7 Best Small Towns in Arizona—From Artsy Enclaves to Route 66 Classics, According To Reddit
Arizona is a state most travelers reduce to the Grand Canyon — and miss almost everything else worth experiencing. The state quietly contains some of the American Southwest's most characterful small towns: a cliffside mining settlement that became an arts colony, a Route 66 main street where wild burros still block traffic, a border village built entirely around art, a Victorian-era mountain town with the American West's most legendary bar strip. Reddit's travel communities have documented all of it. Here are the seven Arizona small towns they keep recommending.
1. Jerome
Cliffside Ghost Town Turned Arts Colony | Verde Valley
Jerome occupies one of the most dramatic physical settings of any small town in America — an old copper-mining settlement clinging to the steep face of Mingus Mountain at 5,000 feet, overlooking the Verde Valley with views stretching to Sedona's red rocks on clear days. Reddit's Arizona travel communities consistently put it at or near the top of any small-town list.
The town was effectively abandoned mid-20th century when copper prices collapsed, then quietly repopulated by artists, writers, and counterculture figures starting in the late 1960s. That creative inheritance shows in what Jerome is today: galleries, sculpture studios, boutique wine bars, and genuinely good restaurants in buildings whose foundations have been shifting down the hillside for decades — a phenomenon locals call the "sliding jail," as the old concrete holding cell has moved 225 feet from its original position.
Jerome's reputation as one of the most haunted towns in the United States adds another draw. The Jerome Grand Hotel, a former hospital with views across the valley, runs history and ghost tours that Reddit users regularly rate as the town's most memorable experience.
Reddit verdict: "Jerome is unlike anywhere else in Arizona. The drive up, the view from the top, the galleries — it's an entire afternoon minimum. Don't rush it."
2. Bisbee
Arizona's Most Eclectic Town | Cochise County
Bisbee is Reddit's go-to recommendation for visitors who want Arizona's most genuinely offbeat small-town experience. A former copper-mining boomtown tucked into the Mule Mountains near the Mexican border, Bisbee transformed over decades into a community of artists, musicians, and free-spirits who preserved the Victorian-era architecture while filling it with galleries, coffee shops, and independent boutiques.
The Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum occupies the original Phelps Dodge general office building and documents the extraordinary industrial past behind the town's charming present. The Queen Mine Tour takes visitors underground into an actual copper mine — hard hats, mine train, and all — and Reddit users consistently single it out as the town's best single activity.
Bisbee's steep terrain means walking the town involves staircases built directly into the hillside connecting streets at different elevations. The 2026 travel press has flagged Bisbee as a rising-star destination, drawing comparisons to Marfa, Texas, for its combination of artistic credibility and affordability.
Reddit verdict: "Bisbee surprised me more than anywhere in Arizona. It's weird and wonderful. The mine tour is legitimately fascinating, not touristy."
3. Sedona
Red Rock Art Town | Oak Creek Canyon
Sedona needs no introduction for the red rock formations — Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, and Chapel of the Holy Cross are some of the most photographed landscapes in the American Southwest. What Reddit's travel community emphasizes is that Sedona is also a genuine arts town, with over 80 galleries lining Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village and the Uptown district, making it one of the highest concentrations of art per capita in the United States.
The spiritual and metaphysical dimension — vortex sites, crystal shops, healing retreats — divides Reddit opinion. What doesn't divide opinion: sunrise at Cathedral Rock, the Airport Mesa overlook at sunset, and the Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Drive north of town on Route 89A, which Reddit consistently calls one of Arizona's most beautiful short drives.
Sedona's position as a base for red rock hiking — Devil's Bridge, West Fork Trail, Soldier Pass — makes it simultaneously a world-class art destination and an outdoor adventure hub that no other Arizona small town replicates.
Reddit verdict: "Sedona is touristy, but it's touristy because it's genuinely extraordinary. Go on a weekday, hike early, and you'll love it."
4. Prescott
Victorian Mountain Town | Whiskey Row and Watson Lake
Prescott is Arizona's most complete small city — a Victorian-era former territorial capital at 5,400 feet elevation in the Central Highlands, surrounded by ponderosa pine forests, with a historic downtown square that includes what is almost certainly the most famous stretch of bars in the American West. Whiskey Row on Montezuma Street earned its name legitimately: the street once held over 40 saloons serving miners and cowboys, and enough operating bars remain today that the tradition feels continuous rather than reconstructed.
