the thing arizona tourist trap

In partnership with  Visit Tucson

What exactly is The Thing, Arizona’s most mysterious roadside attraction?

Fair warning, you might leave with more questions than you arrived with

By Visit Tucson

If you’ve driven anywhere between Phoenix and El Paso, you’ve probably at least heard of  The Thing ; there are countless billboards teasing passersby. The billboards promise it all: wonder, mystery, fireworks … but there’s nary a hint of what exactly The Thing is. Obviously, it’s an old-school marketing ploy to get people inside. But, getting people to want to know what The Thing is and actually answering the question “What is The Thing?” are two different matters.

The random collection of objects—ranging from wood carvings representing tortured souls to a car claimed to have belonged to Hitler—has that vintage roadside attraction, P.T. Barnum-esque aura of weirdness to it. Stopping by to see The Thing certainly doesn’t answer many questions; if anything, it raises more.

The thing to know about The Thing is that it just underwent a huge renovation that fundamentally changed the nature of it. The Thing was once merely a literal object, but it’s now become a metaphorical question of sorts. As of a few months ago, The Thing consisted of a few sheds filled with an assortment of strange and bizarre objects, all climaxing with a peek at The Thing itself: a mummified mother and child of unclear origin.

But, after more than fifty years and countless visitors, it has gotten an update that makes The Thing feel just as huge as the many billboards make it out to be. And while The Thing itself remains the same, it was placed at the heart of an intergalactic conspiracy going back millions of years. Think ray-gun wielding aliens riding dinosaurs, and UFOs inserted into major world events.

Hypothetically, of course.

Most displays start off with the words “What if…” The new Thing is more playful and tongue-in-cheek. What better way to live up to the hype that The Thing is famous for than by making it part of a story spanning time and space?

The Thing has come a long way from its humble origins. The original Thing was opened by attorney Thomas Binkley Prince in California’s Mojave Desert, and eventually it was moved to Arizona. His wife’s story of how they came to own The Thing is simple: A mysterious man passing through town sold them the figures for $50.

Many believe that the mummy-like objects are the work of famed sideshow hoaxster Homer Tate, although other stories claim they are actually the bodies of a mother and child who died in a violent shoot-out or starved to death in the desert. Ultimately, though, The Thing has never really been about the thing itself—it’s all about the question. What it is and whether or not you buy their story or invent your own will always be up to you.

Plus, a visit to The Thing will give you and your travel buddies plenty to talk about as you make your way to some of Tucson’s other offbeat oddities. The Valley of the Moon, a folk art fairyland, is an essential quirky stop in town, or you can pet stingrays and kiss goats at Rooster Cogburn’s Ostrich Ranch. Finish off your quirky day with dinner and drinks at Kon Tiki, Tucson’s kitschiest tiki bar; there’s nothing like a double scorpion bowl to unwind after experiencing something as massive as The Thing.

Photos: The Thing

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Screengrab via Monica S./Yelp

The Thing is a legendary roadside tourist trap. How the hell is it still in business?

Nearly 250 billboards have drawn travelers to the thing since the '50s. are they any match for the internet.

Joey Keeton

Internet Culture

Posted on Aug 17, 2015   Updated on May 28, 2021, 3:46 am CDT

“Mystery of the desert,” reads one billboard. “Seeing is believing,” explains another.  

Driving on Interstate 10 between El Paso, Texas, and Phoenix you’ll spot these signs for a mysterious roadside attraction known as the Thing. They’re tough to miss: According to RoadsideAmerica.com , 247 of them were counted within a 200-mile span of highway. They’re also designed with the aesthetic of an early ’50s horror comic, which is a look that tends to stick out against the flat, brown terrain surrounding them.

The idea behind amassing the billboards is an obvious one—repetition is a good marketing strategy—but more than 50 years later they still work.

Their effectiveness makes perfect sense, though. After seeing a certain amount of billboards that are advertising something mysterious without clarifying details, bored drivers become prisoners of their own imagination.

Photo via teresco.org

It leaves the traveler’s brain muddled and unsatisfied as they obsess over the what. There’s only one thing that can restore their minds’ back to equilibrium—going to see about the Thing. 

In fact, the whole operation—the billboards that continue to ominously appear on the horizon, and the museum of weird stuff that holds the key to restoring your piece of mind—is so airtight that it could only have one dangerous enemy. It must have been entirely unimaginable on the day that the first billboard was erected: A pocket-sized telephone that can provide the answer to what’s inside the Thing without having to visit it.

When the Thing attraction was first opened by Thomas Prince, along Highway 91 in the ’50s, things like mysteries, and the idea of having to see something to believe it, were still very solid concepts. They remained solid when the attraction was moved to I-10 a decade later, after an expansion of I-91 threatened to put the property in the middle of a highway if it didn’t relocate.

If smartphones had existed when the Thing first opened, it may have not been very successful. It’d be different if the attraction displayed highly regarded art, or authenticated historical artifacts. That was never its game. What it displayed was a (probably fake) mummy, and the existence of Google -ready phones would have spread that fact around very quickly. 

Today most people can pick up their phones, and easily see the majority of the attractions inside of the Thing. This includes loads of photos of the Main Weird Thing that started the museum in the first place, and now concludes its tour.

“We’ve literally got billboards in hundreds of miles in both directions.” 

But are smartphones crippling the attraction? Is the playful sense of mystery that kept I-10 travelers stopping by, and checking out those weird exhibits, becoming a casualty of the digital revolution? With the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, do the billboards still encourage people to stop at the attraction?

