10 Best Small Towns in Arizona You Must Visit in 2026 Hidden Gems

Welcome back everybody. This is living in Arizona now today We're gonna talk about the small towns in Arizona Most people think of Phoenix or the Grand Canyon Scottsdale Tucson But they don't think about our beautiful small towns and today we've got 10 great small towns across Arizona to show you You're gonna have to stick around for the whole video to see which one is my favorite I'll tell you somewhere in the middle first up here. We are in Bisbee This is easily one of the best towns in Arizona Most people who come here just are really swept away by its charm and it really feels like you're going back in time There's almost no new buildings here in Bisbee Maybe some buildings have been renovated, but everything is as it was in the early 1900s Bisbee sits here in southeastern Arizona about 90 minutes from Tucson just north of the Mexico border the elevation up here is around 5,500 feet and Bisbee often says it has some of the best climate in the world believe it or not Population here is about 5,000 people Originally founded in 1880 as a copper mining town It's one of the richest mineral sites in the world at the time. It was even so famous They had a professional baseball team here They were called the Bisbee Douglas Copper Kings and they were part of the Arizona, Texas League before that They had the Bisbee bees who played at the old Warren Field, which is five years older than Wrigley Field So the original mine was called the lavender pit. You can actually see it today It's a large open-air pit copper mine once known as the queen of the copper camps there is a bit of a wild and dark history because of the Bisbee deportation where over 1,000 miners who were on strike were rounded up and taken away Also considered one of Arizona's most haunted towns because of the old buildings the bars and the hotels Even when you go into some of those old bars, you'll kind of feel it So they do have some ghost tours over here nowadays You'll find it to be a bit more artsy kind of has a quirky vibe to it after the mining declined in 1970s Bisbee transformed into an artist community. It's known for its colorful red hillsides Staircases they even have some stairs that you can walk to the top of the hills and just really go around all of the old Neighborhoods and see the interesting Pat and see the interesting Victorian architecture around Bisbee next up We're over here in two back now two back is also in southern, Arizona about 45 minutes south of Tucson You probably wouldn't want to do Bisbee and two back in the same day because they are in two different areas But the population here is about 2,000 people. It's super quiet Got a relaxed vibe sits along the Santa Cruz River, which gives it a bit more of a green type feeling I mean, I really like coming down here during monsoon season It's just so beautiful in this part of Arizona just north of the Nogales border there It's actually one of the oldest European settlements in Arizona founded in 1752 by the Spanish as the Presidio for it's part of the old day on the trail right here and The two back Presidio State Historic Park, you can actually visit there go down to to mockery and see the old Historical mission I would say that's even more interesting to me than San Javier just south of Tucson known as the white dove You can do both in the same day if you did choose to come down here I would say it's a scenic peaceful area you get lots of wildlife in your backyard or if you come down here run a Airbnb like I did you'll be able to wake up and enjoy lots of birds and maybe some Javelinas or a wild cat could come up to your backyard and let's not talk about the deer and some owls that you may see Around here. It's popular with bird watching walking trails, and it's just a relaxing getaway I would say it's more of those hidden gems not quite too discovered yet like Sedona or maybe even Scottsdale So this place is real chill and just in case you're wondering that Juan Bautista day on the trail I was telling you about that actually connects to Camino Real out California two back actually attracts a lot of artists So you'll see many different art galleries down here everything from Native American art to old Western art Mexican influence I mean after all right here just north of the border That's the cool thing about southern Arizona small towns is it's got that fusion between Arizona and Mexico or Sonora Lots of art out here. I'll tell you it's really a good vibe good food, too If you were asking me which one's better Bisbee or two back. I'd say you got to do both I mean these are some really good small towns And if you're coming down here to back you can even check out other towns like a ho or why even heading out to the Oregon? Pipe National Park to see some unique cactuses now. We're headed up to northern Arizona or well north central, Arizona This here is in the White Mountains. This is Greer now Greer is another one of those special places sitting at an elevation of 8,500 feet it's one of the highest towns in the state It's got a tiny population just under a hundred full-time residents feel super secluded up here It's got a peaceful feeling they did get hit by a big fire in 2011 that was the wallow fire, and then they had another one in 2025 so do pay attention to those fire warnings if they say don't be doing anything like having a bonfire they mean it and Definitely you know when it's looking a little bit charred don't be throwing any cigarettes out the window Because this area is prone to getting lots of fires One of the things you notice when you come up here is it's significantly cooler than Phoenix even in July You might be down in Phoenix, and it's a hundred and ten or a hundred and fifteen you come up here to Greer It's 79 degrees and in the mornings it might even be 39 degrees You might need a jacket and