Arizona vs Colorado vs Utah vs New Mexico - best of the 4 corners (state, compared)

[caphillsea77]

What are your favorites parts of the Four Corners Region? Here is some criteria.

Mountains
Scenery
National Parks
Urban areas
Historical Areas
College towns
Winter recreation/skiing
Culture
your favorite state out of the four, and anything else you can think of.

[caphillsea77]

Arizona


Grand Canyon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56889478@N00/3625394646/ - broken link) by filippo rome (http://www.flickr.com/people/56889478@N00/ - broken link), on Flickr



View of 24th St & Camelback Phoenix Arizona (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanenglish/1349078080/ - broken link) by Al_HikesAZ (http://www.flickr.com/people/alanenglish/ - broken link), on Flickr


Colorado


Icy Brook - Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wboland/3990940153/ - broken link) by wboland (http://www.flickr.com/people/wboland/ - broken link), on Flickr



Denver Skyline (http://www.flickr.com/photos/csg51/2201326100/ - broken link) by Chad Galloway Photo (http://www.flickr.com/people/csg51/ - broken link), on Flickr

Utah


Arches National Park HDR 503 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fresnatic/3637121687/ - broken link) by Fresnatic (http://www.flickr.com/people/fresnatic/ - broken link), on Flickr


Salt Lake City Utah USA (http://www.flickr.com/photos/utahtourism/3884687122/ - broken link) by Utah Office of Tourism (http://www.flickr.com/people/utahtourism/ - broken link), on Flickr


New Mexico


White Sands Sunset Series (http://www.flickr.com/photos/28090908@N04/5833919615/ - broken link) by mstoy (http://www.flickr.com/people/28090908@N04/ - broken link), on Flickr


Adobe (http://www.flickr.com/photos/topten/1383539181/ - broken link) by Erman Akdogan (http://www.flickr.com/people/topten/ - broken link), on Flickr

[knrstz]

Some may have preferences, which is fine. However, each is so beautiful it's tough to pick. I probably prefer Colorado or New Mexico's weather. However, Tucson is a city that intrigues me. Also, SLC looked so clean and modern when I drove through.

[Mezter]

Colorado, FTW

[Lifeshadower]

I vote for all because arbitrary 19th century land boundaries can't take away from the fact that all four states have some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.

Regrettably, the only state I have visited all over is Arizona (from Hoover Dam and Littlefield all the way to Douglas, have been to nearly every county of AZ except for Greenlee). I haven't even made my way out to Colorado yet, and only have seen small parts of Utah and New Mexico.

As for the city portion of it, Denver and Phoenix are the clear front runners in this, and both appeal to different sorts of people. ABQ, Tucson, Colorado Springs, SLC likewise appeal to vastly different sorts of people.

The charm in all the states really isn't in the larger cities IMO, but in the smaller towns. Give me a place like Flagstaff, Sedona, Santa Fe, Aspen, Vail, Park City, etc. etc. and it becomes clear what I mean.

[caphillsea77]

Originally Posted by knrstz

Some may have preferences, which is fine. However, each is so beautiful it's tough to pick. I probably prefer Colorado or New Mexico's weather. However, Tucson is a city that intrigues me. Also, SLC looked so clean and modern when I drove through.

I definitely agree there is no winner take all. They are all incredible. Here’s how I see it broken down.

Mountains: All 4 have awesome mountains but I'd say the Colorado Rockies are the best, particularly around the Continental Divide/Leadville/Vail area and Rocky Mountain National Park. The San Juan Mountains in the SW corner of Colorado are also incredible. Utah a close second.

Scenery: I'm going to say Utah here as it has so much diversity and interchangeable scenery between the mountains and the desert. Four awesome national parks with some crazy killer red rock shapes, sculptures, and hoodoos. And the Wasatch Mountain range as a backdrop for SLC, hard to beat.

National Parks: Toss up - Arizona or Utah. Easy to say Arizona for the Grand Canyon and even Saguaro with the cactus groves, but I'd say Utah edges out with four national parks. The hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, the walls of Zion, and the natural arches in Arches NP, tough to match.

Urban areas: Definitely Denver by a very wide margin. The best skyline, most active downtown, a good endowment of museums and performing arts, and the best fan base and offering for major league sports.

Historical Areas: I think New Mexico has done well in retaining its history the most, and it goes way back in time. It’s easy to picture Native American pueblo life from many centuries ago there, and also the Hispanic culture that has been there long before it became a US State. Places like Chaco Canyon, the Santa Fe Plaza, Old town Albuquerque, and Taos Pueblo really capture the history and charm of the state. Arizona has some similar historical elements too, but it seems much more palpable in New Mexico.

College towns: Tough to beat Boulder. It has a reputation as a quintessential left leaning college town. Some love it, and some really hate it. There’s no denying though that it’s a very beautiful city back dropped by the Flatiron peaks and has a very eclectic downtown. Pearl Street is attractive, but indeed there are many weirdos milling around. Tempe, Tucson, and Nob Hill in ABQ also get honorable mention.

Winter recreation/skiing: Toss up, Utah or Colorado. Really I can’t decide. Maybe one up on Utah for having the Olympic facilities, but Colorado has just a bit more notoriety for skiing.

Culture: I like New Mexico because it seems very original compared to the others. It hasn’t been overgrown with transplants. The mix of Hispanic, Anglo and Native American in NM is fascinating. The culture is thick and NM has its own style of cooking/food and architecture.

your favorite state out of the four, and anything else you can think of.
I love the Land of Enchantment. So much so, I’m moving there at the end of the year.

[CharlotteNCRepublican]

Mountains: Tie between Utah and Colorado! Can't choose between them!
Scenery: Colorado and Utah tie.
National Parks: Colorado
Urban areas: Colorado (Colorado Springs!)
Historical Areas: New Mexico?
College towns: Colorado, easily. I'm a republican, but im young and want to enjoy college. (Sorry BYU!)
Winter recreation/skiing: Utah and Colorado tie
Culture: Utah and Arizona tie
your favorite state out of the four: Utah (Politically), Arizona (weather wise), Colorado (for skiing), New Mexico (idk...Historical Native American stuff?)


Overall: Colorado wins, with Utah right behind it.

[Mezter]

I should have included this in my first post.
__________________________________________
Mountains-Colorado or Utah

Scenery-Tie between the 4

National Parks-Arizona or Utah

Urban areas-Denver...Phoenix...Albuquerque...Salt Lake City....Some of my favorite cities Not sure what one is more urban (out of Denver and Phoenix)

Historical Areas-New Mexico.!


Great thread BTW.

College towns-Boulder, Colorado

Winter recreation/skiing-Colorado

Culture-New Mexico

[caphillsea77]

Originally Posted by Mezter

Urban areas-Denver...Phoenix...Albuquerque...Salt Lake City....Some of my favorite cities Not sure what one is more urban (out of Denver and Phoenix)

I'd say Denver. In spite of Phoenix being bigger by a fairly wide margin, Denver has a more active and walkable downtown, more light rail, and gives me the impression it has more of a following to its sports teams. Phoenix has made some big strides though and will probably catch up in 10-15 years, but Phoenix has a different appeal than one who wants the quintesential big city urban offerings.

[AZLiam]

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

I'd say Denver. In spite of Phoenix being bigger by a fairly wide margin, Denver has a more active and walkable downtown, more light rail, and gives me the impression it has more of a following to its sports teams. Phoenix has made some big strides though and will probably catch up in 10-15 years, but Phoenix has a different appeal than one who wants the quintesential big city urban offerings.

Phoenix has just as many big city urban offerings as Denver has...it's just that they aren't all located in one downtown setting.