“We’ve not been hurt, in any way, by the digital revolution giving people information,” Bowlin Travel Centers, Inc., Director of Operations Kit Johnson told the Daily Dot. “If anything, it’s helped us.” 

But why not? And why were we asking Bowlin Travel Centers, Inc., about the museum, anyway?

Both questions share the same answer: Bowlin had been partnered with the Thing, and the Prince family, for almost as long as the Thing has existed, and its side of the business not only keeps the attraction afloat today, but will do so for as long as it wants.

Bowlin began its operations more than 100 years ago in New Mexico—in the same year, 1912, that the territory became an official state—by trading with local Native Americans. It officially incorporated in 1953 after decades of expansion. It was this move that brought the company in touch with Thomas Prince, who’d purchased a creepy exhibit from a traveling roadshow (or from a catalog—the legend varies) which had become the keystone of a strange museum that he’d named the Thing.

When Bowlin partnered with the Prince family, it leased some neighboring land and built a small shop on it that sold a litany of souvenirs and highway supplies.

And that’s why the attraction is still running in 2015: As times have changed, the Thing has become an afterthought to those supplies, sold by Bowlin, that are accessible on a stretch of highway devoid of convenience stores and restaurants. In other words: The Thing doesn’t rely on revenue to survive, but is merely an extra incentive for travelers to stop at the Bowlin Travel Center’s gas pumps (instead of somebody else’s), or to get something to eat at the Dairy Queen on the lot (the result of a contract that Bowlin has held with the business for about 30 years). 

Photo via Above the Norm

So the Thing’s survival doesn’t have much to do with adapting to the digital revolution. In fact, it’s completely immune to it. It doesn’t cost much to run (Bowlin finally bought the land from the Prince family in 2010, which eliminated the leasing expenses), it’s fun to have around, and it adds something unique to what’s essentially a highly functional convenience store. Who would want to stop at a QT for gas, when you could get gas and also pay a dollar to go through the Thing’s extremely odd tour? The attraction is, essentially, a unique and historical advantage over Bowlin’s competition.

Oh, in case you were wondering, that wasn’t a typo: Admission to the Thing is one dollar .

“We charge $1 to go through the museum,” said Johnson, “and there’s some neat things in the museum, but they’re all kinda hokey, and none of them are validated.” 

One of those things is a 1937 Rolls Royce, with a sign claiming that it once chauffeured Adolf Hitler around.

Photo via Lorna B./Yelp

“What are the odds of that?” Johnson said about the Hitler car. “We kinda think it was, but we don’t have any validation on that.”

It’s exhibits like this in the museum that would kill it off within months if it were separated from its surrounding commerce.

“If I charged you $20 for it, you’d want your money back,” said Bowlin. “But if I charged you $1, you’d think it’s pretty cool.”

The other big reason that the Thing hasn’t been destroyed by the Internet: It’s ignored technology. What you ignore can’t hurt you, apparently. Johnson said that no efforts have been made to advertise the attraction digitally, and that lends it mystique.

When you compare it to basically anything else—say coffee mugs or energy drinks—and think about how amazing their websites are, your brain twists inside your skull when you realize that the Thing’s only online presence comes from bloggers, confused Yelp reviews, and one catch-all Wikipedia page. 

Why fix an advertising technique that isn’t broken?

“For years and years and years, our most effective medium of advertising have been billboards,” said Johnson. “We’ve literally got billboards in hundreds of miles in both directions.”

And that brings us back to the billboards, and how they deeply embed taking exit 322 into your brain. Maybe you initially think “I’m not stupid—I’m not stopping for some idiotic tourist trap.” But then you pass it, and you look over—because you have to at least take a look at what’s been stuck in your head for hours—and see the reality of the situation: The location isn’t even that much about the Thing at all.

“It’s a little place where you can pull off the side of the road and get you an ice cream cone, get ya a sundae, getcha a burger, and sit down and eat,” said Johnson. And if you do get curious, while you’re eating that burger, you can “take a little tour, stretch your legs, and see the Thing for a buck… While you’re there, get some souvenirs for your family.” 

Because the Thing is in Arizona, “souvenirs” include year-round fireworks. Johnson also said that parking is available for truckers, who they take great efforts to cater to. He also claims the restrooms are always clean, and in top-notch shape.

So the Thing might still be around because it is, at its core, a bait-and-switch routine to trick drivers into stopping at the location for gas, food, fireworks, and clean toilets. When you’re driving down a desolate stretch of highway, though, that’s a pretty good bait-and-switch to fall victim to.

Meanwhile the Thing itself, with its dollar admission and treasure trove of weird stuff, has experienced the exact opposite effect that we predicted. Instead of smartphones killing it off, it’s been indoctrinated by bloggers, and the lovers of strange things who follow them, as its own unofficial historic landmark. 

And it isn’t going anywhere.

Screengrab via Monica S. /Yelp

Joey Keeton is an entertainment writer who reviewed streaming movies, comedies, and TV series for the Daily Dot. He's also written about podcasts, bizarre web culture, and politics.

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The Thing: Arizona's weirdest roadside attraction just got stranger

SOMEWHERE EAST OF BENSON, AZ – The thing is, everyone loves a good conspiracy theory.

And The Thing Museum embraces many of them wholeheartedly. It's Arizona’s most peculiar roadside attraction, and not just because it links aliens to the extinction of the dinosaurs (and just about everything else of historical significance).

If you're wondering if the truth is out there, the answer is yes — specifically, out there in southern Arizona, in the new The Thing Museum.

