Northern Arizona

Northern Arizona's best small-town stops sit along Interstate 40 and the old Route 66 it replaced.

Williams: ride the train to the Grand Canyon

Why go: Williams, Arizona, is where the Grand Canyon Railway departs daily for the South Rim, a service the railway says has run since 1901.

What to do: The standard schedule leaves the 1908 Williams Depot at 9:30 a.m. and gives you over three hours at the South Rim before the return, with earlier times in November and December. Before or after, walk the more than six blocks of historic Route 66 buildings and shops that Experience Williams promotes, or drive the two-mile loop of Route 66 through town. The visitor center sits at 6,780 feet, so bring a jacket even when the desert is warm. If you'd rather drive to the canyon, the town puts it at 62 miles. More on the town: Williams.

Winslow: sleep in Mary Colter's railroad hotel

Why go: La Posada in Winslow, Arizona, opened in 1930 as a Fred Harvey railroad hotel, and its architect, Mary E.J. Colter, considered it her finest work.

What to do: Stay the night or just eat at The Turquoise Room, the hotel's restaurant at 303 East 2nd Street on Route 66. Then walk to Standin' on the Corner Park at Second Street and Kinsley Avenue, the corner made famous by the Eagles' song "Take It Easy." The park is free and open around the clock, with a mural, bronze statues and a red vintage Ford truck. There are no restrooms at the corner, so plan around that. More on the town: Winslow.

Holbrook: the courthouse jail, then the petrified wood

Why go: Holbrook, Arizona, a Route 66 town founded in 1881, is your base for Petrified Forest National Park, which the City of Holbrook puts 26 miles east via I-40 exit 311 or US 180.

What to do: Start at the Navajo County Historic Courthouse and Museum at East Arizona Street and Navajo Boulevard. The City of Holbrook says it served as the county courthouse for 78 years and keeps an old jail with inmate artwork inside. Winter hours are typically Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Then drive the park's 28-mile road. The National Park Service says the park closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and winter openings can be delayed for road safety. Holbrook is also home to the Wigwam Motel. More on the town: Holbrook.

North Central Arizona

The Verde Valley gives you a copper ghost town on a hill and a wine town at its foot, a short drive apart.

Jerome: a mining town on Cleopatra Hill

Why go: Jerome, Arizona, sits on Cleopatra Hill above a large copper deposit, and the Jerome Chamber of Commerce says the town fell from a 1920s peak of 15,000 people to just 50 after the mines closed.

What to do: Tour Jerome State Historic Park, the 1916 Douglas Mansion built above the Little Daisy Mine, now a museum with a 3-D model of the town and its underground mines. It's typically open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, and adult admission is typically $10. The chamber counts about 450 residents today, nine restaurants and six bars, four of them wine tasting rooms. The town sits over 5,000 feet up, and the chamber says you can see Sedona's red rocks from it. One detail to share with whoever's riding with you: the town is named for New York investor Eugene Murray Jerome, who the chamber's FAQ says reportedly never visited. Park at the 300 Level lot on Perkinsville Road and take the free shuttle, which the chamber says typically runs on Fridays, weekends and holidays. More on the town: Jerome.

Cottonwood: tasting rooms in a walkable Old Town

Why go: Cottonwood, Arizona, calls itself the Heart of Arizona Wine Country, and Visit Cottonwood lists nine tasting rooms in Old Town alone.

What to do: Walk Main Street in Old Town and pick two or three tasting rooms. Arizona Stronghold, Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria and Rubrix Wines are among the nine. Cottonwood sits in the Verde Valley below Jerome, so the two make an easy pair. More on the town: Cottonwood.

Phoenix and Central Arizona

Central Arizona's small-town stop is so small it counts its residents on two hands.

Tortilla Flat: a stagecoach stop with dollar-bill walls

Why go: Tortilla Flat, Arizona, sits on the Apache Trail (State Route 88) east of Phoenix, and its official site insists that its population of 6 is not a joke: the residents really do live there.

What to do: Eat at the Superstition Saloon, where the walls are papered with real dollar bills left by visitors and the bar stools are real saddles. Then get the prickly pear gelato at the Country Store and look into the museum in the little red schoolhouse. Tortilla Flat was founded in 1904 as a stagecoach stop and calls itself the oldest operating stagecoach town in Arizona. Hours are typically 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Conditions on State Route 88 beyond Tortilla Flat change, so check az511.gov before driving farther. More on the town: Tortilla Flat.

Tucson and Southern Arizona

Southern Arizona gets four picks because its history towns sit close enough to string together over a weekend.

Bisbee: ride a mine train underground

Why go: Bisbee, Arizona, was known as the Queen of the Copper Camps, and the City of Bisbee says it produced 8 billion pounds of copper in almost a century of mining.

What to do: Book the Copper Queen Mine Tour. You wear a hard hat and headlamp and ride an original mine train 1,500 feet into the mine, on a tour that lasts about an hour. Reservations are required, admission is typically $18 for adults and $9 for ages 6 to 12, and children 5 and under can't go underground. Volunteers cleared the tunnel after the mines closed in 1975, and the tour opened on February 1, 1976. More on the town: Bisbee.

