Things to do in Scottsdale
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Scottsdale
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Winter peak: highs in the high 60s to low 70s F, cold desert nights, everything open at its best and prices at their highest.
Spring co-best: highs 78 to 86 F, wildflowers in a wet year and the baseball window; March is the most contested month, late April is the value window.
Summer extreme and bargain: 95 to 105 F plus, dawn only outdoors, pools and the Salt River headline, monsoon July to early September, resorts 40 to 60 percent off.
Fall, the underrated second peak: highs fall from 89 to 78 F, hiking and golf reopen fully and prices sit below winter peak.
What's on
- Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction January
The world's biggest collector car sale at WestWorld, a city takeover week.
- WM Phoenix Open early February
The loudest tournament in golf at TPC Scottsdale; book everything months out.
- Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show February
Signature February equestrian event in the peak season calendar.
- Western Week / Parada del Sol late Jan-Feb
Old Town Western celebrations and parade in late winter.
- Scottsdazzle December
Holiday programming across Old Town in December.
- Cactus League Spring Training late Feb-late March
Giants at Scottsdale Stadium and Diamondbacks and Rockies at Salt River Fields, 15 teams across the Valley.
- Arizona Restaurant Week (spring) May
Spring restaurant week dates just after the spring training season.
- Arizona Restaurant Week (fall) September / October
Fall restaurant week dates as the season reopens.
- Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships fall
Fall polo event at WestWorld.
- Canal Convergence November
Free public art and light installations on the canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront, the best free event in the city.
Best things to do in Scottsdale
Taliesin West
Frank Lloyd Wright's desert winter home and studio, a UNESCO site set into the McDowell foothills.
Old Town Scottsdale
Nine walkable blocks of galleries, Western and Native art shops, wine bars and restaurants, best on ArtWalk nights.
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market
Saturday morning market in season, the daytime Old Town ritual for local produce and food stalls.
Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West
Smithsonian affiliate museum of Western art, Hopi pottery and cowboy history, sized for a focused two hour visit.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Small sharp contemporary galleries in a converted cinema, with the James Turrell Knight Rise skyspace outside.
Scottsdale Civic Center
Landscaped park and cultural campus beside SMoCA, with the performing arts centre and library around it.
Musical Instrument Museum
Thousands of instruments from about 200 countries, heard through a headset as you move between galleries.
Desert Botanical Garden
Five trails through 140 acres of saguaros and desert plants among red buttes, the best intro to the Sonoran Desert.
Where to stay in Scottsdale
Old Town Scottsdale
first trip, all-round base
The only properly walkable base, with galleries, both museums, the stadium and the densest restaurant cluster on foot.
Paradise Valley / the Camelback corridor
couples and spa or pool trips
Quiet manicured resorts at the foot of Camelback, expensive and car dependent for dinner in Old Town.
Central Scottsdale (Scottsdale Rd: Gainey Ranch / Kierland)
golf, shopping and families
Big resorts near Kierland Commons and Scottsdale Quarter, a drive everywhere base that suits a resort first trip.
North Scottsdale (Troon / Pinnacle Peak / DC Ranch)
serious golfers and quiet
Superb desert and golf, but 25 to 35 minutes from Old Town, so not for nightly Old Town dinners.
South Scottsdale (below Old Town toward Tempe)
best value, with eyes open
Older hotels at half the Old Town price and 10 minutes away, a strip arterial bed rather than a base experience.
Think twice about
- The McDowell Road / Scottsdale Road south motel strip
Cheap highway motels on wide arterials with no walkable dining and the city's weakest pocket for property crime and seediness.
- Right inside the Old Town Entertainment District
One of Arizona's loudest party zones at night, with club noise to 2am and bachelor crowds under your window.
- The Loop 101 / Talking Stick far-east edge
Tribal land, highway interchanges and office parks with nothing walkable; stay there for the casino or baseball, not as a base.
- Far-north gated subdivisions and the Airpark short-term rentals
Isolated, 30 plus minutes from Old Town, with city rental registration, house rules and party house enforcement to verify first.
Best restaurants in Scottsdale
FnB
Arizona farm cooking by Charleen Badman, vegetable forward and hyper seasonal, with an all Arizona wine list.
Virtù Honest Craft
Small courtyard restaurant in the Bespoke Inn for handmade pastas, crudo and Italian Mediterranean cooking.
ShinBay
Reservation only omakase counter, two seatings a night and a precise seasonal progression flown in from Japan.
Café Monarch
Four and eight course tasting menus in a chandeliered romantic room, the anniversary pick in Old Town.
Reserve
Even smaller chef's counter ultra tasting across from Café Monarch, for a food obsessive splurge.
Sel
Refined seasonal tasting menu among the Arts District galleries, quieter than the grand fine dining rooms.
The Mission
Modern Latin room by the Old Adobe Mission: tableside guacamole, pork shoulder tacos and wood fired meats.