MORE:  Meet the unusual man behind The Thing

The Mystery of the Desert

Drivers on Interstate 10 between Tucson and El Paso can’t miss the distinctive yellow billboards advertising The Thing. Each one commands you to stop at a remote gas station/souvenir store/Dairy Queen to see the Mystery of the Desert.

Thousands of people have done so each year, paying a buck or two to see The Thing, which until recently was housed in a shed behind the store. After wandering through mismatched displays of vintage vehicles and taxidermy oddities, visitors saw The Thing in a dusty Plexiglass case. With mystery solved and bladders emptied, they'd return to the open road.

Store owners have believed for years that the billboard star deserved better, said Kit Johnson, director of operations for Bowlin Travel Centers. A real Thing museum, certainly, one with a theme that offered an intriguing backstory to the Mystery of the Desert. But what?

Dinosaurs or aliens?

Dinosaurs are popular museum fixtures. But so are aliens. People love both.

It wasn't until the “dinosaurs or aliens?” conversation became “dinosaurs and aliens” that the mystery was solved. It only made sense to toss historical plausibility on the sacrificial tourism pyre so that a quirky new museum could rise from the ashes.

Inside The Thing Museum you’ll find answers to questions you never thought to ask, such as “Did meddling aliens cause the Civil War?” and “Was Winston Churchill freaked out that his chauffeur was from another planet?”

All for just $5 a person, or $10 per family.

Ride those dinos

Just inside the museum entrance, a bug-eyed, pistol-waving alien sits astride a tame, mind-controlled velociraptor.

Yee-haw, emphasis on “haw.”

The prop sets the perfect tone for exhibits that lead to the unveiling of The Thing. But the journey is more enjoyable than the destination, telling a story of meddling good and bad aliens who have been around since prehistoric times.

To ignore the tale that unfolds along dozens of placards in the 12,000-square-foot museum is to miss out on 90 percent of the fun (except for 8-year-old Edward Morales of El Paso, who said he hated to read and just wanted to look at dinosaurs).

The displays of aliens and dinosaurs set up the story of how an advanced race of extraterrestrials arrived more than 65 million years ago to colonize (i.e., steal resources from) Earth. With advanced technology and custom-made saddles, the aliens domesticated the dinosaurs and made themselves at home.

When the dinosaurs rebelled (just go with it), mayhem ensued and in a rather petulant move the aliens hurled an asteroid toward Earth.

Spoiler alert: The planet survived.

Thanks for the pyramids

The wow factor established by life-size (we suppose) aliens and detailed dinosaurs doesn’t carry through to the second half of the display, which covers human/alien history from the Egyptians (as long suspected, aliens built the pyramids) through the modern day.

Still, there are clever touches, including a World War I photo where alien spaceships can be seen flying above the battlefield. And look for the ET hiding in plain sight in a photo of military officials.

All the usual conspiracies are explained. The Bermuda Triangle? Aliens. The assassination of JFK? Aliens. The immense popularity of Elvis? Oh yeah, aliens.  

It all culminates inside a darkened cavern where The Thing rests in its Plexiglass tomb. If you ask, “What the heck does the Thing have to do with dinosaurs and aliens?” you haven’t been paying attention.

The Thing deserved better things

One thing about The Thing had bothered its corporate owners: the sorry state of its home.

“That’s the thing,” Bowlin manager Kit Johnson. Or maybe he meant it as, “That’s The Thing, ” in a way to suggest its importance to roadside tourism. He continued: "We knew the setup was pretty tacky.”

Before The Thing Museum opened at the end of August, visitors paid the $2 admission fee, headed out a back door and followed painted yellow footprints. Those led to three warehouses (more like large storage sheds) that held unrelated artifacts.

There were a few creatures, like a jackalope (a jackrabbit with antlers) and a snake frozen in mid-strike. In addition to a collection of vintage vehicles and farm equipment in bad shape, there was a medieval-dungeon scene and a bullet-riddled car.

The theme seemed to be, "In order to make this worth $2, we added a bunch of stuff we had lying around because The Thing is worth about a buck to see."

Either that or aliens threw it together with no thought toward story or plotting.

“None of it made any sense,” Johnson said. “The warehouses were open to the elements and dusty and impossible to keep clean. We knew we could do a lot better.”

Bowlin had been leasing the land for decades. (The Thing was initially put on display in the mid-1950s by landowner Binkley Prince.) Renovation plans were put in place when the company bought the parcel a few years ago, Johnson said.

Once economic conditions were right, renovations commenced on the souvenir-store complex. The store doubled in size, and the companion Dairy Queen was spiffed up and attached to the main building.

Then it was time to make The Thing great again.

The Thing gets The Story

Before the museum took shape, Bowlin executive (and Johnson's son-in-law) Myles Erwin crafted a tale of warring aliens, rebellious dinosaurs and the total sum of human history, all in the name of The Thing. Not bad for an artifact with humble carnival beginnings.

Erwin, whose storytelling talents were clearly stunted as Bowlin’s general manager of billboard operations, weaved improbable tales prefaced with “What if…?” should scholars (or anyone who ever glanced at a textbook) challenge his theories.

Visitor Mark Duskey, on a quick break from work, emerged from the museum with a bewildered look. He grew up believing that the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs was a case of Earth being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he had no clue that extraterrestrials started the Civil War.

His understanding of the world temporarily turned upside down, Duskey wondered if the museum could change the course of junior-high curriculum.

