If you’re landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor and heading straight to Old Town, you’re probably expecting a standard travel experience. You’ve got the sunscreen. You’ve got the golf clubs. But honestly, the time zone Scottsdale Arizona follows is probably going to mess with your head at least once.
It's Mountain Standard Time. Usually.
But here’s the kicker: Arizona is the rebel of the United States when it comes to clocks. While almost everyone else is obsessively springing forward or falling back, Scottsdale just stays put. This creates a bizarre seasonal shift where Scottsdale is aligned with Denver one month and Los Angeles the next. It sounds simple on paper, but when you’re trying to dial into a Zoom call from New York or catch a flight back to Chicago, it’s a recipe for chaos.
The No-DST Rule: Why Scottsdale Residents Never Touch Their Clocks
Arizona stopped participating in Daylight Saving Time (DST) back in 1968. Why? Because it’s hot. Like, "melt your dashboard" hot. The logic was actually pretty sound: if the sun stays up until 9:00 PM in the middle of a desert summer, you’re just paying more for air conditioning. By staying on Standard Time, the sun sets "earlier" relative to the clock, giving residents a tiny bit of relief from the brutal afternoon heat.
Because of this, Scottsdale is permanently on Mountain Standard Time (MST).
But wait. When the rest of the country moves their clocks forward in March, Scottsdale effectively joins the West Coast. For half the year, Scottsdale is on the same time as California (Pacific Daylight Time). When the clocks move back in November, Scottsdale jumps back to being aligned with the Mountain states like Colorado and Utah.
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It’s a headache for logistics. If you're a business owner in Scottsdale working with clients in Manhattan, your "9-to-5" window shifts by an hour twice a year without you ever moving a muscle.
Understanding the "Three-Hour Gap"
Most of the year—specifically from March to November—Scottsdale is three hours behind the East Coast. If it's noon in Scottsdale, it's 3:00 PM in New York.
Then November hits.
The East Coast "falls back," and suddenly the gap shrinks to two hours. This is where most travelers get tripped up. You book a tee time at TPC Scottsdale thinking you have plenty of time to call your office back East, only to realize they've already logged off for the day.
Navigating the Navajo Nation Exception
To make things even more confusing, not all of Arizona plays by these rules. If you decide to take a day trip from Scottsdale up to the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley, you might cross into the Navajo Nation.
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The Navajo Nation does observe Daylight Saving Time.
Imagine driving north for a few hours and suddenly your phone jumps forward an hour because you crossed an invisible tribal border. Then, if you drive into the Hopi Reservation—which is entirely surrounded by the Navajo Nation—you jump back an hour because the Hopi Tribe follows the rest of Arizona and ignores DST. It’s a chronological donut. You can literally change time zones four times in a single afternoon drive without ever leaving the state.
Why Your Smartphone Might Actually Lie to You
You’d think in 2026 our phones would have this figured out. Most do. But GPS-based time syncing can be finicky in the high desert or near the borders of the state.
I’ve seen it happen. A traveler stays at a resort in North Scottsdale, right near the edge of town. Their phone picks up a tower that’s somehow coded incorrectly or they're right on a "seam" of network coverage, and suddenly the clock jumps.
Always check your "Date & Time" settings.
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Go into your iPhone or Android settings and ensure the "Set Automatically" toggle is on, but specifically check that the System Report identifies the time zone as Mountain Standard Time (Phoenix). If it says "Denver," you’re going to be an hour off for half the year.
The Business Impact of the Scottsdale Time Drift
For the booming tech scene in the Scottsdale Waterfront and the financial hubs near Kierland Commons, the time zone Scottsdale Arizona uses is a major operational variable.
- Summer Operations: March through November. Scottsdale is -7 UTC. This is the same as Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
- Winter Operations: November through March. Scottsdale is still -7 UTC, but because the rest of the country moved, it now aligns with Mountain Standard Time (MST).
Think about the stock market. The New York Stock Exchange opens at 9:30 AM ET. In the winter, a Scottsdale trader needs to be at their desk by 7:30 AM. In the summer? They better be up at 6:30 AM. It changes the entire rhythm of the city's professional class.
Planning Your Scottsdale Itinerary Without Losing an Hour
If you’re coming for the Phoenix Open or Spring Training, you’re likely here during the "Winter" or "Spring" transition.
- The March Shift: If your trip spans the second Sunday in March, be aware that your "home" time might change while Scottsdale’s doesn't. Your 8:00 AM flight back to New Jersey will suddenly feel an hour earlier.
- Dinner Reservations: Popular spots like The Mission or Mastro's fill up fast. If you’re booking via an app from a different time zone, double-check the "local time" confirmation.
- Golf Tee Times: The sun is the ultimate clock in Arizona. In the winter, the sun sets around 5:30 PM. In the summer, it lingers until nearly 8:00 PM. The time zone choice maximizes that "post-work" light during the hottest months.
Practical Steps for Travelers and New Residents
Don't let the "Arizona Time" thing stress you out. It’s actually one of the perks of living here—never having to remember which way to turn the microwave clock.
- Check the "Phoenix" setting: Always sync your digital calendars to "GMT-7" or "Phoenix" rather than "Mountain Time." If you choose "Mountain Time," your calendar will automatically shift your appointments in the summer, which is exactly what you don't want.
- The 2:00 PM Rule: If you are working remotely from Scottsdale, remember that after 2:00 PM in the summer, your East Coast colleagues are already heading home.
- Manual Overrides: If you’re driving near the Navajo Nation, manually lock your phone’s time zone to "Phoenix" to avoid the "jumping clock" syndrome that ruins dinner plans.
- Sunrise/Sunset Apps: Since the clock doesn't change, the sunrise times vary wildly. In June, the sun is up by 5:15 AM. If you’re a hiker, this is your best friend. If you like to sleep in, get blackout curtains.
The time zone Scottsdale Arizona uses is a testament to the state's independent streak. It’s built around the reality of the desert climate rather than national conformity. Once you get used to the fact that the rest of the world moves while you stay still, it actually makes a lot of sense. Just keep an eye on that East Coast clock if you have a meeting, because they definitely won't remember that you didn't change your time.
Next Steps for Your Visit:
- Download a weather app that includes "First Light" and "Last Light" timings; in Scottsdale, the temperature drops fast once the sun dips, regardless of what the clock says.
- Confirm all flight departures using the airline's app 24 hours in advance to ensure your brain hasn't miscalculated the "falling back" gap in the autumn months.
- If you are coordinating a multi-state conference call, use a tool like WorldTimeBuddy and specifically select "Phoenix" as one of your locations to avoid the DST confusion.