Citizen Public House
Upscale pub famous for its Original Chopped Salad, plus amaro meatloaf and a serious whiskey list.
Outdoor things to do in Scottsdale
Troon North Golf Club
Two Weiskopf desert courses threaded through boulders and saguaros below Pinnacle Peak, the best public golf here.
TPC Scottsdale
Play it to walk the Phoenix Open's famous 16th hole, paying for the story more than the scenery.
Grayhawk Golf Club
Fazio's Raptor course in central north Scottsdale, a serious golfers' pick for an occasion round.
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club
Coore and Crenshaw's Saguaro course with no houses and walkable desert golf, ranked at the top locally.
Camelback Mountain
Steep rocky scramble to the best summit view in the Valley, dawn only, with real heat and rescue risk.
Gateway Trailhead - McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Gateway Loop is the best first desert hike in the 30000 acre preserve, plus an accessible nature trail.
Tom's Thumb Trailhead
Steep loose shadeless climb to a granite landmark, the challenge hike in the Sonoran Preserve.
Pinnacle Peak Park
Immaculately kept trail contouring around the peak, no dogs and no summit, with classic desert views.
Best hotels in Scottsdale
Hotel Valley Ho
1956 mid century landmark with two palm shaded pools and ZuZu restaurant, walk to everything in Old Town.
The Scott Resort & Spa
Lush Cuban inspired lagoon pool resort a short ride south of Old Town, the group pool scene pick.
W Scottsdale
Entertainment District party hotel with a rooftop pool deck and DJ weekends, book it for that scene.
Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town
Reliable modern mid rise with a rooftop lounge, best for a no car first trip in Old Town.
Bespoke Inn
Tiny romantic Arts District inn with Virtu in its courtyard, the couples Old Town splurge at human scale.
Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, a Gurney's Resort
Casitas on 53 acres of Camelback slope with a superb spa and sunset bar, the best couples resort base.
The Phoenician
Grand 250 acre resort at Camelback's base with its own golf and an acclaimed spa.
Canyon Suites at The Phoenician
Smaller luxury hotel within The Phoenician resort, the quieter way to do the big resort splurge.
Is Scottsdale expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $175 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $425 a person |
| Splurge | $950 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Taliesin West: weeks ahead
- Musical Instrument Museum: a few days ahead
- Scottsdale Stadium: weeks ahead
- Salt River Fields at Talking Stick: weeks ahead
- Troon North Golf Club: weeks ahead
- TPC Scottsdale: weeks ahead
- Grayhawk Golf Club: weeks ahead
- We-Ko-Pa Golf Club: weeks ahead
- In season book in this order: hotel first, then golf tee times 2 to 4 plus weeks out, then Taliesin West and top restaurant reservations.
- Book spring training fixtures, Phoenix Open and Barrett-Jackson tickets, spa weekends and balloon flights ahead, with a spare morning for wind.
- Resort fees of 30 to 50 dollars plus per night and paid parking are rarely in the headline rate; confirm the total.
- Hiking needs no booking, which is the trap: in summer a 9am start is already a late start.
Is Scottsdale safe?
- Heat is the number one danger: hydrate early, hike dawn only May to September, and treat headache or stopped sweating as an emergency.
- Desert wildlife is real: rattlesnakes, scorpions in shoes left outside, javelinas and coyotes all need distance.
- Visitor crime is mostly property crime: trailhead car break-ins, late night phone and card issues, and drink spiking in the Entertainment District.
- Monsoon storms bring flash floods, lightning on ridges and dust storms; never enter a wash under a storm forecast.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Scottsdale travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Old Town's western souvenir strip charges tourist markups; the Arts District galleries and 5th Avenue independents are the real version.
- Fashion Square as a sight: a very good mall is still a mall.
- TPC Stadium at peak winter fees for an average golfer: Troon North and We-Ko-Pa are more scenic for the money.
- Camelback as a casual pre brunch walk is the most common visitor mistake in the city.
- Entertainment District bottle service packages carry inflated minimums; book directly with the venue and agree the minimum in writing.
- Sugar Bowl and Rusty Spur are charming 20 minute stops, not half day destinations.
- Timeshare and resort credit presentations cost a hard sell morning for the free round or dinner.
Getting around Scottsdale: public transport and more
- You need a car for most trips: the city is 31 miles long and transit is thin, with no light rail reaching Scottsdale.
- Old Town only weekends work on foot, plus the free Scottsdale Trolley and golf cart taxis for short hops.
- Rideshare is reliable in Old Town and central Scottsdale but thin at trailheads; never ride to a preserve trailhead without a pickup plan.
- Phoenix Sky Harbor is about 15 to 20 minutes from Old Town off peak, and Arizona does not observe daylight saving time.
- In monsoon dust storms pull fully off the road with lights off, and never drive through flooded washes or underpasses.
Who Scottsdale suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Scottsdale your trip
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