“Any 12-year-old who goes through this is going to require weeks of deprogramming,” he said, happy to have taken a break from work for a 20-minute stroll through a parallel universe. “If I were 12, I’d absolutely want to believe aliens are messing with us. It explains so much.”

Aliens, it has to be aliens

Hazel Morales, 34, of El Paso (and mom to the above-mentioned Edward) had a more literal take on the alien presence. She and her husband and four children were returning home from California and could not resist the billboard lure of The Thing.

As Morales wandered through, she read every placard word for word. She thought the story gave the aliens too much credit when it came to changing the course of history.

But there was certainly a grain of truth in the tale.

“I think aliens have been around a long time,” she said. “They’re still watching us. But I don’t think they want to get involved.”

Which would definitely be a sign of advanced intelligence.

Stop, smile, maybe buy things

Johnson said he’s spoken with visitors who’ve found the museum everything from serious to hilarious. Not everyone is so quick to discount alien presence when it comes to this crazy world of ours. Even if minds aren’t necessarily changed, he said, they may be opened.

But what he really wants to see is people having fun. If they buy a Thing T-shirt or glass, maybe even some Native American jewelry, so much the better.

“If people get into the spirit of what we’ve put together, that’s perfect,” he said. “It’s all about ‘what if’ and the strange things that can happen when you think of the possibilities."

When it comes to The Thing and what it reveals about life itself, consider this particular “What if” posed by the exhibit:

“What if … The best way to hide the truth is in plain sight, at an obscure roadside stop in Arizona?”

The Thing Museum

Where: Bowlin Travel Center, 2631 Johnson Road, Benson. Use Exit 322 from Interstate 10.

When:  7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. 

Admission: $5 per person or $10 per family.

Details:  575-635-1480, bowlinsthething.com.

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Attraction:

Dragoon, Arizona

The Thing -- the rarely-photographed tourist attraction "Mystery of the Desert" Thing, not the gruesome cinematic Thing of John Carpenter -- has occupied a spot along Arizona Interstate 10 for nearly 60 years.

Thomas Binkley Prince brought The Thing across the state line from California in 1965, setting up shop on a patch of sagebrush off of an exit ramp about an hour east of Tucson. He charged 25 cents a peek. Within a couple of years, he'd built an outdoor shed museum around The Thing, raised his price to 50 cents, and displayed relics such as a piece of a woolly mammoth's front leg, a 1937 Rolls-Royce transporting a dummy of Hitler, and, in the last shed, The Thing itself.

Prince died in 1969, and Bowlin Travel Centers eventually assumed stewardship of The Thing. It was mostly left alone, freed from the forces of change by The Thing's lack of competitors and the full-throttle emptiness of southeastern Arizona. Generations of tourists stopped and paid a buck to see The Thing , lured by Bowlin's barrage of I-10 billboards crying, "The Thing: What is it?"

That sleepy stasis ended on Labor Day weekend, 2018, when a remodeled and revamped Thing was officially unveiled to an unsuspecting world.

The new Thing was the vision of Bowlin managers Kit Johnson and Myles Erwin. Both men recalled a three-hour drive from Las Cruces to Albuquerque in 2017 when the idea came together. "I told Myles, 'We gotta do something with dinosaurs,'" said Kit, who had wanted to update The Thing for years. He was also intrigued by the idea of aliens. Myles responded, "Why don't we do dinosaurs and aliens?"

The result is an elaborate backstory for The Thing that is part science fiction, part paranoia, and part pandering to the public's unquenchable thirst for aliens and dinosaurs. It was built at a cost of several million dollars, an amount that would have staggered Thomas Binkley Prince.

The attraction, now completely enclosed in a temperature-friendly building, takes tourists from the Cretaceous Period to the present day, threading through a series of exhibits that follow two factions of space aliens as they battle for control of Earth. "What if the dinosaurs were enslaved? What if aliens controlled our minds? What if human history is a lie?" asked Kit, reading the open-ended questions that appear on large banners throughout the attraction. A Conspiracy Wall -- linking the aliens to everything from Stonehenge to JFK's assassination -- evokes memories (at least in us) of the long-gone Conspiracy Museum in Dallas. Kit and Myles said that the Wall was designed with extra space to to add even more conspiracies.

And all of it -- dinosaurs, aliens, Stonehenge -- leads to The Thing.

Care was taken to preserve and reuse many of Thomas Binkley Prince's original relics. "One of my first tasks was to take a picture and document everything that was in the old museum," said Myles. "We wanted to incorporate as much of the original attraction as possible." Dummy Hitler didn't make the cut, for example, but the Rolls-Royce did. "We thought about bringing Hitler back," said Myles, "but then we said, 'It's a Rolls-Royce, why not make it Winston Churchill? That works even better.'" The piece of Mammoth leg, too, found a place in the new attraction, although Myles now believes that it isn't a leg, or even a fossil, and may in fact just be an imaginatively labeled piece of driftwood.

All options, said Kit and Myles, were considered during brainstorming sessions between themselves and other members of the Bowlin staff, including -- briefly -- replacing The Thing with an entirely new Thing. That idea didn't get very far. "We were pretty adamant about keeping The Thing," said Kit. "People all over the world know about it, more people than I can even imagine. We didn't want to destroy that link."

Although it's easy to be frustrated when a classic attraction vanishes into Roadside Valhalla, it's also a relief that The Thing -- which, honestly, was getting crumbly -- underwent a metamorphosis rather than a crushing oblivion at the bad end of a backhoe. It's not 50 cents any more, but five bucks ain't bad. And Kit and Myles repeatedly stressed that they'd wanted to respect The Thing, and that they'd made sure that it remained the focus of the attraction and the last thing that people would see before they walked out the door.

