The towns that hold rooms are the ones where the agencies keep offices: Flagstaff and Sedona for the Coconino, Tucson and Safford for the Coronado, Springerville for the Apache-Sitgreaves, Prescott for its own forest, Kingman, Lake Havasu City and Yuma for the BLM’s Colorado River District. Ajo and Fredonia are the small ones that matter most, because they sit at the start of the two hardest drives.
Book by season, not by month. The low desert travels well from about September 15 to April 15, the season the BLM sells its Long Term Visitor Area permits for. The rim country is the reverse.
Nobody plans a trip around motels, and almost every long trip uses a few. After a week of wind, when the weather turns, while the truck is in a shop, or when the people you travel with have simply earned a hot shower.
What makes lodging work for overlanders
It comes down to parking and attitude.
01Room to park tall and long vehicles, and trailers without unhitching
02Parking you can see from the room, or that is lit
03Late arrivals and early breakfasts
04A hose, a laundry, and no fuss about dust
05Staff who know the local roads and what is open
Before you book
Call rather than click when you have a big vehicle.
01Ask about parking for your height and length.
02Ask about the access road in wet weather.
03Ask about pets, and about leaving gear on the vehicle.
Questions people ask
Will my rig fit?
Ask before you book. Roof tents, campers and high-roof vans do not fit many parking garages, and trailers need pull-through space. Small-town motels and lodges are usually easier than city hotels.
Is it safe to leave gear on the vehicle?
Use judgment, park where you can see the vehicle or under lights, and bring in what you cannot replace. Ask the front desk where they would park it.
How high is Arizona?
From Yuma at 141 feet to Humphreys Peak at 12,633.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
SpringervilleApache-Sitgreaves National Forests headquarters, in the White Mountains in the east of the state.6,966 ft
FlagstaffWhere I-40 meets I-17 below the San Francisco Peaks. Coconino National Forest headquarters, and the north end of Oak Creek Canyon and of Schnebly Hill Road.6,900 ft
PrescottPrescott National Forest headquarters. The USGS puts the geographic center of Arizona 55 miles east-southeast of here.5,371 ft
PaysonOn State Route 87 below the Mogollon Rim. The Forest Service describes the rim campgrounds looking down on the town from 2,000 feet up and 15 miles away.4,915 ft
FredoniaOn US 89A near the Utah line. The Sunshine Route to Tuweep leaves Arizona 389 eight miles west of town.4,675 ft
PageOn US 89 above Glen Canyon, at the eastern end of the Arizona Strip and the Vermilion Cliffs country.4,343 ft
SedonaIn Red Rock country on State Route 89A, at the Red Rock Ranger District. The Red Rocks and Sycamore Canyon loop and the lower end of Schnebly Hill Road start here.4,336 ft
GlobeOn US 60 at the southern edge of the Tonto National Forest. The forest’s Gila-Pinal Scenic Road runs west from here through Miami and Superior.3,511 ft
KingmanWhere I-40 meets US 93. BLM’s Kingman Field Office, in the Colorado River District.3,350 ft
SaffordOn US 70 in the Gila Valley. BLM’s Safford Field Office, and the foot of the Swift Trail Parkway up Mount Graham.2,917 ft
TucsonWhere I-10 meets I-19. Coronado National Forest headquarters and BLM’s Gila District. The Catalina Highway climbs from the northeast edge of the city.2,481 ft
AjoOn State Route 85 north of Organ Pipe Cactus. Darby Well Road, the eastern start of El Camino del Diablo, leaves 2.4 miles south of the plaza.1,756 ft
PhoenixState capital where I-10 meets I-17. BLM’s Arizona State Office and Phoenix District, and the Tonto National Forest supervisor’s office.1,088 ft
QuartzsiteOn I-10 where US 95 crosses. The four La Posa Long Term Visitor Areas begin about two miles south of town.879 ft
Lake Havasu CityOn the Colorado River. BLM’s Colorado River District office and its Lake Havasu Field Office. NOAA records the state high of 128°F here.739 ft
YumaOn I-8 at the Colorado River. BLM’s Yuma Field Office and the Kofa refuge headquarters. The western approaches to El Camino del Diablo leave I-8 to the east.141 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Humphreys PeakThe highest point in Arizona, in Coconino County. No road to the top12,633 ft
Mount GrahamTop of the Pinaleños, the tallest of the southeastern sky islands. The Swift Trail climbs its flank10,720 ft
Top of the highwayCatalina Highway: Tanque Verde Road in Tucson to the upper Santa Catalina Mountains9,000 ft
Mount TrumbullThe high ground of Grand Canyon-Parashant, which the Park Service puts at over 8,000 feet8,019 ft
From the Desert to the Tall Pines Scenic BywayThe Pleasant Valley Ranger District of the Tonto National Forest7,600 ft
Vulcans ThroneThe cinder cone due west of Toroweap Overlook, and the high point of the Tuweep map5,102 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
