By Alan K. Lee
Introduction
Bisbee is one of the most unique and interesting towns in Arizona (or anywhere for that matter). My brother worked as an electrical engineer for a company based in Bisbee for many years, and my wife and I visited Bisbee many times during those years. He is now retired, but has remained in the area, living in nearby Sierra Vista. We always include a day in Bisbee on our visits, most recently in the spring of 2026.
History
Bisbee was founded in 1880 and incorporated in 1902. Its early economy was based on copper, gold, and silver mining. Demand for copper surged during World War I and Bisbee’s population peaked at 9205 in the 1920 Census. Mining activity declined significantly in the 1930s and 40s, and Bisbee’s population had dropped to 3801 by 1950.
Housing prices crashed in the 1960s, leading to an influx of artists and counter culture types taking advantage of the cheap housing. That combination of artists and eccentrics of all types gave Bisbee a unique and colorful local culture that persists to this day.
Phelps Dodge Corporation ceased all mining activities in Bisbee in 1975, and local leadership pivoted to tourism to boost the economy. Today, tourism is the largest component of Bisbee’s economy.
Copper Queen Mine
The Copper Queen was the largest mine in the Bisbee area and produced ore that was 23% copper, an extremely high grade, with lesser amounts of gold and silver. The mine closed in 1975, and local leaders persuaded Phelps Dodge to allow a portion of the mine to be opened to the public. Tours of the mine began in 1976 and more than a million people have taken the tour to date. That total does not include my wife and I, but the Copper Queen tour is the top tourist attraction in Bisbee. Tour prices as of 2026 are $16 for adults and $8 for children 6-12. (Children under six are not allowed on the tour). Reservations are required and can be made online.
Lavender Pit
Phelps Dodge began open pit mining in 1950 and continued until 1974, taking advantage of a process promoted by Harrison Lavender, then Vice President of Phelps Dodge, that allowed profitable extraction of copper from ore as low as 0.7% copper. Today, the Lavender Pit is an impressively large (300 acres and 900 feet deep) hole in the ground, but to my eye is more an eyesore than an attraction.
Copper Queen Hotel
Downtown Bisbee streets are lined with many old brick buildings dating to the early 20th century. There are also many fine Victorian era and Craftsman style houses in the town’s residential areas. Probably the most noteworthy building in Bisbee is the Copper Queen Hotel. The hotel was constructed around the turn of the 20th century by Phelps Dodge and is the longest continually operated hotel in Arizona. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The hotel had deteriorated over the years and was sold by Phelps Dodge to artist Stephen Hutchinson and his wife Marcia in 1970. They did a complete renovation of the structure, along with other buildings in the downtown area that is now called Old Bisbee.
The Hutchinsons lured many celebrities to Bisbee, most notably John Wayne, who visited often and later became a business partner of the Hutchinsons, and helped establish Bisbee as a tourist destination. Many of the rooms are named after celebrities that have stayed at the hotel. In addition to John Wayne, those include Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Houdini, and Lilly Langtree.
Bisbee Arts Scene
Bisbee is home to almost twenty art galleries. Some of the more popular include Sam Poe Gallery, Belleza Fine Art Gallery, Artemezia Foundation – Gallery 818, Subway Gallery, and 55 Main Gallery. About half of Bisbee’s galleries can be found on Main Street.
The Bisbee After Five Art Walk, a self-guided tour of galleries, stores, and restaurants in Old Bisbee takes place on the second Saturday of every month from 5 to 8 pm.
For me, one of the joys of visiting Bisbee is simply wandering around the town and taking in all of the often off-beat public art and artist’s studios that permeate the town. It seems like we find a new murals and other pieces of public art on every visit.
Food and Drink
While the food and drink scene in Bisbee isn’t what draws people to the town, there’s no shortage of decent places to eat and quench your thirst. In Old Bisbee, Bisbee’s Table is a place we’ve dined at a number of times and can recommend. Another place is Le Cornucopia. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan or need gluten free food, you might want to try Bisbee Badassery. It’s also dog friendly. Poco Restaurant + Market’s Mexican inspired 100% vegan menu is another option. Another place to get great Mexican food is Taqueria Outlaw. Café Roka gets good reviews and offers a more upscale dining experience than most of the other restaurants in Old Bisbee. Legion Bar & Grill and Old Bisbee Brewing are two places that I can recommend for good beer and pub food.
Accommodations
My wife and I have only done day trips to Bisbee from Sierra Vista, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but there are a number of highly rated hotels in Bisbee. Among those are Letson Loft Hotel, Warner Hotel, El Dorado Suites Hotel, Copper City Inn, Canyon Rose Hotel, and The Oliver House. The Copper Queen Hotel doesn’t get great reviews, but it’s such an iconic attraction that it might be worth a stay. Sierra Vista offers many other hotels and motels (try the Comfort Inn & Suites on Fry Boulevard). And, of course, there are numerous B&Bs in both Bisbee and Sierra Vista to choose from.
