Scottsdale is flat, its mountains are on the edges, and its sunsets are violent. That combination means the view is available to anyone with a second story facing west, and a surprising number of bars have figured that out. This is where we take people for the hour when Camelback goes from tan to orange to purple, and how to get a seat for it.
Old Town rooftops
Cielito. The rooftop atop the AC Hotel is the best new room in the district: seafood-forward Mexican-coast cooking, a skyline patio, and a straight shot at Camelback across the low Old Town roofline. It’s a restaurant first, so book the patio table rather than hoping for a stool.
Outrider, on the seventh floor of the Canopy by Hilton on Marshall Way, is the buzziest rooftop in the city and the one with 360 degrees. It’s a bar, not a restaurant; go for the drink and the view, and go early, because the rail fills forty-five minutes before the sun goes down on any pleasant weekend.
Wasted Grain stacks three venues on Stetson Drive, with upstairs lounges and a big tree-shaded patio rather than a true roof. It’s the bar for after the sunset, not during.
Dominick’s Steakhouse at Scottsdale Quarter has one of the stranger amenities in American dining: a rooftop pool deck where you can eat cabana-side above Scottsdale Road. North Scottsdale’s rooftop, and a good one.
Resort terraces built for the view
The resorts along the Camelback corridor were sited for the mountain, and their bars are the best sunset rooms in the Valley.
Jade Bar at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain. Built into the north slope of the mountain, the bar looks out over Paradise Valley toward the McDowells and catches the last light on Mummy Mountain. It’s the grown-up sunset drink, and the one we’d take someone we wanted to impress. Elements next door is the dinner.
Thirsty Camel at The Phoenician. The lobby terrace looks straight down the resort’s tiered pools and golf course to the city. Panoramic, polished, and the best rooftop-that-isn’t-a-rooftop in Scottsdale.
Hearth ‘61 at Mountain Shadows. Floor-to-ceiling glass and a long patio pointed directly at Camelback’s Praying Monk. Sit at the bar an hour before sunset and the mountain fills the whole window.
El Chorro. Not a rooftop, but the lawn between Camelback and Mummy mountains has hosted sunset parties since 1937 and the sticky buns are free. This is the one for a Sunday evening with a group and no agenda.
Lon’s at the Hermosa. The 1930s adobe hacienda has a patio and a Last Drop bar that watch Camelback from the south, in a garden that makes you forget the arterial a block away.
Talavera at the Four Seasons. Far north, boulder-strewn, with Pinnacle Peak going pink instead of Camelback. The best sunset in the north corridor, and the terrace at Proof next door is the casual version.
Above the Salt River
Orange Sky sits fifteen floors up at Talking Stick Resort with 360-degree glass, and it’s named for exactly the sunsets it frames: the whole Valley to the west, the McDowells to the east, and nothing in between. The lounge takes walk-ins; the dining room is the reservation. It’s the highest bar in the metro area that isn’t in a downtown Phoenix tower, and it knows it.
The patios that face the right way
Some of the best sunset seats in the city are on the ground. The Canal Club at The Scott Resort has a hidden 1930s Cuban-colonial patio and bar between Old Town and Camelback. The Living Room at Market Street has a wraparound patio with the McDowells behind it. Weft & Warp at the Andaz sits in the shadow of Camelback with the Cattle Track art compound next door. And the Soleri Bridge on the Waterfront is free, faces the canal, and lights up.
The timing
- Sunset is earlier than you think. From November through January the sun is down by 5:30. Check the month pages; the good light is the thirty minutes before and the fifteen after.
- Arrive an hour out. Every bar on this list fills its west-facing rail forty-five minutes before sunset on a nice night. Order a drink at the bar, hold the seat, and let the sky do the rest.
- The resort bars welcome non-guests. Jade Bar, Thirsty Camel and Hearth ‘61 are open to the public; park in the resort lot and walk in. Dress a notch up.
- Monsoon sunsets are the best of the year. July and August storms build to the east and catch the light; the monsoon manual explains the evening pattern. The rooftops close for lightning, so watch the radar.
- Rooftops in summer open late. Several don’t seat outside until the sun is nearly down. Call ahead in June through September.
The one we’d pick
For a first-timer: Jade Bar, an hour before sunset, then dinner at Elements. For a group: El Chorro’s lawn. For a night out: Cielito, then the district. For the view alone: Orange Sky, where the sunset is the whole point and the name says so.