Stoner 
On this page
The ground rules (short version)
One pattern runs through this whole page. Sesh at home, then go out. Never at the venue, never in the parking lot, never in the car. Every place on this list is private property or public open space, and Arizona law doesn't allow smoking in either. You know this already. The where to sesh guide has the details if you want them.
The other half is getting there. Don't drive high. Rideshare, a sober friend, or your own two feet if it's close. That's it. Lecture over.
Edibles are the classic day-out play, with one catch. Timing. Take one at home an hour before you leave and it hits right as you walk in the door. Take one too late and it hits during the ride home, when you're in the back of a stranger's Camry trying very hard to make normal small talk. Ask anyone who's done that. They'll tell you, at length.
Art and architecture
Taliesin West
Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and studio sits on the desert slopes below the McDowell Mountains in north Scottsdale, and it's a National Historic Landmark. Wright and his apprentices built it over about twenty years out of desert stone and sand, and the whole place looks like it grew out of the ground. Low ceilings that suddenly open up. Light coming in from places you didn't expect. Views back across the Valley toward Camelback.
A mild high and Taliesin West is a perfect match. You will notice the way a hallway compresses you and then a room releases you, and you'll get it in your body, not just your head. Tours run about an hour, both guided and self-guided audio, and they go by reservation, so book ahead. One tip from experience: a gentle buzz, not a heroic one. You want to absorb architecture, not stare at a rock for forty minutes while the group moves on without you.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA)
SMoCA lives in a converted movie theater in the arts district right off the Civic Center, and it's the perfect size for a baked afternoon. It's compact. You can do it in an hour without museum fatigue. The shows rotate and lean into contemporary work, design and architecture, so you never know what you're walking into, and that's half the fun. Some exhibits will make you think deep thoughts. Some will make you whisper "I could have made that" to your friend. Both are valid uses of a museum.
Old Town galleries and art walks
The galleries around Main Street and Marshall Way in Old Town are one of the most relaxing ways to spend an evening baked. Western bronzes, Native American art and jewelry, big abstract canvases, glass that looks like it shouldn't be possible. Nobody expects you to buy a sculpture of a horse. They're happy to let you look.
The long-running weekly art walk is when the galleries keep their doors open into the evening and the sidewalks fill with people strolling from room to room. It's a great low-effort high activity. Walk, look, chat, wander to the next one. Grab food afterward from the munchies guide or stay out with the late night Old Town guide.
Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West
Right in Old Town, this museum covers the art and history of the American West: paintings, sculpture, saddles, spurs, Native American art and a lot of very big skies on canvas. It's quieter than you'd expect, the air conditioning is excellent, and the massive Western scenes on canvas are weirdly hypnotic when you're a little stoned. You will spend twelve minutes in front of a painting of a canyon at sunset. That's correct behavior.
The canal, the Waterfront and the Civic Center
The Arizona Canal and the Scottsdale Waterfront
The canal path through the Waterfront is the best free walk in central Scottsdale. Paved, flat, shaded in spots, with bridges, public art and the water sliding past. At night the lights reflect off the canal and the whole stretch gets very calm. Go after sunset, walk a loop, watch the ducks act like they own the place. They do.
It's public open space, so no smoking there. Sesh at home first, then walk it. A canal stroll is one of the best ways to come down off a big dinner, and it's an easy walk over to Fashion Square if you decide to catch a film (see the movie theaters guide).
Scottsdale Civic Center
The Civic Center between Old Town and City Hall came out of its big makeover looking great. Rolling lawns, shade, a central stage, a children's garden, a water and fog plaza, and the city's public art collection back on display, including the famous LOVE sculpture. On a winter afternoon it's one of the nicest places in town to lie in the grass and look at the sky. Totally free. Bring a blanket and a snack. Smoke-free, obviously, since it's a city park, so arrive already relaxed.
Trains, butterflies and fish
McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
A city park with a miniature train you can ride, a vintage carousel, model railroad buildings and full-size historic train cars. It sits near Indian Bend and Scottsdale Road in central Scottsdale, and it's delightful. Yes, it's a kids' place. Yes, you're an adult. Ride the train anyway. Grown-ups folded into the little train cars are a local tradition. Being baked just makes the toot of the whistle funnier.
