If you live in the U.S. and have seen the Desert Southwest, which includes Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Texas, you might take it for granted.
However, there are few other places in the world anything like it, which is why people travel from all over the world to see it. Following are 15 places you should go if you’ve never been there before or if friends are looking for recommendations.
Death Valley National Park, CA
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Visiting Death Valley feels like visiting another planet. Some of its landscapes are called “moonscapes” for their barren, otherworldly appearance. Still, you’ll also find a wide diversity of landscapes from parched dunes and salt flats seen in Star Wars to snow-capped mountains and so much else in between.
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
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This park is about so much more than its namesake vegetation. It’s about mountain peaks, granite domes that attract rock climbers from all over the country, colorful spring wildflowers, palm-draped oases, and much more.
Red Rock Canyon, NV
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When you’re in Vegas, you’ll notice the tall red mountain peaks to the west of the city. They’re the crown jewels of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is the crown jewel of southern Nevada. It’s a world-famous climbing destination and also a great place for hiking, exploring, and just general sightseeing.
Zion National Park, UT
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People sometimes call Zion Canyon the “Yosemite Valley of the Southwest) for its high, sheer walls that can take climbers multiple days to ascend. But you don’t have to be a climber to appreciate the canyon and the rest of the park. Strong legs and a sense of adventure will take you to amazing places you’ll never forget.
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
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There are other places in the country and in the wider world where you can see “hoodoos” like those in Bryce’s famous amphitheater. However, none of those others seem quite as striking and colorful as those at Bryce. It doesn’t take long to see the highlights here, but the memories will last forever.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, UT
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This sprawling region of many faces is larger than many national parks are. It’s a wilderness of colorful badlands, sandstone expanses, narrow slot canyons, and even waterfalls. If you’re pressed for time, do the hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls for some of the best of the best you’ll find out there.
Horseshoe Canyon, UT
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Horseshoe Canyon is a detached unit of Canyonlands National Park. It has some of the world’s best ancient Native American rock art, including the Great Gallery, home to the mysterious 7’ tall Holy Ghost. Bonus: not far from the start, you can see fossilized dinosaur tracks right off the trail.
Arches National Park, UT
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Have you seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? That landscape you see at the beginning, with a young Indiana Jones, is in Arches. The park contains and protects the world’s largest concentration of naturally formed arches.
Monument Valley, AZ-UT
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It probably didn’t need the help, but legendary director John Ford immortalized Monument Valley in his classic Westerns. The features that he made world-famous, the Mittens and Merrick Butte, are in Utah, but there are impressive formations in Arizona as well, including Agathla Peak.
Colorado National Monument, CO
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Close to the western edge of Colorado, this sandstone realm offers a preview of what’s to come in southeastern Utah, or a last gasp if you’re headed the other way. You can see plenty from the road, but getting out on a trail will be a lot more rewarding.
Mesa Verde National Park, CO
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This park is tucked away in the southwestern part of the state near the spectacular San Juan Mountains. It’s a pretty place all on its own, but what it’s known for are the ruins that mark the existence of ancient Native American cultures. The Cliff Palace is the most famous of them.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, NM
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Located in a remote part of southwestern New Mexico, this place is like the Mesa Verde of the state. Getting there requires a long, slow drive on winding roads, but the scenery is beautiful and the trip is well worth it.
White Sands, NM
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From afar, the dunes in this national park that used to be a national monument may look like snow. Instead, they’re made of gypsum crystals. The dunes aren’t that tall, but they’re exceptionally beautiful, and they perfectly frame the mountains walling off the basin they’re found in.
Saguaro National Park, AZ
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There may be no other image of the desert as iconic as the saguaro cactus is. The national park named for them is not the only place you can see them, but it’s one of the best. Try to visit in May when the saguaro flowers bloom; they’re some of the most gorgeous flowers you’ll ever see.
The Grand Canyon, AZ
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It’s crowded and it’s touristy, but there’s still only one Grand Canyon. You have to see it at least once. Most of it is part of the national park of the same name, but there are other ways to enjoy it.
One is via Havasu Canyon, on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, where you will see three of the most beautiful waterfalls imaginable before the creek tumbles into the Grand Canyon proper.
11 Iconic Tourist Spots That Left Visitors Feeling Underwhelmed
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Traveling can be an exhilarating experience, opening our eyes to new cultures, landscapes, and ways of life.
However, not every destination lives up to our expectations, and sometimes, places we’ve dreamt of visiting can end up being a disappointment. Here are some travel destinations that, according to some travelers’ opinions, didn’t quite meet their expectations:
11 Iconic Tourist Spots That Left Visitors Feeling Underwhelmed
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