"I think we captured it," said Myles of The Thing's new surroundings. "Man, it looks really, really good," said Kit. "We feel like we've done right by The Thing."

Also see: What The Thing was like Before

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 The Thing is not only the name of the store, but of the star exhibit of the museum. Originally owned by lawyer Thomas Binkley Prince, The Thing was built  as a tourist stop and museum around the strange exhibit and other collected items. The old museum was reminiscent of an circus side-show and set up in a series of three consecutive metal buildings, open to the elements.

In the summer of 2018, Bowlin Travel Centers doubled the size of the store and constructed a brand new museum to house many of the original curiosities

The Thing is located in Texas Canyon, a fairly remote stretch of I-10. Literally hundreds of billboards advertise The Thing to draw in the inquisitive traveler. A Dairy Queen restaurant and Shell gasoline are also available.

© 2021 Bowlin Travel Centers | THE THING

The Thing is not only the name of the store, but the star exhibit of the museum. Originally owned by lawyer Thomas Binkley Prince, The Thing was built  as a tourist stop and museum around the strange exhibit and other collected items. The old museum was reminiscent of a circus side-show and set up in a series of three consecutive metal buildings, open to the elements.

In the summer of 2018, Bowlin Travel Centers doubled the size of the store and constructed a brand new museum to house many of the original curiosities.

  The Thing is not only the name of the store, but of the star exhibit of the museum. Originally owned by lawyer Thomas Binkley Prince, The Thing was built  as a tourist stop and museum around the strange exhibit and other collected items. The old museum was reminiscent of an circus side-show and set up in a series of three consecutive metal buildings, open to the elements.

10 Tourist Traps In Arizona, Plus Alternatives Instead

• There are tons of tourist traps in Arizona and alternatives instead. Skip the crowded Grand Canyon Skywalk and visit Lipan Point for equally breathtaking views without the high entry fee and tourist congestion.
• Explore Cibecue Falls instead of Havasu Falls to avoid high fees, limited availability, and overcrowding at the popular waterfall.
• Another contender among the tourist traps in Arizona with alternatives instead is Camelback Mountain Summit. Skip it and visit Piestewa Peak or South Mountain for a less crowded hiking experience.

Many of the top tourist destinations in the USA are tourist traps in themselves due to high visitor numbers (and sometimes sky-high prices to match their popularity). Arizona has been a really popular travel destination recently, home to some of the most famous attractions in America, from the resort town of Scottsdale and the massive Grand Canyon to historic Arizonan mining towns full of ghosts and preserved buildings of the past.

However, due to their global fame, many of Arizona's most famous landmarks can (and do) become quite crowded. Instead, Arizona has lots of equally impressive landmarks that many people don't know exist , taking tourists beyond the state's overhyped experiences that may leave visitors underwhelmed.

From overly crowded landmarks to commercialized attractions with pricey entrance fees, there are tons of top tourist traps in Arizona to avoid. Fortunately, there's no lack of alternatives to Arizona tourist traps to visit instead, starting with these!

This Is The Top Tourist Attraction In The United States

Grand canyon skywalk, alternative: skip the pricey and crowded skywalk for lipan point.

Some people wonder if the Grand Canyon Skywalk is worth it or not because it's often considered one of the popular Arizona tourist traps to skip. It comes with a high entry fee; plus, visitors often encounter long lines and crowds.

Some tourists find the commercialized nature of the Skywalk, operated by a private enterprise, to detract from the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon.

However, tourists in search of an alternative to the Grand Canyon Skywalk can consider other viewpoints, like Lipan Point, which provides equally breathtaking vistas of the Grand Canyon without the hefty price tag and tourist congestion associated with the Skywalk.

• Entrance fee to Lipan Point: $15 per person
• Opening schedule: 24/7
• Location: Grand Canyon National Park

Travelers seeking equally scenic landscapes without crowds can opt for any of the fantastic Arizona State Parks that are great alternatives to Grand Canyon National Park . Plus, there are plenty of other canyons in Arizona to visit besides the Grand Canyon .

Havasu Falls

Alternative: visit the lesser-known and less expensive cibecue falls instead.

Exploring Havasu Falls near the Grand Canyon is a is beautiful experience, but it can be considered one of the many tourist traps to avoid in Arizona.

Why? For one, obtaining permits and reservations to visit Havasu Falls can be challenging, leading to high demand and limited availability (which is one reason the trek to Havasu Falls is among the most exclusive hikes in the US with limited, hard-to-obtain permits ).

The associated fees to visit Havasu Falls can also be relatively steep, costing up to $455 per campground . Once there, some visitors find the area overcrowded, particularly during peak seasons, which can diminish the serenity of the natural surroundings.

Additionally, the infrastructure and services may not always meet the expectations set by the popularity of the site, leading to potential disappointments for some travelers.

Therefore, tourists are recommended to visit other waterfalls in Arizona to enjoy their vacations, such as Cibecue Falls , which is much more affordable but still beautiful.

Although these alternative falls don't showcase the bright blue waters that Havasu Falls does, they're still super scenic and are complemented by colorful red rocks.

• Entrance fee to Cibecue Falls: $30 permit per person
• Location: Navajo County, Arizona

Camelback Mountain Summit

Alternative: avoid the crowds and hike at piestewa peak or south mountain instead.

Camelback Mountain Summit is not integrally a tourist trap, but it can be perceived as such. Camelback Mountain is a popular destination , attracting large crowds, especially during peak times.