Other Area Attractions
Bisbee is surrounded by abundant natural and cultural attractions. Jeep tours of the surrounding Mule Mountains are popular. Another mountain range, the Huachuca Mountains, west and southwest of Sierra Vista, offer outdoor enthusiasts a variety of hiking and sightseeing options. My wife and I took a short hike at the Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon Preserve on our most recent visit.
A little farther afield, Chiricahua National Monument, about an hour’s drive from Bisbee, is a spectacular collection of rock formations well worth a visit if you have the time. Karchner Caverns, about twenty miles north of Sierra Vista is also well worth a visit. Park rangers give guided tours of the caverns several times a day.
And, about 25 miles north of Bisbee, the wild west town of Tombstone draws thousands of tourists every week. You can visit the O.K. Corral and watch reenactments of the famous gunfight between the Earps (with Doc Holliday) and the Clantons, and visit the Boot Hill Cemetery. The whole town is a bit of a tourist trap, but interesting enough and close enough to Bisbee to make a visit worthwhile.
Sierra Vista, home to the large Fort Huachuca army base, is a good place to base explorations of the area, but doesn’t offer much in the way of attractions of its own.
While my wife and I have not spent much time in the city of Tucson, about 90 miles northwest of Bisbee, we can recommend several nearby attractions that we have visited, some multiple times.
There are two units of Saguaro National Park near Tucson, one just east of the city and one just west. Near the west unit of Saguaro National Park, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is one of my favorite places in Arizona.
And you may be surprised to learn, as I was, that the Tucson area boasts a local ski area. At an elevation of more than 9000 feet, Mount Lemmon rises 6500 vertical feet above the city and is home to the Mount Lemmon Sky Center Observatory and the small community of Summerhaven, as well as Mount Lemmon Ski Valley. A paved road leads to the summit area with a number of spectacular viewpoints looking down on the city and to the Sonora Desert beyond. There are also many trailheads along the roadway that offer a variety of hiking trails.
Conclusion
Bisbee is often described as quirky and charming, which it certainly is. That, combined with its unique history, contemporary arts scene, distinctive architecture, beautiful mountain environment, and great weather, makes Bisbee a unique and memorable destination worth every bit of the effort it takes to get there. Spring and fall are probably the best times to visit, but I don’t think there is a bad time. At an elevation of more than 5000 feet, it’s still hot in the summer, but considerably cooler than Phoenix. It can get cold in the winter because of the elevation, but cold is a relative term here. This is Arizona, after all.
Posted July 12, 2026
All photos © Alan K. Lee, except as noted
Bicycling is permitted on all park roadways and on the Pa’rus Trail. All other park trails, off-trail routes, and the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel are closed to bikes. There are a number of places in Springdale where you can rent bikes and there are also numerous companies offering bicycle tours of Zion. Biking the canyon is a good alternative to riding the shuttle. From the Zion Canyon Visitor Center to the Temple of Sinawava at the end of the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is about eight miles, with a few moderate hills along the way.
If you drive an electric vehicle, two charging stations are located within Zion National Park, one at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center and the other at the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center in the north end of the park. You can purchase a $5 pass code at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center that is valid for three days at either of the park’s charging stations. In Springdale, there are three Tesla charging stations (as well as others in nearby communities). Electrify America stations are located in St. George and Cedar City. ChargePoint and SemaConnect stations can be found in St. George.
If you’re camping, Zion Canyon Campground in Springdale has 133 RV sites and 47 tent sites. Zion River Resort in nearby Virgin, Utah also has RV sites and cabins. There are two campgrounds within the national park near Springdale, South Campground and Watchman Campground. South Campground has 117 sites, but no hookups. Watchman has about 120 RV sites with full hookups and about 70 tent sites. South and Watchman both require advance reservations, except in winter. The small Lava Point Campground in the north end of the park is first come, first served, but has only six primitive sites. Check the park website for more detailed information. Reservations for the South and Watchman campgrounds can be made through 
Where to Eat
One of the most spectacular hikes in the canyon is The Narrows. There is no trail through The Narrows – you’re hiking the bed of the Virgin River through a narrow canyon no more than 40 feet wide in places. If you’re interested in hiking The Narrows, be sure to check with the park rangers at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. No permit is required, but The Narrows may be closed to hiking due to the possibility of flash floods. Thunderstorms many miles north of the park may lead to sudden and potentially life threatening rises in the river level with no warning, even when the park is sunny and cloudless. But if it’s doable safely, it’s a fantastic and unique hiking experience.
