Even if you're not staying in Mesa, this museum is worth a trip, especially if your kids are into dinosaurs (and aren't they all?). In addition to the multilevel Dinosaur Mountain, there are loads of life-sized casts of the giant beasts plus a touchable apatosaurus thighbone. Other exhibits highlight the Southwest's pre-conquest past, and that of the Americas more broadly, from a prehistoric Hohokam village to an entire hall on ancient Mesoamerican cultures.
© Dave G Houser / Getty Images
Arizona Museum of Natural History
Top choice in Greater Phoenix
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
14.3 MILES
This extraordinary museum spotlights the history, life, arts and culture of American Indian tribes in the Southwest. Visitors will find art galleries,…
19.2 MILES
From Uganda thumb pianos to Hawaiian ukuleles to Indonesian boat lutes, the ears have it at this lively museum that celebrates the world's musical…
7.1 MILES
Blue bells and Mexican gold poppies are just two of the colorful showstoppers blooming from March to May along the Desert Wildflower Loop Trail at this…
7.44 MILES
Tucked among Scottsdale's malls and bistros is its Old Town, a Wild West–themed enclave filled with cutesy buildings, covered sidewalks and stores hawking…
13.14 MILES
Taliesin West was the desert home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright, one of America's greatest 20th-century architects. A prime example of organic…
14.27 MILES
Arizona's premier repository of fine art includes works by Claude Monet, Diego Rivera and Georgia O'Keeffe. Make a beeline for the Western Gallery, to see…
Rawhide Western Town & Steakhouse
13.33 MILES
Every 'howdy' sounds sincere at this re-created 1880s frontier town located about 20 miles south of Mesa on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Test your…
8.97 MILES
The O'odham Indians use the word 'Hohokam' ('all used up') for the ancestors who mysteriously abandoned this adobe city and the intricate irrigation…
Nearby Greater Phoenix attractions
5.76 MILES
South of Scottsdale and sandwiched between downtown Phoenix and Mesa, Tempe is home to the 50,000 students of Arizona State University's main campus…
6.08 MILES
This airy, contemporary gallery space has permanent collections of contemporary, Southwestern, North and Latin American art, hosts regular temporary shows…
6.1 MILES
For sweeping metro and mountain views, huff it up for half a mile to the top of Tempe's 'A' Mountain, so-called because of the giant letter 'A' painted…
6.17 MILES
Along the western edge of Arizona State University, Mill Ave is Tempe's main drag and is lined with restaurants, bars and a mix of national chains and…
6.42 MILES
Mill Ave spills into Tempe Town Lake, a 2-mile-long recreational pond created by reclaiming the long-dry Salt River in the 1990s. Have a picnic at Tempe…
7.04 MILES
Home to more than 1400 animals, including local natives such as the bald eagle and bighorn sheep, Phoenix Zoo houses species rare and common in several…
7.1 MILES
Blue bells and Mexican gold poppies are just two of the colorful showstoppers blooming from March to May along the Desert Wildflower Loop Trail at this…
8. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
7.3 MILES
Complementing the adjacent Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, SMoCA's five galleries, housed in a cleverly adapted old movie theater, showcase…