Weekend itinerary in Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is a beautiful city with giant cacti and a lot of sunshine. If you are traveling there for a weekend, this itinerary is for you!

Summary

Day 1

  • Desert botanical garden

  • Phoenix zoo

  • Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park

  • Taliesin West

  • Hole in the rock

Day 2

  • Hieroglyphic trail


Day 1

Desert botanical garden

This is a giant botanic garden in Papago Park. It is home to a wide range of desert plants.

Phoenix zoo

Phoenix zoo is only 1 mile away from the desert botanical garden. 


I noticed that there is no net or fence or anything preventing the flamingos from flying away, but they choose to stay here anyway.


Lunch

We had lunch at "Green New American Vegetarian". It is a 10 minute drive from the desert botanical garden. They serve vegan American food that was far better than what we expected to find in the middle of the desert. 


Phoenix is not cosmopolitan in the same way as Paris or New York, but it has a major university and progressive culture that resulted in a lot more delicious vegetarian and vegan cuisine than we thought we would find.



Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park

This park is an archaeological site of the Hohokam people, who used to live in Arizona. There is an outdoor nature trail, galleries, and other interesting exhibits for visitors of all ages. There are a variety of other historical ruins in the areas around Phoenix, some of which are very close and others spread throughout Arizona.


Taliesin West

This is Frank Lloyd Wright’s home. You need to make a reservation to visit this place. There are guided tour or self guided tour options on their website. 


We took the guided tour, and I think it is totally worth it. Our guide took us to many of Taliesin West’s iconic spaces, unique decorations and explained a lot about the design philosophy and the master architect’s life. 

There are also some petroglyphs at Taliesin West.


Hole in the rock

This is a red sandstone and a great location to watch the sunset. It is a 0.3 mile out and back hike to the hole, with a 200 feet elevation gain.  It is near the botanical garden and the zoo, all three of which are close to downtown Phoenix.


Day 2

Hieroglyphic trail  

On alltrails, it says this trail is 2.8 mile out and back with 567 feet elevation gain. When we were hiking there, it felt like it was longer than that. Please make sure to bring enough water with you, since the weather is really hot, even in the winter, and there is barely any shade. 


On this trailhead, you will see lots of giant cacti, which makes me wonder why I paid $30+/person to see giant cacti in the desert botanical garden.


At the end of the trail, there is a pool of water fed by an underground natural spring, and a lot of petroglyphs. It’s an incredible spot that was clearly cherished by the Native Americans as a year-round water source and it’s definitely worth visiting for anyone who appreciates historical cultures.

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