Trails outside of Zion Canyon (and all canyoneering routes) require a wilderness pass. Most are available online through the park’s website, but permits for some trails are only available in person.
One hour and three hour horseback rides within the park can be booked through 
Off road vehicle tours are also available from a variety of providers. Like mountain bike tours, these are outside of the park. Again, I have no personal experience, so can’t make any recommendations, but the tours are popular.
I can pretty much guarantee that no matter who you are or where your interests lie, a trip to Zion National Park will be an adventure you will not soon forget.
Originally posted June 14, 2021 by Alan K. Lee. Updated and re-posted March 15, 2024.
Taliesin West was founded as the winter home for the Frank Lloyd Wright Fellowship, Wright’s school of architecture. It was always a school of architecture as well as Wright’s winter home. The Fellowship evolved into the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, which conducted classes at Taliesin West until 2020, when it separted from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, changed its name to The School of Architecture, and moved its campus to Cosanti and Arcosanti, Arizona.
Wright’s design philosophy was holistic, and humanistic. He saw houses as organic structures that should be built in harmony with their environment and in tune with their inhabitants. “It is quite impossible to consider the building as one thing, its furnishings another and its setting and environment still another,” he wrote. He believed that all had to work “as one thing.” There is a story, whether true or not I don’t know, that the purchasers of one of his early residential designs invited him to their home after they moved in and he was so appalled by the way they had furnished the home that from that point on he not only designed the structures, he designed all of the furniture (much of it built in), the lighting, the rugs, the artwork, and even the dinnerware that went into them.
The grounds of Taliesin West are beautifully landscaped and feature many outdoor works of art by various artists. Wright saw architecture as the “mother” of all the arts, and art was an important component of his designs, as was the landscaping.
Taliesin West is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix.
Originally posted November 26, 2019. Updated and re-posted January 7, 2022.
The altitude also means that nights can be cold there even in the middle of summer. And in spring and fall, it’s not uncommon to encounter cold weather even in the middle of the day. (The photos here were taken in early May and, as you can see, there was still snow in places). Winters are cold, sometimes very, and can be snowy. Many of the trails are closed in winter. But winter also has its charms. Most of the best photos I’ve seen of Bryce Canyon have been taken when the hoodoos were covered in snow.
The good news is that you don’t have to hike very far into the hoodoos to get away from the crowds. There are a number of loop and out-and-back trails that will get you away from the crowds, some of them fairly easy hikes. The rim trail along the edge of the Bryce Amphitheater can also get you away from the worst of the crowds without actually descending into the hoodoos. And if you don’t want to (or can’t) hike into the amphitheaters, there are mule rides available. Check at the visitor center when you arrive. Some of the trails in the park are also paved and wheelchair accessible.
The only road in the park (other than a section of Utah Hwy 12 that cuts across the far northern end of the park) runs north to south along the top of the Paunsaugunt Plateau from the park entrance to Yovimpa Point and Rainbow Point at the southern end of the plateau. Because the park receives so many visitors in the summer, traffic congestion can be a problem. Consider parking your car at the visitor center or the lodge and taking the free shuttle that runs the length of the park. The buses run frequently and you can hop off at any of the viewpoints and catch a later shuttle if you want to do some hiking or just sit and enjoy the scenery for awhile. Taking the shuttle also makes point to point hikes possible without having two cars.
Besides being a spectacularly beautiful place during the day, Bryce Canyon is also great place to star gaze. It’s far from any light polluting urban areas, and the night skies in the park can be incredible. The park offers both astronomy programs and guided full moon hikes. Check the Bryce Canyon National Park 
The park website is a good place to begin when planning a trip to Bryce. The 
The Covid-19 pandemic is still with us as I write this (Feb. 2022), but the park is open with only a few restrictions. Masks are still required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, in all NPS buildings, crowded outdoor spaces, and all forms of enclosed public transportation. But there are no other restrictions and all facilities are open. Additional details are available on the park website and at 
If you’re not ready to begin traveling again, though, here are links to a short video by 
Originally posted March 20, 2020. Updated and re-posted February 19, 2022.
The name Chelly comes from the Spanish spelling of the Navajo name for canyon, tseyi, which translates literally as “within the rock.” Over time the Spanish pronunciation, “chay-ee”, has evolved into the current pronunciation, “shay”.
Located a couple of miles east of Chinle, Arizona, the monument’s Welcome Center is a good place to start your visit. Pick up a free map of the monument and watch a short film about the monument to orient yourself. The park rangers can answer any questions you have about tours of the canyon, accommodations, the canyon’s history or geology, what plants and animals you’ll find in the park, or any other questions you might have. There is also a gift shop where souvenirs of your visit can be purchased.
