PHX
Anywhere from Phoenix
Phoenix in summer wants to leave. The rest of the year, Sedona is close and the beach is a short flight.
These are places with enough of a reason to leave Phoenix Sky Harbor, not a thin list of every airport code we know. Prices are not shown here because a fare without a live source would be a guess.
Sedona
A landscape change within a two-hour drive of a major airport.
March through May and September through November. Summer is a very hot hike.
San Diego
Mild weather and a city you can enjoy without a packed schedule.
March through June and September through November. June can be gray in the morning and perfect by lunch.
Cabo San Lucas
A West-Coast-friendly beach trip, often nonstop from California and the Southwest.
November through May. Late summer is hotter and more humid, with the chance of a storm.
Park City
A ski town you can walk, with a straightforward flight into Salt Lake.
January through March for snow. July for trails and a town that is suddenly quiet.
Denver and the Rockies
Mountains without committing to a resort town price on night one.
June through September for high trails. December through March if the wish is actually about snow.
Seattle
A walkable waterfront city with a national park within reach.
July through September for the kind version of the weather. Spring is flowers and a chance of rain.