you could see your breath when you're breathing kind of unique about Arizona, right? They used to say you could have the hottest place in the country down in Yuma and the coldest place in the country up There in the White Mountains near Greer all in the same day It's about a two to three hour drive away from Phoenix closer to that three hour range Actually because it does take a little bit of winding through the mountains depending on which route you take but up here You'll see elk deer eagles some black bears just don't mess with the wildlife too much, but they are pretty friendly wildlife I would say generally speaking. I saw lots of deer when I was up here. That's the big thing I remember and like I said those occasional owls I really like those owls don't you but it actually sits along the little Colorado River or at least that's nearby Along with having a beautiful summertime or autumn fall kind of climate They do have snow up here getting snowpack nearby in sunrise, which is the second largest ski resort in Arizona Yes, Arizona does get snowpack and they do have ski resorts you come up here in December January February maybe even into March You might just find that Mount Baldy is white capped with a bunch of snow and people up there snowboarding and skiing You can go up there and even rent some boards or something to have a good time people do that Also up here. You might be able to get a white Christmas out here in Arizona Sometimes it's a super white Christmas because they'll get a lot of snowfall on that Christmas Day So maybe consider coming up here and renting out a cabin nearby Greer. Love it up here Just take care of the environment right now. Here we are in Cave Creek This is just north of Phoenix in Maricopa County got a population of around 5,000 if you combine Cave Creek carefree, that's about 10,000 people. They call it where the Wild West lives So they say out here in North Phoenix in Cave Creek along Black Mountain one of the oldest Western towns You'll find in the United States right now founded in 1870 by the US Cavalry troops They were exploring the area coming up from Fort McDowell Started as an old gold mining and ranching town Then they discovered the golden 1870s and that sparked a mini boomtown That's kind of what you notice about most of these small towns They were all originally mining boomtowns in Arizona after all we are the copper state or the Grand Canyon State but the reason we're called the copper state is because copper mining is famous here with Phelps Dodge all the way on up here to Freeport McMoran one of the biggest mining companies in the world and the cowboy culture is still alive and well here They've got live bull riding at places like the Buffalo Chip. You can go to Harold's It's like a honky-tonk Western saloon got horse culture everywhere people be driving Motorcycles revving their bikes around here during bike week and then you'll see people riding horseback through the town all in the same day Kind of an interesting authentic Old West vibe in the modern era, right? So it's not the polished theme park atmosphere It's an actual real-life Western town that still functions in its own characters It's not really doing too much to attract tourists. In fact, I can't think of too many hotels around here So it's just one of those places people live and you know do the art scene hang out with each other make friends live up in the rolling hills of the Foothills at the base of Elephant Butte or around Black Mountain. Just a really nice town I actually grew up here in Cave Creek. So I spent many years just walking around Cave Creek Road here carefree highway even down there on the south side of Black Mountain so if you get a chance come on up here to Cave Creek eat at the Ellen Canto Mexican restaurant or maybe one of the other restaurants that you feel like having some good eats like Big Earl's or local Johnny's other people head over to Harold's like I said earlier that Western saloon. I know they do big old shindigs on Christmas or New Year's Eve 4th of July You can find live bull riding and all that stuff right next door is the Buffalo chip. You got the hideaway It's kind of the vibe up here but do make sure if you're gonna have some drinks that you got a designated driver because Law enforcement's always enforcing rules out here with the DD's. Speaking of law enforcement. We're down here in Tombstone famous for the OK Corral shootout between Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and some banditos that were down here causing problems They've got the old Cemetery that people like to go to but it was once the richest mining town in the southwest You know, it happened almost overnight this one here. They were extracting silver So at its peak it had saloons gambling halls and a reputation for being lawless It was a town too tough to die. That's what they used to call it. Nowadays. It's got a population of about 1,300 people so built by bandits and miners along with some Lawmen like Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp nowadays It's just a town that seems stuck in the past and you can see the historical gunfight at the OK Corral Reenactment, they've got lots of different things going on. Actually that gang was called the Clanton gang Those are the ones who Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were fighting around here You got the birdcage theater got plenty of different saloons. Like I said, I mean you go in there It feels like you're going back in time. Tombstone doesn't have any new buildings around here I mean, it's one of the most well-preserved Western towns in the country for sure Actually a lot of miners would either come here and get rich Find what they were looking for in that pay dirt or they'd end up in the grave at a young age I mean it was one of those kind of towns. It was a town too tough to die Now, you know why