Going To Az Feb22-feb26 What To Do There? (Phoenix: how much, hotels)

[nycgirl93]

So I have always wanted to visit Arizona, because from what i've heard and pictures i've seen it is supposed to be an absolutely beautiful place filled with many things to do (and see). Unfortunately I can only spend the weekend there but i really want to get a feel for Arizona. I was hoping from people who have lived in Arizona, or live there, if any of you can help me out and just tell me ANYWHERE i should go to eat, see, hike, skii, drive, etcc etcc etcc!!

I can only spend a weekend there and i want to make it an unforgetable one, so can anybody please tell me anywhere I should go?? THANKS GUYS!

btw: I live in NY so I'm used to well, newyorkan things (: I want to kind of step out of that bubble and really experience something new and different, and ofcourse I ADORE eating so any good restaurants to go to would be a plus..and hiking/biking/riding horses/other nature things I love to do as well (:

[Mnslickinaz]

On Sat. the 23rd there is Parada del Sol 10-12PM on Scottsdale Road !! Lots of horses and cowboys. A few saloon girls too! Lots of fun then the big street party after in Old Town Scottsdale!

[AzDreamer]

You could look at an AZ vacation guide book for some ideas, Frommers has some good ones. Your library probably has something recent.

That time of year the desert will be pretty green and a hike would be nice. There are lots of good places, where might depend on where you'll be staying.

Depending on your age, you might like Mill Ave in Tempe near ASU or Scottsdale for some night life.

[nycgirl93]

heyy thanks (:
I'll def. check out the hiking & parade,nightclubs too..what's the weather like anyway in late february in arizona?

[Mnslickinaz]

Do a National and Local Weather Forecast, Radar, Map and Report and click on "next month" should think in 70-low 80 daytime and 60 night........? Need to ck. it out! In the sun--warm. Night will cool off.

[azquadgrrl]

omg...um..

There's so much to do here but unless you get someone like me, a Phoenician, who's active, you wont get all that great responses.

We have numerous mountains to hike, too cold to go tubing the Salt River or to 1 of the 6 lakes that are close to town, horseback riding is always a favorite here, tours of old town Scottsdale or Old Tucson if you have the time. Plenty of places to fish. Tons of places to eat. Atv~ing on quads in the far east or west valley. A bunch of great Clubs. Repelling at South Mountain. Hang Gliding at North Mountain. A bunch of malls. A few well known hotels, golf courses, spas. ~ I used to work in this industry. Some even have Heated Pools which are great!

My favorites are~ The Compass Room atop the Hyatt ~ restaurant 4 Star $20 to $35 a plate w/ a drink, the top of South Mountain ~ need a car for this ~ drive up to the top & look at the city lights of the valley from west to eat ~ great picnic spot but a lil chilly up there at night in February, Garduno's Mexican Restaurant or Cantina ~ can never remember the exact name after Garduno's, Original Garcia's on 27th Ave & Encanto, White Tanks Mountain Preserve for Hiking ~ peaceful & not alot of people!, Canyon Lake for hanging out w/ good people. Old Town Glendale ~ lots of antique shops, Paradise Valley Mall is great. Lots of other places too!!

Depends how much fun U wanna have. Cuz, if you go the whole time your here, you'll go home just beat.

Lots of luck to ya.

~ b ~

[sablebaby]

You just say AZ, but do you mean Phx?

[4WD Greg]

I've visited Phoenix a couple of times. I would highly recommend a visit to the botanical gardens in PHX to a new comer. You'll see more varieties of huge cacti and other plant life that you ever imagined could grow in a desert! I'd also recommend a drive out to the Wickenburg area, through the Sonoran Desert. It's like driving through an Iowa cornfield full of Saguaro cacti instead of corn! It's absolutely gorgeous, and exactly what we outsiders think of when we think of Arizona.
I'd also recommend a visit/hike in the one or more of the mountains, although I haven't done it myself, so I can't recommend an especially good one.

[RickieInPhx]

You mentioned being from NY. I would think that you'd see enough of a big city, lots of people, and nightclubs and such there...maybe not There are lots of things to do in the Phx metro area like AZQUADGRRL mentioned if you're into being in the valley.

If you want to get away from the people and city and just see some really beautiful scenery I'd suggest Sedona. It's about an hour and a half or so north of Phx up the I-17. The ex used to drag me there to "shop" because there are tons of little shops off the main street. Of course being a guy I hated that part of it but the restaurants are nice and the views are AMAZING! You can take jeep tours(or even hike) to get out and see some of the red rock and everything up close. From there you can take what I always considered a "back way" in Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon. Oak Creek runs along the road so you could always pull over somewhere if you'd like to check that out. There are tons and tons of trees and as you get closer to Flag you'll get deeper into tons of pines trees. Then you can check out the Flagstaff area if you'd like before coming back to the valley...or you could even stay in Northern Arizona as there is alot of stuff to see up that way too.

Maybe it's just that I've lived in the Phx Metro area my whole life so I've seen enough people, buildings, and asphalt but I found Sedona to be one of the more beautiful areas in AZ...in my opinion of course.

Let us know what you ended up doing and how you liked it!

[nycgirl93]

Hey thanks a lot guys, I'm def. going next week and am looking into checking out the hiking/views/shops in Sedona. I especially love those "antique" shops, things that are really unique and hard to find that I can buy..now this can include clothing, or just little "trinkets" to bring back with me to ny =)