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Carefree, Arizona: America's Largest Sundial

Giant copper-clad fixture tells time the old fashioned way. It stretches 62 feet and points to the North Star.

Address:
Sundial Circle, Carefree, AZ
Directions:
I-17 exit 223. East on Hwy 74/Carefree Hwy for 12 miles. Left onto Tom Darlington Drive for 1.5 miles, then right onto Carefree Drive to the Sundial Circle.
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Visitor Tips and News About America's Largest Sundial

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Sundial.

World's Largest Sundial

The World's Largest Sundial is even more impressive at night!

[Rob Lively, 03/24/2021]

Gila Monster Slide.

America's Largest Sundial

The Gila Monster Slide is on the playground next to the sundial.

[Stacy, 01/25/2018]

Sundial.

America's Largest Sundial

The "nearly impossible to photograph from any angle" Largest Sundial in America stands in Carefree, Arizona. I last visited ten years ago [when it still could get away with claiming it was the World's Largest Sundial] and I noted some changes between visits. The hanging sculpture from the dial arm is gone, the saguaro has matured more than I expected, and the area around the dial now includes a gila monster-inspired children's slide and wall-fountain.

[Greg Brown, 02/01/2011]

World's Largest Sundial.

World's Largest Sundial

The World's Largest Sundial sits in "downtown" Carefree, Arizona. A plaque on the dial reads:

"Solar engineer John Yellot and architect Joe Wong designed the sundial for K.T. Palmer in 1959. It stretches 62 feet and points to the North Star. Solar local time is 27.7 minutes behind Mountain Standard Time and the hour markers are adjusted to compensate. The town of Carefree added copper cladding in 1990."

Buildings and shops surround the sundial from nearly all sides, making photographing this beast a tad difficult. In addition to the large sundial, there is a much smaller sundial installed on a rock at the base(the set donated by the local Kiwanis Club). There is also some kind of artsy ball hanging from the sundial arm, as well as a fountain at the base and an artsy "Carefree" sign made of wrought iron which is painted red.

[Greg Brown, 03/24/2001]

July 2007: Tipster "Kevin" points out that "The gigantic equatorial sundial in Jaipur, India is almost 1/2 of an acre in size," and beats these other sundials. August 2005: Tipster "David" informs us that the town of Singleton in Australia claims to have a larger sundial than Carefree's...


Nearby Offbeat Places

Learn Your CactiLearn Your Cacti, Scottsdale, AZ - 7 mi.
World's Tallest Kachina DollWorld's Tallest Kachina Doll, Carefree, AZ - 6 mi.
Frank Lloyd Wright's SpireFrank Lloyd Wright's Spire, Scottsdale, AZ - 13 mi.
In the region:
Governor Hunt's Pyramid Tomb, Phoenix, AZ - 26 mi.

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