Canyon de Chelly is worth a visit just for the spectacular scenery it affords, but it is also an important cultural and historic site. The canyon is one of the longest continuously inhabited places in North America. The Ancestral Puebloans (also known as the Anasazi) first settled in the area some 4,000 years ago. The canyon was later occupied by the Hopi, descendents of the Ancestral Puebloans, and more recently by the Navaho.
Originally posted May 14, 2020. Updated and re-posted February 14, 2022.
Originally posted April 28, 2020. Edited, updated, and re-posted February 5, 2022
The Plaza is an ideal place to begin your exploration of Santa Fe, particularly if you are an art lover, as my wife and I are. The New Mexico Museum of Art and the 
Of course there are plenty of things to see and do in Santa Fe beyond just the visual arts and local history. The Tourism Santa Fe 
Puebloan history and culture is an even more pronounced component of modern day Taos than it is in Santa Fe. The nearby 
First Impressions
My wife and I have been back once since that first visit. The photos here were taken on that second trip in 2008. I think we’re long overdue for a third visit.
The white Cedar Mesa Sandstone of the canyons in Natural Bridges was formed from white quartz sand with relatively little iron. The red and orange sandstone of the mesa tops gets its color from more iron rich rocks. Oxygen and hydrogen react with the iron, forming compounds that vary in color depending on the relative proportions of oxygen and hydrogen in the rock.
Human Presence
The Ancestral Puebloan people began farming the mesa tops around 1500 years ago, but later abandoned the area, presumably because of a prolonged drought. After 300 years, the ancestors of modern day Hopi and Navajo returned to the Natural Bridges area, only to abandon the area again around the year 1280 CE. Modern Hopi, Navaho, and Paiute peoples reoccupied the area once again at later dates.
Europeans didn’t discover the area until 1883 when prospector Cass Hite ventured into the canyons looking for gold. He didn’t find any gold, but he did find the three magnificent natural bridges. Twenty years later, National Geographic Magazine published an article about the bridges, gaining the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt, who established 
The bridges were named President, Senator and Congressman by Cass Hite. Later explorers gave them the names Augusta, Caroline and Edwin. But neither set of names stuck. In 1909 the bridges were given the Hopi names they carry today: Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo.
Visitor Center
Conclusion
Originally posted July 10, 2021. Updated July 21, 2024.
There is so much here that you probably can’t see it all in one visit. My wife and I have visited the museum on a couple of our Arizona excursions, and on our last visit I was surprised at how much I had missed on our earlier visit. Plan to spend at least two hours at the museum. Allow half a day to more fully explore what the museum has to offer, if you can.
If you’re ever in the Tucson area, consider making the drive to the top of Mount Lemmon. A paved road takes you to the summit, more than 6500 feet above the valley floor. Numerous viewpoints along the way provide spectacular vistas of the mountain, the surrounding desert below, and the mountains beyond. And numerous trailheads provide access to the ridges and canyons beyond the road for those who want to lace up their hiking boots and immerse themselves in the desert or mountain environment.
The drive takes you through numerous climatic and ecological zones, from the iconic saguaro cactus of the Sonoran Desert at the base of the mountain to an aspen and ponderosa pine forest at the summit.
My wife and I made the drive to the summit in October 2019 while in Arizona to visit my brother and attend a wedding. I had never heard of Mount Lemmon and I wasn’t keen on making that long of a side trip, but my wife convinced me that it would be worthwhile, and she nailed this one. Mount Lemmon is more than just worthwhile, and worth more than just a side trip. It’s a worthy destination in its own right.
Windy Point, about seventeen miles from the beginning of the highway in Tanque Verde, has got to be one of the most spectacular viewpoints in southern Arizona. You’ll want to stop here and just wander around for a while. Take in the views of Tucson and the desert far below, the mountains beyond, and the rock formations around you. About four miles farther up the highway you’ll come to the San Pedro Vista, which gives you a panoramic view east across the San Pedro Valley to the Galiuro Mountains.
Another couple miles brings you to the 
If you go, note that the summit of Mount Lemmon can be thirty degrees cooler than Tucson, so dress accordingly. And if you plan to do any hiking, avoid mid-summer if possible and always bring plenty of water. There are no sources of safe drinking water on any of the hiking trails in the area, to my knowledge.
Not only am I glad we took the drive, I wish we could have spent more time exploring the mountain. For those that do have the time, there are several picnic areas along the highway and a few places to eat in Summerhaven, and there are several campgrounds a short ways off of the highway if you want to spend more than a day on the mountain. If you don’t want to camp, Summerhaven also has a few rental cabins, and a newly built small hotel. Check the 
Note: In the summer of 2020 the entire area was closed to the public because of the Bighorn Fire that burned 120,000 acres in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Photos taken after the fire showed some badly burned areas, but others that were largely untouched. All of the area is open again, including the Palisades Visitor Center.