they call it that right but that boot hill graveyard up there You'll see many of those miners who ended up, you know perishing that quite a young age People came from all over the world around here. Also, you'll see people who came from China You'll see people who came from Mexico Spain all parts of the world to go mine out here in Arizona because that's what built The Wild West was mining. I mean it was such a big big thing out here Actually in the 1900s tombstone almost became a ghost town in case you're wondering why it would be called a ghost town It's not because there's ghosts in the buildings It's because after the town booms with people coming out here to mine gold and silver and copper or whatever They're mining when everyone leaves. The only thing left is the ghost of the past Lots of buildings lots of structures, but everyone's left because there's no more pay dirt Speaking old ghost towns here. We are in Jerome sitting up above the hill of the Verde Valley down below You can see the Verde River Cottonwood Clarkdale and all those other towns But up here they got a rich history another Phelps Dodge mining place This one was pulling copper out and you can go check out some of those old mining towns See and you can check out some of those old mining rigs right there along the hillside This is actually Cleopatra Hill between Sedona and Prescott sitting at an elevation of about 5,000 feet. That's about a mile high Population here right now is about 450 people. It's tiny, but it's definitely one of the most unique towns in Arizona The nickname for the town is wickedest town in the West. So it was founded as a copper mining boomtown Like I said in the late 1800s known for gambling drinking chaos Just people came up here to wreak all sorts of have it It was one of the biggest cities in Arizona at one point in time with 10,000 residents But then when it had its ghost town come back and almost shut down in the 1950s It started to revive itself in the 60s and 70s and today you just see all those historic ruins and art galleries Quirky shops around here. The ruins are down below a bit. You'll see that down there with the Sonogwa ruins at Tuzigoot That's another thing. You got to know about Arizona and these old towns is the Native American people I mean that was the whole reason the cavalry was out here was trying to move the Native Americans off their land That was the Apaches before the Apaches was the Sonogwa Papago I mean it just depends on what era we're talking here But Native American people were here before the miners and they used to have a little bit of a head But even when miners were coming across on a stagecoach in the late 1800s they'd get boxed into a canyon and they might end up getting robbed or having something worse happen to them So that was the life in the Wild West. It wasn't just crazy outlaw bandit, you know miners It was also Native American people who were fighting for their land We're headed up here now to Williams in northern Arizona about 30 minutes west of Flagstaff sitting at an elevation of 6,700 feet So it's got much cooler temperatures than Phoenix. A lot of people consider this to be the gateway to the Grand Canyon That's why it's on here. And that's why you might want to consider coming up here They've done a great job of actually developing some tourist attractions like Barizona and other things right here alongside The Grand Canyon Railway, which is a scenic train ride you can take straight to the Grand Canyon Another thing that happens here in Williams. It's part of the classic Route 66 Junctions, so you got lots of reasons to visit here trains wildlife You've also got Barizona. You've got the high elevation and cooler temperatures Grand Canyon nearby You might even consider base camp in here. I mean, it just depends on what you're looking for It's kind of got a little bit of a Wild West style entertainment vibe but the big thing that I like about it is just its proximity and the Location to the Grand Canyon, which to me is really important It's also located nearby Kaibab National Forest, which is great for hiking camping and just escaping that desert heat It does get a little bit of snow in the winter time, but that's alright you can also get some fall foliage, you know a little bit of color a Burger or a steak at one of these old route 66 Restaurants I would say for me It's a pit stop along the way to the Grand Canyon and I would probably get lunch or dinner here walk around for an hour And a half and then that's a good trip to Williams but yeah still a place you want to hit up if you're headed up to the Grand Canyons, especially if you're gonna hit up the Barizona now, we're actually headed back down to southern Arizona. We're in Patagonia got a great name, right? Everyone loves Patagonia down in Chile and Argentina area where they got Tierra del Fuego But this here is Arizona's Patagonia sitting at the base of Mount Wrightson and then they actually have a big lake out here It's kind of like a paradise. You could call it Arizona's wine country. It truly is a small town here in Patagonia It's about an hour south of Tucson near the Mexico border out here. You'll see lots of different birds hummingbirds eagles hawks We'll see ocotillo trees, that's one thing that stands out out here But yeah, it's definitely one of the top birding destinations in the u.s. Along with many different areas in southern, Arizona It's really a incredible desert down here is what I would say and they call it the Patagonia Senoita Creek Reserve, which is the hotspot for the wildlife but out here You'll see a few places with a large scenic lake popular for boating kayaking fishing camping And then it's kind of got like a mix of desert grassland and then like a riparian river habitat It's a rare combo for Arizona just because it's a little bit lush and then in areas It's not too lush, but really good