Scenic Drives

“Directly west of the town of Prescott, [Arizona Territory], this solitary butte shows conspicuously, rising its head from a sea of pines, a monarch of this waving forest army which nods, bows and whispers, sending forth its ‘ocean-borrowed murmur,’ its only tribute of courtly worship.” That was how The Weekly Arizona Miner described Thumb Butte in 1872, and more than 150 years later, the Prescott area’s best-known landmark still inspires a feeling of awe. That’s especially true when it’s seen up close — one of the many allures of this loop drive.

There’s so much natural beauty in the White Mountains that it’s easy to overlook the reminders of pioneer life also on display in this part of Eastern Arizona. This route, which runs from State Route 260 near Greer to the Vernon area, will give you hearty helpings of scenery and history — and it’s suitable for any SUV or truck in good weather.

Millions of people find their way to the Grand Canyon every year, and most of them follow paved roads to get there. That’s understandable: Arizona’s most famous natural wonder isn’t that close to many places, and sometimes, you just want to get the journey done. But if you’re willing to take a little longer, Forest Road 307, a well-maintained side road east of the developed South Rim area, offers diverse flora, interesting geology and a chance for relative solitude on your way to the Canyon.

In the Chiricahua Mountains, the hoodoos, balanced rocks and hiking trails of Chiricahua National Monument get most of the attention. But “attention” is relative: On average, only about 150 people per day enter the monument, placing it among Arizona’s least-visited National Park Service sites. The southeast side of the Chiricahuas, on the opposite corner of the range from the monument, gets even fewer visitors — and Price Canyon Road is an ideal way to experience a part of these mountains that few people ever see.

Some drives require little more than a full tank of gas and an hour or so. This isn’t one of those. The prerequisites here include a high-clearance vehicle, four-wheel-drive, and plenty of time and patience — it takes three hours or longer, and for most of the 31-mile route, if your speedometer ticks past 10, you’re risking a flat tire or a dented oil pan. If you’re up for the challenge, buckle up and head to the Castle Dome Mountains, northeast of Yuma, for a true back-road adventure that’s spectacularly scenic.

The thing about Arivaca is that people seem to confuse it with Aravaipa. The similar-sounding nomenclature isn’t the only reason: Both places are in Arizona’s southern half, have roots in mining and are surrounded by spectacular scenery. But while Aravaipa is a remote, hard-to-reach ghost town, Arivaca is a quaint community accessed via a well-maintained, paved two-lane road — with plenty to see along the way.

A drive on Painted Rock Dam Road includes attractions that span more than a thousand years of human history, but for those more interested in mountain views and Sonoran Desert flora, there’s plenty to love along this 18.4-mile trek near Gila Bend. And as long as you drive carefully and it hasn’t rained recently, you can complete the route in just about any vehicle.

There are many ways to see Las Vegas, and most of them involve parting with a lot of money. This drive won’t cost you anything but a few gallons of gas and an entrance fee to Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which protects 1.5 million acres in and around the massive reservoir in Arizona and Nevada. And along the way, you’ll see reminders of the area’s prehistory and some later attempts to strike it rich the old-fashioned way.

Santa Cruz County, in Southern Arizona, has no shortage of natural beauty, but there’s plenty of human history, too — including several ghost towns. This easy drive, which starts in the small town of Patagonia, will take you to two of them — one you can see from your car, and one that requires a bit of a hike.

In the 1930s, a trapper robbed Escudilla Mountain of what may have been Arizona’s last grizzly bear. And three-quarters of a century later, the Wallow Fire took much of what was left on the mountain. While grizzlies have yet to return to Arizona’s 12th-highest peak, the natural beauty lost during the 2011 blaze is making a dramatic comeback — and this mostly easy loop drive is an ideal way to experience it, especially in autumn.