Phoenix skyline at sunset in November light

PHOENIX

November is when Phoenix season actually starts. The heat is gone, the trails are back in play all day, and the calendar stacks three big weekends in a row before the holiday lights switch on. This is the November layer of our year-round ranking (things to do in Phoenix, the 25 best), cut down to what this one month does best.

Pick your weekend by what you want out of it. Early November belongs to art and light: Canal Convergence fills the Scottsdale Waterfront for ten free nights, and the All Souls Procession makes Tucson worth the drive on November 8. Mid month is the loud one, with the Hondo Rodeo Fest at Chase Field and the Fountain Festival running the same three days. Late November turns the lights on, with ZooLights and Las Noches de las Luminarias opening in Thanksgiving week. The weather holds it all together: average highs in the high 70s, lows in the mid 50s, and rain rare enough to plan around. It is not March-level crowded yet, and hotel prices have not hit their winter peak. That window is the whole argument for November.

November at a glance

Weather: highs in the high 70s, lows in the mid 50s, dry and sunny most days. Short sleeves at noon, a jacket after dark. Nov 6 to 15: Canal Convergence, Scottsdale Waterfront, free, evenings. Nov 7: Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships, WestWorld of Scottsdale. Nov 8: All Souls Procession, Tucson, gathering 4 p.m., departs 6 p.m. Nov 13 to 15: Hondo Rodeo Fest at Chase Field and the Fountain Festival of Fine Arts and Crafts in Fountain Hills. Nov 25: ZooLights opens at the Phoenix Zoo. Nov 27 to 29: opening weekend of Las Noches de las Luminarias at Desert Botanical Garden. Hotels: fair for most of the month, tight on the Nov 13 to 15 weekend and over Thanksgiving.

The headline weekends

Three weekends carry the month, and they barely overlap in mood. Do one well instead of skimming all three.

Art and Light · Nov 6 to 15

Canal Convergence, Scottsdale Waterfront

For ten nights, large scale light art goes in, on and above the Arizona Canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront, and the whole thing is free. The 2026 edition is the event’s 15th year, the theme is Western Nature, and the lineup mixes interactive installations with live music, dance, workshops and nightly fire shows on the canal. Hours run 6 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 6 to 9 p.m. the rest of the week. Go on a weeknight if you can. The paths are calmer, the art is easier to get close to, and Old Town dinner before or after is a short walk. Verdict: the best free night out in the Valley this month, and it is not close.

One Day · Sat Nov 7

Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships, WestWorld

The Polo Party turns 15 on Saturday, November 7 at WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Road. Polo is the anchor, with matches through the day, but the draw is the full scene around it: fashion shows, exotic and collector car displays, and a crowd that dresses like it means it. Gates run from late morning into the evening. Treat it as a daytime event, get there before the first featured match, and do Canal Convergence the same night if you have the energy. They pair well. Verdict: Scottsdale at its most Scottsdale, in the good way.

Day Trip · Sun Nov 8

All Souls Procession, Tucson

It is 115 miles south and it earns every one of them. On Sunday, November 8, tens of thousands of people gather on Grande Avenue from 4 p.m. and walk from 6 p.m. through Barrio Menlo Park to the Mercado District, carrying photos and altars for people they have lost, ending with the burning of the Urn. This is a community ceremony, not a street party, and our full guide covers how to join it respectfully instead of just watching it. Drive down in the afternoon, walk in it, and stay the night in Tucson if you can. The drive home after the finale is a long, quiet one. Verdict: the most moving night of the Arizona year. Read our All Souls guide before you go.

Rodeo and Concerts · Nov 13 to 15

Hondo Rodeo Fest, Chase Field

The loudest weekend of the month. Hondo pairs an invite-only rodeo, with world class riders competing for a $1 million purse, with a full concert each night at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. Friday: Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw. Saturday: Turnpike Troubadours and Blake Shelton. Sunday: Lynyrd Skynyrd and Parker McCollum. One ticket covers the rodeo and the concert, and a free street fest runs outside the ballpark each day. Pick your night by the headliner, book it early, and take the light rail in. Downtown parking on a three event weekend is a sport of its own. Verdict: one night is plenty for most people, and Saturday sells first. Our Hondo Rodeo Fest guide has the full game plan.

Art Fair · Nov 13 to 15

Fountain Festival of Fine Arts and Crafts, Fountain Hills

The same weekend, a completely different speed. Around 450 artists line the Avenue of the Fountains in Fountain Hills, with the town fountain firing on the hour behind the booths. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and admission and parking are free. It is the Valley’s best early holiday shopping, with real artists selling their own work instead of imported gift fair stock. Go Friday for the calm version or Sunday morning before the crowds build. Verdict: pair a Fountain Festival morning with a Hondo night and you have the full Nov 13 to 15 weekend.

Exhibition Opening · Nov 6 to 8

A new ancient China exhibition at the MIM

The Musical Instrument Museum opens Unearthed Musical Masterpieces from the Southern Kingdoms of Ancient China with a three day signature event, November 6 to 8, with curator talks, workshops and demonstrations. The instruments come from 2,000 year old archaeological sites, and many are on display in the United States for the first time. The MIM is already near the top of our Phoenix ranking in any month. An opening weekend like this makes it the indoor pick for early November, especially as a daytime anchor before a Canal Convergence night. Verdict: the smart rainy day plan, except it will not rain.