vibes. I mean, I want to say it sits at an elevation of about 4,500 feet so it's not quite pines, but it's getting up there but around there is that Senoita or Elgin area? Which is Arizona's wine country truly one of them. The other one would be Verde Valley People consider living out here just because it's got a nice environment, but also it's got that off-grid type feeling I mean you're far enough away from any major cities because it's really surrounded by mountains It blocks out the lights from Tucson You won't even see Phoenix from a distance and then northern Mexico doesn't really have any big towns aside from Nogales But even then you're kind of tucked away from Nogales Which is not too far away I mean I would say you could probably do two back and Patagonia in the same day That would be like a road trip right there by the way If you guys are enjoying this video you can subscribe to this channel and we'll show you more road trips and all types of tours Around Arizona also consider liking the video It says most of you guys actually watch the videos more than once but you forgot to subscribe I would say go ahead and subscribe if you haven't already Because if you don't like your decision and you regret it you can always unsubscribe later But at least getting notifications about awesome videos like this can be really useful if you love Arizona now here We are in Cottonwood located in the Verde Valley It's about 20 minutes from Sedona so you can do this town and then visit Sedona all on the same trip pretty easily and you're gonna see lots of beautiful countryside in between because they got the Oak Creek Right there. This one has a population of about 13,000 it's a bit bigger than most small towns on the list But it's still got that laid-back feel sitting at an elevation of 3,300 feet just at the base of Mingus Mountain So you can go up to Mingus and get some nice high alpine Camping if you want it this area right here is known as Arizona's wine country hub You could say between this one in Senoita or around Patagonia You got the two but you got wine tasting rooms local restaurants boutique shops Close to the vineyards of Cornville Jerome or even Clarkdale It's got an old-town charm in the downtown area It's got a walkable Main Street with historic buildings and some antique shops good restaurants Feels like a small-town Arizona plus Napa kind of vibe so you get the idea of what you would do when you come up here Maybe consider staying the night and doing Jerome Cottonwood and the wine tasting in the same kind of weekend also include going up there to Sedona which is obviously one of the best places in Arizona and They do have lots of motorhome or RV parks right along the Verde rally here or Verde River So if you're coming up here to Cottonwood I would say it's a good time in the spring can get a bit hotter than most small towns on the list I would say it's about 8 to 15 degrees cooler than downtown Phoenix So if it's a hundred and fifteen down in Phoenix, it might be a hundred and four up here in Cottonwood You guys get the idea also can get kind of chilly in the winter time So it can even get some snow flurries or a little bit of cold brisk weather. That's for sure But definitely a cool place to visit now here we are in Pinetop Lakeside, so this is up in the White Mountains It's nearby Greer and I would say it's about a two and a half to three hour drive from Phoenix Depending on the way you go. I mean you can't really go the way the crow flies You kind of got a zigzag through the mountains to get up here But I would say this is definitely one of the cool places to get away from that Phoenix Tucson heat if you're looking for an escape come on up here to Pinetop Lakeside Not too many places that I can recommend like this one. That's gonna have that kind of laid-back feel. It doesn't have necessarily the historical vibes of places like two back or maybe tombstone or Jerome, but it does have Small town atmosphere and it's tucked away in the Alpine high countryside up in the White Mountains Now I did tell you guys I would say what are my top three must visit small towns. I'm gonna have to say two-back Bisbee and Also, Jerome those three right there are probably the top three small towns that you should try to visit if you're coming here So definitely consider bookmarking this or saving this list sending it to your friends and family So they know what you're thinking about when you're coming to Arizona or if you live here some of those weekend getaways You guys want a weekend getaway video or a road trip video? Let me know in the comments because we do read all your comments and take your Recommendations for what you guys want to see some people were even talking about us making a full Super ghost town video so we can do that as well But just look how beautiful it is up here You know They call it pine top lakeside because it's got those pines up here on the top of the hill But it's also got lots of lakes creeks rivers fishing It's just a real relaxed environment and when it's a hundred and ten degrees down in Phoenix you're up here It could be around 80 85 maybe 90 on a hot hot day, but it doesn't get over into the hundreds I mean, none of these pine trees and green Vegetation will be able to survive in that kind of temperatures. I mean plus it's about 7,500 to 8,000 feet up here. So you're quite high up there But as we've shown you our ten favorite small towns in Arizona Why don't you guys let us know what your small town favorites are? Is it Paige? Is it maybe Winslow? Did we miss one that's supposed to be on there like Safford or should we have put Globe, Miami? You guys let us know in the comments We love to hear from you guys. Thanks for watching. If you guys want to know the best road trips in Arizona We'll put a video that we made before right here. So click that link for the best road trips in Arizona