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Located at nearly 7,000 feet on the Colorado Plateau and surrounded by the world's largest ponderosa pine forest, Flagstaff is a rugged, high-desert oasis for adventurous outdoorsy types.
Off-the-grid adventures can be found just a few miles from town in almost every direction. In addition to nearly 700 acres of city parks and a 50-mile network of hiking and biking trails, you'll encounter a unique array of natural wonders in the surrounding hills, from the 1,000-foot-tall cinder cone at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument to the more than 80 Sinagua pueblo dwellings at Walnut Canyon National Monument. And despite the scorching desert temperatures just to the south, Flagstaff's elevation ensures that winters are just as thrilling. Popular ski resorts like the Arizona Snowbowl offer miles of alpine slopes through the San Francisco Peaks, a range of extinct volcanoes that includes the state's highest point. But it's not just the hikers, skiers, and mountain bikers who have an adventurous side.
In fact, Flagstaff's entire identity is based on its pioneering spirit: The city took its name from a July 4, 1876 gathering of westward-bound explorers who hung a flag from a local pine to celebrate the nation's centennial. Fifty years later, in 1926, Route 66 came to town, bringing with it a brand-new era of modern travel and a slew of classic motels, roadhouses, diners, and kitschy tourist traps you can still visit today. Nowadays, Flagstaff's progressive side is focused skyward. Home to the 1894 Lowell Observatory, the astronomical research facility where Pluto was discovered, Flagstaff was named the world's first Dark Sky City in 2001. Thanks to local ordinances curtailing light pollution, the starry night sky just might be the best show in town.
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Get your kicks on Route 66! The Mother Road arrived in Flagstaff in 1926, bringing with it a wave of new visitors and an influx of classic motor courts, greasy spoons, neon signs, and kitschy tourist traps. To learn more about the Main Street of America, head downtown to Heritage Square, where a "brick road" walking path chronicles local history with a series of informative plaques. But to truly soak up the atmosphere of nostalgic Americana, stop inside The Museum Club, a 1931 roadhouse filled with mounted trophy heads and Arizona's largest wooden dance floor, which is used for nearly nightly country-western concerts and dance parties.
There's no better time for Flagstaff music lovers than the summer, when the city hosts a diverse lineup of local festivals and free concert series. June's Flagstaff Folk Festival brings together more than 100 acts on four stages for concerts, jam sessions, and workshops, while the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra offers free Sunday concerts at the Lowell Observatory. In fact, you'll be able to catch fantastic live music, whether you're in the heart of the city or literally in the middle of the woods: Downtown, you'll find free sets in Heritage Square and the historic Orpheum Theater, or head out of town for the Summer Concert Series at the Arboretum, when regional bands perform under the shade of pine trees with the stunning San Francisco Peaks as a scenic backdrop.
Sunset Crater Volcano was born with a crash: At some point between A.D. 1040 and 1100, the previously dormant San Francisco Volcano Field came alive with earthquakes, spewing ash, thunder, and fire and leaving behind a massive, 1,000-foot cinder cone. Nowadays, the scene at this national monument is much less violent, but no less dramatic — especially during the fall, when golden aspen leaves stand brightly against the black lava backdrop. The Lava Flow Trail at the crater's base winds through sprawling cinder fields and jagged lava formations, forever frozen in place from when they first oozed out of the earth almost 900 years ago.
If bustling mountain resorts and swift alpine slopes aren't your thing, the Flagstaff Nordic Center offers an off-the-beaten path alternative. Twenty-five miles of trails wind through the pristine backcountry of the Coconino National Forest, one of the best cross-country skiing and snowshoeing destinations in the Southwest. You can rent skis, boots, snowshoes, and sleds, and a handful of remote yurts and cabins are available for visitors looking for a truly off-the-grid experience.