This can lead to crowded trails and limited parking, diminishing the overall experience for visitors seeking a more peaceful hiking environment. Additionally, the challenging nature of the hike may not be suitable for everyone, leading some tourists to feel unprepared or overwhelmed.

Exploring less crowded alternatives to Camelback Mountain, like Piestewa Peak or South Mountain, might provide a more enjoyable hiking experience for those looking to avoid the potential downsides of Camelback Mountain Summit.

These alternatives are typically less crowded but still offer equally scenic views and hiking opportunities.

• Entrance fee to Piestewa Peak: Free of charge
• Opening schedule: Daily, from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM
• Piestewa Peak Location: Phoenix, Arizona
• South Mountain Location: Phoenix, Arizona

10 Arizona Road Trips That Will Take You Past Its Most Scenic Landmarks

The arboretum in flagstaff, alternative: visit the free aspen nature loop or humphrey's peak instead.

Flagstaff's Arboretum disappoints with its poorly maintained, barren space, offering views comparable to free hikes on local trails.

Residents from areas like Phoenix may find serenity in the abundance of pine trees, but better (and natural), cost-free options abound.

Explore the Aspen Nature Loop, Fort Tuthill, or Veit Springs for easy hikes, or venture to Humphrey's Peak for a more intense adventure instead.

These alternatives provide diverse landscapes, showcasing the area's plant life in its natural setting, surpassing the contrived setting of the Arboretum.

• Entrance fee to Aspen Nature Loop: Free of charge
• Entrance fee to Humphrey's Peak: Free of charge
• Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

Montezuma Castle

Alternative: escape the crowds at tuzigoot national monument 's ancient pueblos.

Despite its historical significance as an ancient cliff dwelling, Montezuma Castle is considered one of Arizona’s tourist traps to avoid. Visitors are not allowed to enter the actual structure, limiting the interactive experience.

Plus, the site can become crowded, particularly during peak tourist seasons. Moreover, some travelers feel that the admission fee is relatively high for the limited access and activities available.

For a quieter and equally fascinating ancient pueblo experience, exploring alternative nearby sites, such as Tuzigoot National Monument, can offer a quiet and more immersive opportunity to see and learn about ancient Native American history.

• Entrance fee to Tuzigoot National Monument: $10 per visitor above 15 years old
• Opening schedule: Daily, from 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM
• Location: Clarkdale, Arizona

London Bridge In Havasu Falls City

Alternative: skip the imported bridge and enjoy the natural lake havasu state park.

The London Bridge in Lake Havasu City is occasionally labeled a tourist trap due to misconceptions surrounding its origin and historical significance. Despite its association with the iconic London structure, it is a reconstructed version transported to Arizona in 1968 .

The area's commercialization with shops and restaurants may contribute to a less authentic ambiance, and the popularity of the bridge can lead to crowded conditions, diminishing the experience for those seeking a more tranquil visit.

Instead, visitors can appreciate the picturesque surroundings of Lake Havasu State Park, which boasts a scenic shoreline and plenty of nature without the crowds and urban feel of the London Bridge.

• Entrance fee to Lake Havasu State Park: $20 per vehicle on weekends and $15 on weekdays or $3 per individual
• Location: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

The Thing Museum

Alternative: explore the historic fourth avenue district instead.

"The Thing" has earned a reputation as an Arizona tourist trap for several reasons. Its allure is fueled by curiosity and marketing along Interstate 10 between El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, creating exaggerated expectations. The commercialization of the attraction, complete with a museum and gift shop, may detract from its authenticity.

That said, it's a bit of a bizarre attraction in itself; originally, it only had a few sheds full of various strange objects, with the main feature being "The Thing", a mummified mother and child whose origins are unknown. While some may appreciate the quirky roadside attraction, others perceive it as a commercially driven stop.

As a great alternative instead, visitors can explore the fun and historic Fourth Avenue district in Tuscon, which provides an authentic local experience, known for its eclectic shops, markets, bars, galleries, and street art.

• Entrance fee to the Fourth Avenue district: Free of charge
• Location: Tucson, Arizona

18 Scenic Drives Near Phoenix, Arizona

Four corners monument, alternative: check out antelope canyon and horseshoe bend instead.

The Four Corners Monument, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet , is easily one of the top tourist traps in Arizona to avoid. Reasons include the remote location, high entrance fees, long waiting lines, and the relatively simple marker at the exact intersection, which visitors can only spend a short amount of time at, merely doing nothing except for taking a quick look and a few photos.

Some visitors find it also lacks significant attractions, leading to a perception of it being an overhyped destination. Additionally, the site can be crowded with tourists waiting to take photos at the marker. While it holds cultural significance, the monument's touristy elements and limited offerings contribute to varying opinions about its appeal.

Instead of this very remote, overpriced, and underwhelming tourist trap, visitors should consider Antelope Canyon or Horseshoe Bend, which offer much more stunning natural scenery that is actually worth the photos.

• Entrance fee to Antelope Canyon: $8 per day
• Entrance fee to Horseshoe Bend: $10 per vehicle
• Opening schedule: Late March through early November, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM; and November 2 through early March, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
• Antelope Canyon Location: Lechee, Arizona
• Horseshoe Bend Location: Page, Arizona

The Town Of Tombstone

Alternative: skip wild west commercialization and crowds and go to bisbee.

Tombstone is another one of the popular tourist traps Arizona has waiting to lure visitors in; it's overhyped due to its commercialized approach to showcasing Wild West history .

