Flagstaff, city of 76,000, middle of God's country, has more on the ball than Downtown Jax. No pro sports, Four Seasons, billion dollar projects... just the simple little things like historic preservation, promoting local restaurants, leveraging green spaces... a laid back, low cost approach that runs circles around our mismanaged "big time" efforts. No need for big developer incentives (other than maybe historic rehabs), preserving the past to add unique character, and offering robust green spaces cherished by locals and visitors alike. It's not complicated!
Grand Canyon pit stop is now a bona fide hot spot
For years, Flagstaff was a place that you passed through on your way to the Grand Canyon or following Route 66 to the California shore. Unless you needed gas or a quick meal, there was little reason to stop.
Yet slowly but surely, the northern Arizona city has transformed into a vacation destination in its own right. Flagstaff remains a gateway to the Grand Canyon and other natural wonders. But since the turn of the century, it’s become more than just a pit stop.
Nowadays, there are multiple reasons to linger in a city surrounded by the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest at the base of the snowcapped San Francisco Peaks.
A stark contrast to the desert cities of southern Arizona, Flagstaff offers cooler temperatures, fresh mountain air and a growing reputation for outdoor recreation ranging from winter skiing to summertime hiking, biking and trail running.
The renaissance of downtown Flagstaff brought new life to its old brick buildings in the form of hip new places to eat, drink and sleep...
....With around 76,000 residents, Flagstaff is no longer a small town. Yet the vibe is anything but big city. Some of the first things you notice — a slower pace, the woodsy air and a star-filled night sky — are more or less absent from larger urban areas.
With Lowell Observatory in the forefront, the city has become a hub of scientific research as well as being named the world’s first official “International Dark Sky City” in 2001.
Downtown Flagstaff’s rebirth
Once upon a time, downtown Flagstaff was home to restaurants and bars that largely catered to locals who worked in the timber and ranching industries but not students or tourists. By the 1990s, even the cowboys and lumberjacks had stopped coming.
Fortunately, many of the antique redbrick structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. So they couldn’t be knocked down, and that left them ready for their transformation into today’s shops, restaurants and entertainment outlets.
Riffing off the historic buildings, new redbrick sidewalks and throwback street signs and lampposts have been installed.
In the middle of downtown, a once vacant lot has been transformed into Heritage Square, a “community living room” that hosts events in a 1,200-person capacity amphitheater and puts on exhibits on the city’s history, biology, geology and anthropology. From summer outdoor movies and concerts to the Northern Arizona Book Festival in the spring and Flagstaff Music Festival in the fall, the square hosts scores of events throughout the year.
Another anchor of Flagstaff’s revitalized downtown is the Orpheum Theatre. Opened in 1916, the stage and movie palace fell into the same disrepair as the rest of the neighborhood but was saved from demolition and revived in the early 21st century to host a broad gamut of films and live performances.
Another heirloom building, with an original 1888 pressed tin ceiling and sandstone façade, houses Babbitts Backcountry Outfitters, where anyone headed for the great outdoors around Flagstaff can buy or rent gear.
New on the downtown scene is Planet Science, which taps into the city’s astro-tourism scene with merchandise such as meteorite fragments, NASA swag and spaceship models. Vintage clothing stores, fashion boutiques and Western art galleries also populate the revitalized downtown...
....A culinary shift
The local food scene has also flipped the script.
Dara Wong, the chef-owner of Shift Kitchen & Bar and Oeno Wine Lounge (and another NAU graduate), says downtown Flagstaff dining was “very steak and potatoes about 10 years ago” when Shift debuted. “I thought it was time for a little more fine dining — small plates and unique flavor combinations utilizing local products.”
Were local diners ready for such a drastic change? “Like any new business,” says Wong, “it took a little bit of time. But we definitely got some wonderful regulars right off the bat, and I would say it was right on trend.”
That trend has brought a diverse range of eateries to downtown and the Southside neighborhood on the other side of the railroad tracks. Among the most talked about are modern American restaurant Atria, FLG Terroir: Wine Bar & Bistro and Beaver Street Brewery & Whistle Stop Café. The latter is one of eight stops on the Flagstaff Brewery Trail that highlights the city’s top craft beermakers.
The outdoor scene
The city’s location in the middle of Coconino National Forest and near the base of the San Francisco Peaks means it offers outdoor adventure opportunities for all seasons and just about every level of fitness.
“It’s not uncommon to see professional runners come here to train because of the altitude and the access to different types of terrain,” says local photographer and trail runner Austin Corbett.
But you don’t have to be a professional or competitive athlete to take off down the many trails that fan out from Flagstaff.
The ever-expanding Flagstaff Urban Trails System (FUTS) stretches 56 miles (90 kilometers) through forests, fields and canyons. Hiking many of the sections of the Flagstaff Loop Trail surrounding town takes only one to two hours.
A portion of the long-distance Arizona Trail meanders through the middle of the city on its way from the Mexican border to the Grand Canyon and beyond. The three sections around Flagstaff are long (averaging around five hours to hike) but not especially challenging.
Humphreys Peak is ground zero for Flagstaff’s winter sports scene. Or more specifically the Arizona Snowbowl in Coconino National Forest on the mountain’s west side.
The ski area boasts 55 runs, three terrain parks and eight lifts including an enclosed gondola. Topping out at 11,500 feet (3,500 meters), the resort recorded 23 feet (7 meters) of snow for the 2023-24 season....
https://www.cnn.com/travel/flagstaff-arizona-best-towns-america/index.html
