Phoenix gets treated as a stopover by a lot of travellers, somewhere to land before heading to Sedona or the Grand Canyon. That undersells it. The Valley itself is worth a few days, and once you factor in what’s within driving distance, you’ve got everything from a car museum with free entry to slot canyons that need booking months ahead.
This guide splits everything into three tiers based on how much of your day it eats up. Same-day stops you can slot in without much planning, day trips that need an early start but get you home for dinner, and the one genuine expedition on this list that’s better treated as an overnight than a day trip.
In and Around Phoenix, Same-Day Easy Stops
These are the ones you can decide on the morning of and still pull off without a hitch.
Topgolf Scottsdale for an Afternoon of Golf and Games
Topgolf Scottsdale sits in the Talking Stick Entertainment District just east of Loop 101, with three levels and well over a hundred climate-controlled bays. You don’t need to golf to enjoy it, and that’s the point. Bays come with food and drink service, so it works as easily for a lazy afternoon as it does for a group booking. Worth knowing before you go, the venue gets busy on weekend evenings, so book ahead if you’re set on a specific time.
Penske Racing Museum and Scottsdale’s Cars and Coffee Scene
If you’ve got any interest in motorsport, the Penske Racing Museum is one of the better free things to do in the Valley. It sits inside the Scottsdale 101 Auto Collection, tucked among the prestige dealerships, and houses a genuinely serious collection of Indy and NASCAR winners, including several Indianapolis 500 cars. Admission is free, and the on-site cafe runs weekday mornings if you want to make a proper visit of it.
The museum also hosts its own Cars and Coffee on the third Saturday of each month in the parking lot, which is a nice anchor if you’re trying to time a visit. Scottsdale has a wider weekend car meet culture beyond that single event too, with informal gatherings popping up most Saturday mornings around the Valley. Locations shift, so it’s worth checking what’s on for the specific weekend you’re visiting rather than assuming a fixed spot.
Where to Eat Around Phoenix
For a solid steak or hearty American dinner without needing a reservation weeks out, FireBirds Wood Fired Grill, The Keg Steakhouse, and Texas Roadhouse all have multiple locations spread across the Valley, and any of them make a reliable stop after a day of driving. None of them need much of an introduction if you’ve road tripped through the US before, but they’re worth calling out here because they’re genuinely easy to build an evening around without overthinking it.
Worth the Drive, Still a Day Trip
This tier needs a bit more planning but doesn’t require giving up your hotel room for the night.
Buc-ee’s in Goodyear
Buc-ee’s opened its first Arizona location in Goodyear this year, about 30 minutes west of downtown Phoenix on Interstate 10. It’s less a fuel stop and more a full stop-and-explore kind of place, and I’ve written a full breakdown of the food, the scale of it, and what’s worth ordering. Read more here.
Sedona and Lunch at Wildflower
Sedona is about two hours north of Phoenix via I-17, and it’s an easy one to underestimate. Give yourself the full day. For lunch, Wildflower Bread Company at the Shops at Hyatt Pinon Pointe is a solid, unpretentious pick, order at the counter and grab a patio table looking out toward Snoopy Rock if the weather’s playing nice, I personally like the table top right as you walk outside after grabbing your sandwich. The sweet potato sandwich and the chicken pesto both come up again and again in local recommendations, and the soup and bread combinations are hard to go past on a cooler day. The sweet potato chips they add to your plate are amazing too!
The Big One, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend
This is the one on the list that deserves a proper heads-up. Page, Arizona, home to both Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, sits roughly 275 miles and four to four and a half hours north of Phoenix each way. People do attempt it as a single, brutally long day, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Between the driving, the heat in summer, and wanting enough daylight to actually enjoy Horseshoe Bend, this one works far better as an overnight.
Antelope Canyon requires a guided tour booked well in advance, since you can’t just walk in, and tours can sell out weeks ahead in peak season. Horseshoe Bend is free and involves a roughly 1.5-mile round trip walk from the car park, best tackled early morning before the heat sets in and while the light’s still doing its thing over the canyon. If you can stretch the trip to two days, you’ll actually get to enjoy both properly instead of racing the sunset home.
Pima Air and Space Museum, a Tucson Detour Worth Planning For
Worth flagging early, this one’s actually south of Phoenix, not north, and it’s about two hours away in Tucson rather than a quick same-day dash, although each of my visits have been same day trips – long days!
If you’re an aviation fan though, it’s one of the largest non-government-funded aviation museums in the world, with around 400 aircraft spread across 80 acres, including a SR-71 Blackbird, B-52 Bombers and even a 787 Dreamliner. Give yourself at least half a day once you’re there, since the outdoor sections alone take a while to walk through properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sedona is about two hours north of Phoenix via Interstate 17. It’s a comfortable day trip if you leave reasonably early, giving you a full day to explore before the drive back.
Technically yes, but it’s not recommended. The drive alone is four to four and a half hours each way, and combined with touring both Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, an overnight stay in Page gives you a far better experience than a rushed single-day round trip.
Scottsdale has an active weekend car meet culture, with the Penske Racing Museum hosting an official Cars and Coffee event on the third Saturday of each month. Beyond that, informal meets pop up around the Valley most Saturday mornings, though locations vary week to week.
Yes, if you have any interest in aviation. It sits about two hours south in Tucson and houses roughly 400 aircraft across 80 acres, making it worth treating as its own outing rather than an add-on to another stop.
Buc-ee’s in Goodyear is worth building a stop around on its own, Wildflower Bread Company in Sedona is a solid lunch stop if you’re heading north, and FireBirds, The Keg Steakhouse, and Texas Roadhouse all cover a reliable dinner back in the Valley.