The town, known for its historical significance, has embraced its past with themed attractions, gift shops, and staged gunfights. Critics argue that these elements, while catering to tourists, may actually compromise the town's authenticity because the whole place is pretty much acting. The scripted gunfight reenactments and other tourist-oriented activities can be perceived as more entertainment-focused than historically accurate.

Additionally, Tombstone's popularity can result in large crowds during peak seasons, potentially diminishing the opportunity for a quieter and more genuine exploration of its Old West heritage.

So, instead of Tombstone, visitors seeking a real Wild West town without anywhere near as many crowds should head to Bisbee. Bisbee is one of the many gorgeous mountain towns in Arizona that's an authentic, artsy alternative to touristy Tombstone attractions.

• Entrance fee to Bisbee: Free of charge
• Location: Southeast Arizona

Goldfield Ghost Town In Apache Junction

Alternative: visit jerome instead, an authentic mining town rich in history and scenery.

Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction is occasionally criticized as a top tourist trap in Arizona due to perceived commercialization compromising historical authenticity. Tourists argue that the town, with its numerous shops, attractions, and staged activities, prioritizes entertainment over a genuine representation of the Old West.

Like Tombstone above, the town's staged gunfights and reenactments contribute to a themed atmosphere that some visitors find more commercial than historically accurate. Furthermore, the high volume of tourists during peak seasons can diminish the appeal for those seeking a quieter and more authentic exploration of the area.

Skip the themed, commercial, and staged attractions of Goldfield and explore the authentic old mining town of Jerome instead.

Nicknamed, "The Wickedest Town in the West”, which it earned during its heyday, visitors to this beautiful hillside town can enjoy a more authentic Old West experience with fewer crowds. Plus, today, Jerome is a superb base for exploring the Verde Valley's mines, fine arts, wines, and ghostly spirits.

• Entrance fee to Jerome: It's free of charge to visit the town but costs $7 to enter Jerome State Historic Park
• Opening schedule: Tourists can visit the town at any time, but if they want to go to Jerome State Historic Park, it opens daily, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
• Location: Central Arizona

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This Place is the Worst Tourist Trap in Arizona

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Like every state,  Arizona has weird and interesting attractions that draw in thousands of visitors each year. But of those attractions, which is the biggest tourist trap according to Best Life? 

Typically, you go to an attraction with the intent to learn something, see history , or enjoy some natural wonders. But sometimes, we go to an attraction out of pure curiosity.

It can be argued that this is the exact reason people go to The Thing Museum in Arizona -- to answer that itching question of, "What is The Thing," But this is a tourist trap for a reason -- possibly because no real answer is ever given -- just leaving people with even more questions.

What is The Thing Museum?

When driving down I-10 between Phoenix and El Paso , Texas , drivers are likely to encounter the glorious marketing of The Thing Museum. There are tons of billboards along the road, hundreds according to the website , enticing people to find out what "The Thing" is. And you know what, those billboards seem to work.

The roadside attraction located in Texas Canyon has been described as many things, including peculiar . Making it even more interesting, there is also a Shell gas station and Dairy Queen on site.

What is "The Thing"

I won't spoil it and tell you what it is, but if you like aliens, dinosaurs, and conspiracy, you might just love this place. At the end of the day, I don't think anyone really knows what "The Thing" is. At The Thing Museum, you can believe the story presented to you or even come up with your own. Either way, you're sure to leave with a lot of questions.

If we're being completely honest, even if  Best Life  says this is the worst tourist trap in Arizona, I'd very likely still stop by for a tour. Would you?

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Admission: $5.00 - $10.00

Hours of operation, camping near the thing.

What is “The Thing”?

The Thing is the Mystery of the Desert , or at least according to the some 250 billboards for 200 miles lining Arizona’s I-10 highway.  The yellow signs repeat themselves over and over, taunting you to visit and the irresistible urge to stop, becomes overwhelming.  We totally caved and paid the whopping $1 fee to check out this incredibly kitschy tourist site .

The tour starts with a walk through a creepy door where you follow yellow footprints to a series of tin shacks.   The shacks house some odd and interesting things from old torture devices to an old Rolls Royce supposedly sat in by Adolf Hitler to some weird farm equipment .  I’m not sure if any of it is legit but either way, I was intrigued!  It has a tourist trap sideshow vibe going on, and considering it has been around since 1965…I would say its working.

You want to know what “it” is.  Well, there isn’t a lot of information and the sideshow tourist trap likes it that way.  They prefer to let you wonder for yourself.  If you ask a clerk where it came from, they’ll tell you the legends and leave you to decide for yourself.

As for what I thought of “The Thing?”  It’s a great way to stretch your legs and take a break from the road, just don’t go in with too many expectations.

The thing is located in Dragoon, AZ at 1-10 and Johnson Road. Exit 322. (Not that the hundreds of billboards won’t let you know that you are close!)

Famous for my "how-not-to" videos, and typically the man behind the camera, sometimes I’m forced to be here in the “spotlight”. When you see my face you’re probably reading something more technical than adventurous, but either way I do my best to tell it like it is and infuse my opinions into the commentary…after all this is a blog and not MSN.

Comments (8)

We stopped there years ago and lost our smashed penny in subsequent moves, I can’t wait to go back and get a new one; I can’t even remember what “the thing” actually is!

ha ha, all the more reason to go back!

David Gardner

Hey guys, we just got to stop by and see it today. Definitely worth the stop and the $1 to get in! And, Dairy Queen after was a nice treat too.