Go on a weekday when it's quieter and less stroller traffic. It's a city park, so the usual rule applies: sesh happens at home.
Butterfly Wonderland
America's largest indoor butterfly conservatory, out on the east side at the Arizona Boardwalk off the 101 and Via de Ventura, on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land. You walk into a warm, humid glass rainforest and thousands of butterflies just float around you. Sometimes one lands on your shoulder and you have to stand very still and be honored. There's also a chrysalis gallery where you can watch butterflies emerge, plus rooms of reptiles, insects and fish.
This is one of the best high activities in the whole Valley. It's calm and a little surreal, and it's 100 percent air conditioned. Go early on a weekday to dodge field trips.
OdySea Aquarium
Right next door at the same Boardwalk, OdySea is one of the biggest aquariums in the country. Sharks, sea turtles, penguins, rays, and huge tanks where you can sit on the floor and watch fish drift past for as long as you want. The jellyfish exhibit is the obvious stoner pick. Slow, glowing, pulsing jellies in the dark. You will not want to leave. Plan to do Butterfly Wonderland and OdySea on the same day and make it an outing.
Just over the line in Phoenix
Desert Botanical Garden
Technically Phoenix, in Papago Park, but it's ten minutes from south Scottsdale and every local claims it. Trails wind past cacti from all over the world, wildflower areas, desert gardens and red buttes in the background. The cactus shapes alone are worth the trip. You'll stand in front of a giant saguaro and genuinely wonder how something that weird is real.
Go early in the summer, when it's open in the cool hours, or any time from fall through spring. Bring water and a hat. The paths are easy but the desert sun doesn't care how chill you're feeling. Late in the day, when the low sun backlights the cholla and they glow like they're plugged in, is the best light of all.
Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)
Up in north Phoenix near the 101 and Tatum, just west of Kierland, MIM holds thousands of instruments from every country on earth. You wear headphones that automatically play music and video as you walk up to each display. Stoned, this is basically time travel. One minute it's a gamelan orchestra, the next it's an accordion polka, then a West African drum circle. There's also a room where you can actually play instruments. You will love it. Pace yourself. It's huge, and the second floor is where most people run out of gas.
Stargazing
Scottsdale is a big city, but head north toward Pinnacle Peak and Troon or out past the McDowell Mountains and the sky opens up. Clear winter nights, low humidity and a desert horizon make for serious stars. You'll see Orion rise over the mountains. You'll see satellites. Occasionally you'll see a shooting star and lose your mind about it.
The trick is finding a spot that isn't public open space. Trailheads and the McDowell Sonoran Preserve are public, so they're for sober stargazing only. Your own backyard on the north side, a friend's patio with no streetlights, a rental with a dark sky: those are the setups. For the best dark-sky spots and sunset timing, see the desert outdoors guide. Lie flat on your back, let your eyes adjust for twenty minutes, and don't look at your phone.
Pool days and spa days
Scottsdale's real national sport is lying by a pool. From April to October, a backyard pool, a float, a cold drink and good speakers is the best high afternoon possible. It's the default for a reason. Make sure the pool is private and your landlord or HOA is cool with it (check your lease or your CC&Rs). Hydrate harder than you think. Sun plus weed plus 110 degrees will flatten you faster than you'd expect. Put the edible down at noon and you'll be napping on the float by two.
Spa days are the other big Scottsdale move. The town is stacked with day spas and resort spas, and a massage or a long soak is great after a sesh at home. Just keep the consuming at home and arrive relaxed. Steam rooms and saunas hit harder than usual, so go easy and drink water.
How to build the perfect baked day
Pick one anchor and keep the rest loose. A museum in the morning, food at lunch, a nap, then a sunset walk. Don't try to do Taliesin West, MIM and the Botanical Garden in one day. That's a work trip with extra steps.
A few combos that work. Butterfly Wonderland and OdySea in the morning, lunch on the east side, pool in the afternoon. SMoCA and the Civic Center lawn, then the galleries and dinner in Old Town. MIM in the afternoon, then dinner in Kierland. The Desert Botanical Garden at opening, a big breakfast, then a nap that lasts until dinner. All roads lead to food, so keep the munchies guide handy, and if you live up north, the McDowell Mountain Ranch and DC Ranch pages have the local picks.