[AFFILIATE: Hondo Rodeo Fest tickets] · [AFFILIATE: hotels in Phoenix in November]

The desert, at its best

Saguaro cactus silhouetted on Camelback Mountain above Phoenix at sunset
November light on Camelback. Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0

The events get the headlines, but the reason locals love November is simpler. This is the first month since April when the outdoors works all day long.

Outdoors · All Month

Hiking season, no asterisk

In summer you hike at dawn or you do not hike. In November you can start Camelback Mountain at 9 a.m., take Piestewa Peak after lunch, and still finish a long loop in South Mountain or the Phoenix Mountains Preserve before dark. The rules that still apply: carry more water than feels reasonable, because dry desert air hides how much you lose, and start the big summits early on weekends, when trailhead lots fill by mid morning. Short days are the other catch. Sunset lands before 5:30 p.m. by late November, so plan descents with real margin. Verdict: if you have one hike in you this year, do it this month.

Garden · Daytime All Month

Desert Botanical Garden in cool weather

The Garden in Papago Park is a different place at 75 degrees. You can walk all five trails slowly, read the labels, and sit with the quail instead of sprinting between shade patches. November is also when the Garden starts its evening season, so a late afternoon entry lets you do the trails in daylight and stay as the light drops. Go on a weekday morning for the quiet version. Verdict: the easiest yes on this page, for first timers and regulars alike.

Lights · From Nov 25

ZooLights opens, Phoenix Zoo

Lights season starts on Wednesday, November 25, when ZooLights switches on at the Phoenix Zoo, 455 N. Galvin Parkway, and runs nightly 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. into January. Expect millions of lights over more than two miles of trail, a 50 foot LED tree with a music and light show on the lake, and a lit dinosaur trail after dark. Most animals are asleep or off view, so go for the lights, not the zoo. Tickets are sold for any one public night, kids 2 and under are free, and Monday to Wednesday nights run quietest once December starts. Verdict: opening week is busy for a reason. Book ahead and arrive after the first entry rush, around 7:30 p.m.

Lights · Nov 27 to 29

Las Noches de las Luminarias, opening weekend

The Garden’s signature nights begin Friday, November 27 and run through Sunday that first weekend, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., before continuing on select nights through December and into early January. Thousands of hand lit luminaria bags line the trails, live music is tucked along the paths, and the whole place runs quieter and slower than ZooLights. It is the more grown up of the two big light nights, and the popular dates sell out. If you only do one lights event this season, locals will argue for this one. Our Phoenix Christmas lights guide compares all of them, with prices and dates. Verdict: buy the November weekend the day you book your trip. Do not wait for December.

A November weekend, planned

Take the biggest weekend of the month, November 13 to 15, and run it like this. Friday: Land or clock out early, walk the Fountain Festival in the late afternoon light, then head downtown for Hondo night one, rodeo first and Tim McGraw to close. Saturday: Sleep in, take a mid morning hike while it is still cool, Piestewa if you want a summit and South Mountain if you want miles, then a slow afternoon and Canal Convergence after dark for its closing Saturday night on the Scottsdale Waterfront. Sunday: Back to Fountain Hills for a second, calmer pass at the booths, brunch on the Avenue, and home before the Sunday Hondo crowd heads to Chase Field. Swap the order if your Hondo night is Saturday. The pieces are all within about 40 minutes of each other, and none of them needs a second trip across town.

Coming earlier in the month instead? The November 6 to 8 version is just as good: MIM opening events or the Garden on Saturday morning, polo at WestWorld that afternoon, Canal Convergence at night, and the drive to Tucson on Sunday for All Souls. Two very different weekends, same weather. That is the month in a sentence.

The honest warnings

The Nov 13 to 15 pileup is real. Hondo, the Fountain Festival and the closing weekend of Canal Convergence all land at once. Hotels near downtown and Scottsdale tighten up, and Saturday night sells first in all three. Book that weekend early or pick a different one. Nights are colder than the forecast looks. A high in the high 70s can mean standing on a canal bank at 52 degrees by 9 p.m. The jacket you bring decides whether Canal Convergence and Luminarias are pleasant or endured. All Souls is not a party. It is a public act of grief and remembrance that visitors are welcomed into. Walk in it, keep the phone down for stretches, and skip the costume mindset entirely. Thanksgiving week flips the switch. ZooLights and Luminarias open, visitors arrive, and the calm mid November pricing goes with them. If lights are your goal, the opening nights are the move, bought ahead. And the sun still counts. November burns slower than March, but a full day at the Fountain Festival or on a summit trail is still a full day of desert sun. Hat, sunscreen, water. Every time.

Keep planning

[AFFILIATE: hotels in Phoenix in November]

About & Disclosure

TRVL Guide is a travel resource site. Some links on this site may be affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep the guides free.

The trvlguide letter

Phoenix, in your inbox.

One email a week in season: new guides, event weekends and the desert windows worth planning around, from Phoenix to Sedona to the Grand Canyon. Free, no spam.