Tombstone: three blocks of Allen Street

Why go: Tombstone, Arizona, the self-styled Town too Tough to Die, is where the gunfight at the O.K. Corral happened on October 26, 1881, and the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce says nearly thirty shots were fired in about 30 seconds.

What to do: Walk Allen Street; the chamber says there is no admission fee to enter the Historic District, though individual attractions may charge. Then tour Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, the 1882 red-brick courthouse, whose collection includes an invitation to a hanging. It's typically open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from October through May. Finish at Boothill Graveyard. The chamber says the cemetery was named Boothill in the late 1920s, borrowing the name of Dodge City's cemetery to draw tourists. More on the town: Tombstone.

Tubac: Arizona's first state park

Why go: Tubac, Arizona, is home to Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, which Arizona State Parks calls Arizona's first state park, protecting the ruins of the Spanish presidio San Ignacio de Tubac, established in 1752.

What to do: See the state's first printing press in the park museum, then hike a stretch of the Anza trail from the park. The park is typically open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on Mondays, with adult admission typically $10. Spend the rest of the day in the village's galleries and shops. More on the town: Tubac.

Patagonia: birding in the Sky Islands

Why go: Patagonia, Arizona, sits in the Sky Islands, where Visit the Sky Islands says over 300 bird species migrate, nest and live in the riparian habitat.

What to do: Start at the Tucson Bird Alliance's Paton Center for Hummingbirds, or join the Patagonia Trail Nature Walk with the Friends of Sonoita Creek. Nearby Patagonia Lake State Park runs guided bird walks on Friday mornings from November to April and rents kayaks and canoes. The park says the tracks of the old New Mexico and Arizona Railroad lie beneath the lake. Its day use can close temporarily at weekend capacity, so call ahead. The Tourism Welcome Center at 401 McKeown is typically open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More on the town: Patagonia.

West Coast Arizona

West Coast Arizona's small-town pick is a Route 66 mining camp where the burros have the right of way.

Oatman: wild burros on Route 66

Why go: Oatman, Arizona, a Route 66 mining town west of Kingman, has about a dozen wild burros wandering its streets, and the Oatman-Gold Road Chamber of Commerce says they descend from miners' pack animals set free when the gold mines shut down during World War II.

What to do: Watch the burros, but don't feed them. The chamber says the Bureau of Land Management discourages it and will fine people caught doing so. The chamber lists Wild West shootouts daily at about 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., with times that vary with weather and special events. Pair the trip with Kingman, Arizona, which calls itself the Heart of Historic Route 66 on Explore Kingman. More on Kingman: Kingman.

Save this: a three-trip small-town route

The easiest way to see these small towns in Arizona is three weekend loops, one per corner of the state.

1. Route 66 weekend (north): Williams and the Grand Canyon Railway on day one, then east on I-40 to Winslow for a night at La Posada, and Holbrook plus Petrified Forest on day two.
2. Copper and wine day (north central): morning at the Douglas Mansion in Jerome, lunch on the hill, then down to Old Town Cottonwood for tasting rooms.
3. Border country weekend (south): Tubac Presidio, then Patagonia for birding, then Tombstone's Allen Street and the Copper Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee the next morning.

Before you go:

• Book the Copper Queen Mine Tour and the Grand Canyon Railway ahead; the mine tour asks you to arrive 30 minutes early.
• Check the closed days: Tubac Presidio closes Mondays, and the Patagonia welcome center closes Mondays.
• Check road status on az511.gov, especially for the Apache Trail.
• Pack layers. Williams sits at 6,780 feet and Jerome over 5,000 feet, so they run cooler than the desert towns.
• Carry small bills for Tortilla Flat, if you want to leave one on the wall.

For more drives, see our road trips hub.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best small towns in Arizona for a day trip?

Jerome, Bisbee, Tombstone, Tubac and Williams are strong small-town day trips in Arizona, each built around one draw such as a mine tour, a historic state park or the Grand Canyon Railway. Pick by region: Jerome and Cottonwood pair well in the Verde Valley, while Tubac, Patagonia, Tombstone and Bisbee work as a southern Arizona loop.

Can you go inside a copper mine in Bisbee, Arizona?

Yes, the Copper Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee, Arizona, takes visitors 1,500 feet into the mine on an original mine train in about an hour. Reservations are required, and children 5 and under are not allowed underground.

Why are there burros in Oatman, Arizona?

The burros in Oatman, Arizona, descend from miners' pack animals released when the gold mines shut down during World War II, according to the Oatman-Gold Road Chamber of Commerce. The chamber says the Bureau of Land Management discourages feeding them and fines people caught doing it.

What is Arizona's first state park?

Arizona State Parks says Tubac Presidio State Historic Park in Tubac is Arizona's first state park. It protects the ruins of the Spanish presidio San Ignacio de Tubac, established in 1752.

How many people live in Jerome, Arizona?

About 450 people live in Jerome, Arizona, according to the Jerome Chamber of Commerce. The town peaked at 15,000 in the 1920s and fell to 50 after the copper mines closed.

How far is Williams, Arizona, from the Grand Canyon?

Williams, Arizona, is 62 miles from the Grand Canyon by road via Route 64, according to Experience Williams. The Grand Canyon Railway also runs daily from the Williams Depot to the South Rim.