FAQ

On private property where the owner allows it. That's your home, a friend's place, or a rental where the host has said yes. Public places, cars and anywhere tobacco smoking is banned are off limits.

No. Arizona has no license for consumption lounges, and you can't consume at a dispensary. A few private, members-only clubs exist in a legal gray area, but none of them are state licensed.

Usually not. Arizona's smoke-free law covers marijuana, so a non-smoking hotel room is also a no-weed room. Only a hotel that says in writing that it allows cannabis is a safe bet.

A hot dog wrapped in bacon, griddled, and served in a soft bolillo-style bun loaded with beans, onions, tomato, mayo, mustard and salsa, often with guacamole or cheese. It comes from Sonora, Mexico, by way of Tucson. In Phoenix the carts mostly run at night.

El Caprichoso on 35th Avenue and Nogales Hot Dogs on Indian School Road are the two longtime night spots. El Caprichoso has been doing it since around 1990 and Nogales since 2001. Check hours before you go because they change.

Most people agree it was invented by accident somewhere in Arizona, but nobody agrees where. Macayo's founder Woody Johnson said he created it in Phoenix in 1946, while Tucson credits Monica Flin at El Charro Café. There are no records that settle it.

Yes. West Wind Glendale 9 Drive-In at 5650 N 55th Ave in Glendale shows double features nightly on nine screens, and it's open year-round. Sound comes through your car's FM radio.

Not under that name. The Valley's three Alamo Drafthouse theaters in Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert were rebranded as Majestic Theatres by the same local owners. They still do recliners and dine-in service.

Harkins Camelview at Fashion Square in Scottsdale is the main art house in the Valley, with 14 screens built around indie and foreign releases. It also hosts film festival screenings.

The Musical Instrument Museum is the top pick: headphones play automatically as you walk through instruments from nearly 200 countries. The Kusama mirror room at Phoenix Art Museum, the LED dome at Arizona Science Center and Cosanti's bronze pours are close behind. Sesh at home first and get a ride.

No. Smoking marijuana in a public place or open space is a petty offense in Arizona, and Phoenix parks are smoke-free, marijuana included, parking lots too. People do it anyway, but it's a ticket. Sesh at home and hike clear-headed.

The Grand Canyon is a national park and most of the red rock around Sedona is national forest. Both are federal land, where cannabis is still illegal under federal law no matter what Arizona says. Leave it at home or at a private spot where it's allowed.

Yes. Phoenix follows Arizona state law, and adults 21 and over can legally buy, possess and use cannabis under Prop 207. You can't smoke in public, and you can't consume in a car.

Yes. Anyone 21 or older with a valid government photo ID can buy at a licensed adult-use dispensary. The cap is one ounce, with no more than 5 grams of concentrate. No medical card needed.

Up to one ounce, and no more than 5 grams of that can be concentrate. Carrying more than an ounce, up to two and a half ounces, is a petty offense. Above that the penalties get heavier.

Not in public. Arizona is legal for adults 21+, but smoking on sidewalks, in parks, at light rail stops or outside the arenas is a petty offense. Sesh on private property where the owner allows it, then head downtown.

Yes, the core is flat and compact, and most venues and restaurants are within a few blocks of a light rail stop. The issue is heat, not distance. Walk at night or in the cooler months.

The light rail. It runs down Central and 1st Avenue through downtown with stops near the venues, and it connects to Tempe and Midtown. Rideshares are easy too.

The first Friday of every month, in the evening. Galleries on Roosevelt Row and Grand Avenue open up, and the streets fill with vendors and people. Some galleries also open for a quieter Third Friday.

Not legally. The art walk happens on public streets and sidewalks, and public consumption in Arizona is a petty offense. Sesh before you go, on private property where it's allowed.

Just north of downtown Phoenix, centered on Roosevelt Street roughly between Central Avenue and 7th Street. The Roosevelt/Central light rail stop puts you right at the west end.

A diagonal street running northwest out of downtown, starting around 7th Avenue and Van Buren. It was the old road toward Los Angeles before the interstate, and its old auto shops and storefronts are now galleries, studios, bars and restaurants.

Yes. Galleries and studios on Grand open up for the monthly First Friday art walk, alongside Roosevelt Row. It's usually less crowded on the Grand side.

Bacanora. Chef Rene Andrade's mesquite-fired Sonoran spot won him the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2024. Book ahead.

On 7th Avenue in north central Phoenix, along a one-mile stretch between Indian School Road and Camelback Road. The 7th Avenue/Camelback light rail stop sits at the north end.

7th Avenue bends here because of a misalignment in the city's street grid. In a city of straight lines, the curve stood out, and locals started calling the district the Curve.

Yes. It has a high concentration of LGBTQ-owned and LGBTQ-friendly businesses, including Charlie's Phoenix, Stacy's @ Melrose, Boycott Bar and The Rock, plus a rainbow crosswalk at 7th Avenue and Glenrosa.

Arcadia sits at the south base of Camelback Mountain in east Phoenix, spilling into Scottsdale. The classic boundaries are 44th Street to 68th Street, between Camelback Road and the Arizona Canal, though plenty of locals count the 40th Street restaurant strip too.

It was citrus groves first. The Arcadia Water Company started in 1919 to irrigate the land from the Arizona Canal, and growers farmed it until the mid-1950s. When it turned into houses, a lot of the trees stayed in people's yards.

The Mexican free-tailed bats near 40th Street and Camelback come back in March and stick around into October, with June through August the best months. They fly out at dusk, so get there before sunset and hang out on the north side of the Arizona Canal.

Not in public. Smoking marijuana in a public place or open space is a petty offense in Arizona, and that includes sidewalks, bar patios and the Waterfront. Smoke at a private residence where the owner says it's fine, then head out.

Yes, the city runs it as a free trolley, with routes that serve downtown Scottsdale. It's the easiest way to hop between Old Town and nearby stops without dealing with parking.

The Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce adopted the slogan after forming in 1947 and gave downtown a Western design theme to attract tourists. The town made it the official motto when it incorporated in 1951.

No. ASU prohibits recreational and medical cannabis on all of its campuses, citing federal drug-free campus requirements tied to its funding. State legalization doesn't override that, so keep it off campus and on private property where it's allowed.

Not anymore. It was free when it launched, but riders now pay a fare using the Copper Card or the Valley Metro app. It connects to light rail downtown and at Dorsey and Apache.

Yes. Valley Metro light rail runs through downtown Tempe with a stop at 3rd Street and Mill Avenue, and it connects with the Tempe Streetcar there and at Dorsey and Apache. It's the easy way in from downtown Phoenix or the airport area.

Yes, if you're 21 or older and you're on private property where the owner allows it. Smoking in a public place or open space, like Main Street, parks or patios, is a petty offense under state law.

It runs about two miles along Dobson Road, with the main cluster between Main Street and Broadway. Mekong Plaza at Dobson and Main is the anchor, with H Mart across the road and Asiana Market at the south end.

Yes. The line runs along Main Street into downtown Mesa, close to the Mesa Arts Center. It's the easiest way in from Tempe or Phoenix, especially after a sesh.