The Sharlot Hall Museum grounds — a complex of original 19th-century buildings on an open campus — tells Arizona territorial history in a format that doesn't feel like a museum. Watson Lake is the outdoor anchor: granite boulders the size of houses rise from the water's surface creating reflections that Reddit's photography community recognizes as one of Arizona's most surreal natural scenes.
Prescott also runs the World's Oldest Rodeo, established 1888, every July Fourth weekend. Reddit threads about Arizona authenticity consistently land here.
Reddit verdict: "Prescott is the most underrated town in Arizona. Watson Lake, Whiskey Row, Sharlot Hall — you need a full weekend, not just a day trip."
5. Winslow
Route 66 Cornerstone | Navajo County
Winslow is small, a little rough around the edges, and absolutely authentic — which is exactly why Reddit recommends it over more polished Route 66 stops. The Eagles song Take It Easy references a specific intersection here: Standin' on the Corner Park at Second Street and Kinsley Avenue, where a bronze statue of a hitchhiker and a painted mural immortalize the lyric. It draws visitors from around the world, and the surrounding block of shops and cafes has grown around it organically.
The La Posada Hotel is the real reason to linger. Built in 1930 by legendary architect Mary Colter for the Santa Fe Railway, then rescued from demolition and meticulously restored, La Posada is one of the finest historic hotels in the American Southwest. Its restaurant, The Turquoise Room, has earned national recognition. Reddit users who stay the night rather than treating Winslow as a pass-through stop consistently call it one of Arizona's most memorable hotel experiences.
Reddit verdict: "Don't just stop for the corner photo. Stay at La Posada. It changes how you see the whole town."
6. Oatman
Wild West Gold Town | Historic Route 66
Oatman is Route 66's wildest card — and one of Reddit's most reliably surprising Arizona recommendations. The former gold-mining camp sits in the Black Mountains above the Colorado River, accessible via one of the most dramatic sections of old Route 66 through the Sitgreaves Pass. The road itself is worth the drive.
In Oatman, the main street is shared with wild burros — descendants of prospectors' pack animals who stayed when the miners left — that wander freely through town, accepting carrots from visitors and occasionally blocking traffic with complete indifference. Old wooden storefronts line the street. Staged gunfight shows run on weekends. The Oatman Hotel, where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned in 1939, is still operating.
Reddit users who discover Oatman through r/Arizona or r/roadtrip threads typically describe it as the single most unique stop on an Arizona Route 66 drive.
Reddit verdict: "The burros on the main street alone make Oatman worth the detour. It's completely absurd and completely wonderful."
7. Tubac
Arizona's Oldest European Settlement | Border Arts Village
Tubac sits about 45 miles south of Tucson and roughly 20 miles north of the Mexican border — a location that gives it a cultural character unlike anywhere else in Arizona. It's Arizona's oldest continuously inhabited European settlement, with roots going back to a Spanish presidio established in 1752. Today it functions primarily as an arts village, with over 100 galleries and studios operating out of adobe buildings spread across a compact, extremely walkable downtown.
The art skews toward the Southwest and Mexican-influenced — hand-painted pottery, metalwork, weavings, and paintings in styles that reflect the border culture of southern Arizona. Sculptures and large art pieces are displayed outside in courtyards and along the paths connecting studios. Tumacácori National Historical Park, a preserved 1800s Spanish colonial mission just minutes south of Tubac, adds a historical anchor to the artistic experience.
Reddit users who make the drive from Tucson typically pair Tubac with Tumacácori and Bisbee into a southern Arizona art-and-history day loop.
Reddit verdict: "Tubac is the kind of place you budget two hours for and leave four hours later. The galleries are genuinely excellent, not tourist trap stuff."
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best small town to visit in Arizona for a first-timer?
Reddit most consistently recommends Jerome for first-time small-town Arizona visitors — it combines dramatic scenery, accessible hiking, a genuine arts scene, good restaurants, and a fascinating history in a compact, highly walkable package about 2 hours from Phoenix.
How far are these towns from Phoenix?
- Jerome: ~2 hours | Prescott: ~1.5 hours | Sedona: ~2 hours | Winslow: ~2.5 hours | Oatman: ~3 hours | Bisbee: ~3.5 hours | Tubac: ~3 hours (via Tucson)
What is the best time of year to visit Arizona's small towns?
March through May and September through November are Arizona's best small-town travel windows. Summer heat at lower elevations like Oatman can be extreme. Jerome, Prescott, and Sedona — all at higher elevation — are comfortable year-round, with mild summers and occasional winter snow that Reddit's photography community actively seeks out.