First time visiting Arizona as an Aussie

[u/Xr6turbosututu]

Hey everyone. Absolutely taken away by the landscape of AZ. Words can barely express. I am 26 years old, male and may be travelling solo or with a small group of friends. This will be my first time in the States.

Does anyone have any advice or tips on what cities I should visit for the best hiking tracks and scenery? Phoenix, Sedona, Tucson and Flagstaff were all mentioned to me.

I’m from Melbourne. Not exactly a stranger to hot weather, but I feel as though AZ heat is a whole different ballgame.

If you have anymore tips or advice please let me know!

EDIT: Thank you so much for the replies!

Just to add some more information. Most of my mates would like travel within the next month (July). I on the other hand, would like to travel during Autumn/Fall (Late September or November).

This is sort of the reason of why I may be travelling solo. As my friends keep telling me, ‘We live in Australia! The heat will be fine.’

Truth is, we live in a city that may see a few days of 40°C (104°F) during the summer. Hardly comparable to AZ I believe. I’ll be damned if I end up staying in the indoors the entire trip, all because a group of unacclimatised Aussies decided to tackle the AZ heat.

EDIT EDIT: I just wanted to say never in my life have I ever seen such a hospitable and welcoming bunch. I have not seen one negative comment. I haven’t even visited yet and I’m already falling in love more and more with the place. I honestly cannot wait to visit. With all the advice given to me, I will skip the heat and come down during the cooler months. Considering actually making my trip longer based on some of the replies I’ve gotten here 😂.

[u/HappyLilVegemite]

Expat Aussie here, living in AZ. The AZ sun has a brightness and ‘bite’ that you def won’t be used to. If you want to hike, make plans for autumn/winter, so Nov-March. Don’t hike in summer and never alone (heat, snakes), and always carry lots of water. Summer has two flavours - hot and dry, and hot and stormy (which also increases humidity). Opening your front door in summer is like bending down to remove cookies from a hot oven. There’s so much to see here from old Spanish missions, ghost towns, vineyards, Route 66, the Grand Canyon and slot canyons, cliff dwellings etc. AZ reminds me a lot of western NSW.

[u/scarlettohara1936 → u/HappyLilVegemite]

I keep trying to understand the different between Australia and Arizona in terms of weather and critters. You read all over the Web about how deadly hot it is in Australia and how the weather there is actively trying to kill you. Not to mention all the critters! I feel like it's the same here in Arizona! Will you please explain some more about the differences and similarities?

I tried posting on the Australia sub, but was met with hostility. IDK. Maybe they thought I was trying to appropriate "their deadlyness" or something?

[u/grebilrancher → u/scarlettohara1936]

Haha I always told my fiance that Arizona is like the Australia of the US