Coconino National Forest

In the town of Sedona, visitors will find hotels, restaurants, and art galleries. You will also find Tlaquepaque—a Spanish-style village of cobblestone streets, gardens, and courtyards dwarfed by giant sycamore trees and surrounded by a stone wall. West of Sedona, Capital Butte soars nearly 2,000 feet into the air—it is named for its striking resemblance to the Capitol building in Washington. Take a 15-minute drive outside Sedona, hike an easy one-mile trail, and you will discover Devil's Bridge—a rock arch in the Red Rock/Secret Mountain Wilderness.

Visit Montezuma Castle National Monument and you can behold the prehistoric ruins of what the Sinagua Indians built over 600 years ago. The five-story dwelling resembles an ancient apartment building and is built into the recesses of limestone cliffs. Early settlers erroneously attributed the structure to the Aztec ruler Montezuma—but, in fact, the dwelling preceded Montezuma by a hundred years. The Montezuma Castle National Monument is about 50 miles south of Flagstaff.

Adjacent national forests include Prescott, Kaibab, Tonto, and the Apache-Sitgreaves. National parks situated north of Coconino include the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest due south, you'll find the Saguaro National Park.