Williams, Arizona Attractions & Things to Do

Known as the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon," Williams, Arizona, is a scenic mountain town located on the famous Route 66 highway, nestled at the base of the mountains and surrounded by an expansive Ponderosa pine forest.

With interesting shops, fun events, adventure tours, hiking trails, fishing, horseback riding, skiing, great dining, and a host of attractions and things to do, historic Williams is a popular destination for vacations and weekend getaways in Northern Arizona. www.experiencewilliams.com

Williams, Arizona

Things to Do

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Williams and Forest Service Visitor Center -

Make the most of your visit to Northern Arizona with a stop at this helpful visitor center that offers history exhibits, National Park entrance passes, Forest Service maps, visitor information, tour details, a bookstore, and more, all housed in a historic 1901 railway depot. www.experiencewilliams.com/Visitor-Center.180.0.html

Petrified Forest National Park -

Explore this colorful park that features 200-million-year-old fossils and petrified wood, Painted Desert hillsides, historic buildings, native grasslands, and plenty of scenic wonders and fascinating science. www.nps.gov/pefo/historyculture/pdi.htm

Meteor Crater -

This well-preserved meteorite impact site was caused nearly 50,000 years ago, when an asteroid hit the Earth at 26,000 miles per hour. The huge crater is more than 550 feet deep and visitors can visit the crater, walk along observation trails, explore the interactive discovery center, watch a movie about meteors and learn about the impact that caused this massive crater. www.meteorcrater.com

Lowell Observatory -

Join a guided tour, look through huge telescopes, watch a wide-screen movie presentation, visit the exhibit hall and take home a souvenir from the gift shop at this working observatory and research lab. www.lowell.edu

Mountain Ranch Stables -

Enjoy guided horseback rides through Ponderosa pine forests and Arizona's high country past Bill William's Mountain and San Francisco Peak.www.mountainranchstables.com

Grand Canyon Skywalk -

Located on the Grand Canyon's west rim, the Grand Canyon Skywalk takes visitors on a walk through the sky on its unique glass-bottomed observation deck that extends 70 feet, directly across the canyon and 4,000 feet above the Colorado River. Visitors can also enjoy lunch at the café, peruse the gift shop and enjoy Native American dance and song performances from the Hualapai Tribe. www.grandcanyonskywalk.com

Jerome Ghost Town -

Founded in 1876 and once a prosperous copper mining town, Jerome became a virtual ghost town when the mine closed in 1953. Today visitors can explore historic buildings, visit a history museum, tour the old mine and blacksmith shop, peruse shops, dine at restaurants, and try to win big at the local casino. www.azjerome.com

Grand Canyon Deer Farm-

Kids of all ages will love this farm that lets you touch and feed animals like Reindeer, Axis Deer, Wallabies, Marmosets, Cattle, a Camel and Bison. www.deerfarm.com

Sycamore Canyon -

With 55,937 acres of wilderness, colorful cliffs, towering pinnacles, forest areas, and a true wilderness, Sycamore Canyon offers visitors a rare escape to a true wilderness filled with hiking and horseback riding trails, swimming and fishing holes, Indian ruins and animals like black bear, mountain lion, bandit-masked ringtail cats, and canyon wrens. www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/red_rock/sycamore-canyon-wild.shtml

Lake Powell -

This large lake offers stunning scenery, 2,000 miles of shoreline, lake cruises, boat and jet ski rentals, houseboat rentals, waterskiing, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, a museum, golfing, a marina, restaurants, and more. www.lakepowell.com

Colorado River Rafting -

Experience the drama and excitement of rafting on the Colorado River with a day trip discovery tour narrated by experienced guides who take rafters down the river, past sandstone cliffs, the Glen Canyon dam, ancient petroglyphs, and more. www.raftthecanyon.com

Arizona Snowbowl -

Ski or snowboard on this mountain resort's 32 runs during the winter months or ride up the mountain on the scenic Skyride, enjoy hiking trails, disc golf and guided ranger tours during the summer at this popular mountain resort. www.arizonasnowbowl.com

Route 66 -

Opened to travelers in 1926, Route 66 – commonly called the Mother Road – winds its way for 200 miles through historic towns, past Native American reservations, wild desert areas, and interesting attractions like the Jackrabbit Trading Post, Holbrook's Wigwam Village, the Meteor Crater, Ash Fork's Settler's Cemetery, Seligman's old Harvey House, and more. http://www.azrt66.com/index.htm

Grand Canyon National Park -

This amazing natural wonder features a steep, one-mile deep canyon that runs for 190 miles through the Arizona desert. With its stunning red rock formations, beautiful waterfalls and rivers, abundant wildlife and opportunities for hiking, biking, horseback riding, rafting and camping, Grand Canyon National Park hosts more than five million visitors each year. www.nps.gov/grca

Northern Arizona Barbeque Festival -

This fun event will satisfy any barbeque fanatic with delicious barbecue food, live music, a beer and wine garden and of course, and an exciting professional barbecue cook-off contest. www.nazbbq.com

Sedona Heritage Museum -

Explore the history of Arizona's pioneers through historic buildings, artifact displays, craft demonstrations, classes, vintage machinery exhibits, an orchard, and a gift shop. The museum's 5-acre park area is also available for picnics and weddings. www.sedonamuseum.org

Out of Africa Wildlife Park & Preserve -

Experience up-close encounters with giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, lions, tigers, panthers, hyena, wolves and other live animals at this unique wildlife theme park that offers narrated tram tours, live animal shows and photo safaris. www.outofafricapark.com

National Geographic Visitor Center -

Make sure to stop here before visiting the spectacular Grand Canyon. Visitors can get plenty of vacation information for Grand Canyon area attractions, activities, and sightseeing tours, watch an IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon, buy park passes, stock up on souvenirs and grab a snack. www.explorethecanyon.com

Grand Canyon Railway -

Hop aboard this 100-year-old railway line for a scenic ride to Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon Railway features four classes of service on restored antique passenger cars with trains departing daily from Williams to the awe-inspiring edge of the Grand Canyon. www.thetrain.com

Arboretum at Flagstaff -

Explore 200 acres of nature trails, native plants and Ponderosa forest at this botanical garden and nature center that offers daily guided tours, classes and a live Birds of Prey program. www.thearb.org