I am so glad that you didn’t ruin it for everyone. When my son was 2 years old I took him there and when we left he kept going on and on about “the big ugly spider”. He sang “the big ugly spider” to the tune of “the itsy bitty spider” for the longest time after. We live in Phoenix and talk about that time often now. Good luck on the rest of your ventures.

gonewiththewynns

Lisa, thanks for watching! We did want to leave it a mystery. We want people to go experience it for themselves! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Yoweee! Just gotta see it! Amazing! Just how did you survive? Such an intro… And you still have a Smile? hA! Thanks for sharing! :>

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Katie Lawrence

Katie Lawrence is a Southeast Texas native who graduated 18th in her high school class with a GPA of 4.25. She attended college in the Houston area and began writing for OnlyInYourState in 2015. Today, Katie writes, edits, and performs several other tasks for OnlyInYourState and has never been more passionate about a job before. Outside of work, you can likely find her curled up on with a hot cup of coffee, practicing yoga, baking, or exploring the beautiful Lone Star State (in particular, the vast and mystical West Texas desert).

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Arizonians pride ourselves on being different than everyone else. We have some admittedly strange habits , can pronounce words that people from other states can’t, and proudly boast being home to some of the country’s weirdest roadside oddities. From a tepee motel to the mysterious “Thing,” this trip takes you to 10 of our quirkiest attractions.

(The Google Map with exact addresses and directions can be found here .)

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OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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These Notorious So-called 'Tourist Traps' Are Worth Visiting, According to Travelers

Travelers are speaking out to say these spots aren't half bad.

Evie Carrick is a writer and editor who’s lived in five countries and visited well over 50. She now splits her time between Colorado and Paris, ensuring she doesn't have to live without skiing or L'As du Fallafel.

Alex Livesey/FIFA via Getty Images

Ah, the traveler’s debacle: To follow the crowd to major, must-see sights knowing they’ll be met with overpriced services, entertainment, food, and souvenirs — or to avoid these sites completely and search out hidden gems void of other tourists. To some, visiting Paris without going up the Eiffel Tower isn’t seeing Paris , while to others, the complete opposite is true. 

It’s a question — or way of traveling — that isn’t always black-and-white. Most of us want to see the major sites — preferably without giant tour groups and overpriced crêpe stands — and stumble upon authentic places that few others will get to experience. So when is it worth following the crowd to a site you really want to see, even though it’s probably a tourist trap?

One user on Reddit , u/MarathonMarathon, posed that question , noting that for them, the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel in Shanghai was a tourist trap they ended up genuinely liking. “It's basically this short 5-minute tourist trap light show tram thing that takes you across the Huangpu River from the Bund to Pudong, with bizarre voice-overs. Sort of like some Disney attraction, but sadder, the very epitome of a kitsch tourist trap.”

The Reddit community responded, sharing the tourist-trap-inclined sites and tours that they genuinely liked and would recommend to others. Below are the “best” responses in order:

Maid of the Mist Boat Tour — Niagara Falls, U.S.

The 20-minute Maid of the Mist boat tour, which claims to be “the original Niagara Falls boat tour” — takes travelers to the foot of Niagara Falls where they can feel the power of 600,000 gallons of water crashing down and enjoy the resulting mist.

“You wait in line forever, the boat is packed, it seems cheesy ... and then you get up to the Falls and feel their power, you realize that the boat has the engine running at full power yet it struggles against the current and you realize that yeah, this is awesome,” said u/twoeightnine.

Original Sound of Music bus tour — Salzburg, Austria

The Original Sound of Music bus tour takes travelers through Salzburg, where "The Sound of Music" movie was filmed. The bus visits Mirabell Garden and Pegasus Fountain, where Maria and the children danced in the movie; Schloss Leopoldskron, the house, where the Trapp Family lived; and Church Mondsee, where Maria and Baron von Trapp got married, along with other sites.

User u/opuntialantana said the four-hour journey included, “Glorious views, drinks, snacks, and a Maria von Trapp lookalike leading us in singalongs as we drove from one filming location to the next. It was cheesy and it was perfect.”

Hobbiton Movie Set Tours — Matamata, New Zealand

At Hobbiton , visitors can walk through the lush pastures of the Shire and through the movie set used in "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" film trilogies. The part-bus, part-walking tour includes visits to the series’ most famous locations, including the Hobbit Hole where Bilbo and Frodo Baggins lived. 

The 2.5-hour tour ends with a visit to the Green Dragon Inn , where a free drink concludes the tour of Middle-earth.

Guinness Storehouse — Dublin

The home of Ireland’s most iconic beer offers daily self-guided tours that include entry to the Guinness tasting rooms and a pint of Guinness. If you’re a true beer or Guinness connoisseur, you can opt for a “ premium experience ,” like a guided tasting with storytelling or a tour through the brewery’s historic sites — including their famous underground tunnels.

“When anyone came to visit [sic] me I always took them there; it never got old! It’s a well-curated museum and of course, the tap room is always fun to go to. Also, all my Irish friends were happy to go with me when I first moved there so it seems to be well-liked among people that live there too,” said u/tcpower2.

Hofbräuhaus München — Munich

Reddit user u/Triple10X said they initially went to Hofbräuhaus München “just to say that we've been there.” But after visiting several smaller German beer halls they felt that Hofbräuhaus was the best. 

The three-floor beer hall has a Bavarian restaurant and ongoing shows that take place in a historic, 16th-century building. According to u/Triple10X, “The food we got was phenomenal, the beer was obviously good and the atmosphere was eclectic with multiple couples around us all talking to each other in different languages.”