Piestewa Peak

Every Saturday I try to take my kids on a new adventure somewhere they have never been in the Beautiful state of Arizona. This Saturday’s adventure was Piestewa Peak. Piestewa Peak stretches 2,610 feet into the sky and is the second highest mountain behind Camelback mountain in the Phoenix Mountain Range.

My Kids Review

Connor, my seven year old son, loved Piestewa Peak and claims Piestewa Peak to be his second favorite adventure behind Papago Park: Hole in the Rock. My daughter loved Piestewa Peak. Like her brother, she thinks Piestewa Peak is her second favorite place in Arizona. Unlike her brother, her favorite place is Lake Pleasant Regional Park. I imagine when I finally take Connor on a boat at Lake Pleasant, then Lake Pleasant will be his favorite, too.

Review of Piestewa Peak Regional Mountain Park

Pros & Cons

Arizona Center: Downtown Phoenix

Last week on the way to Papago Park, my kids and I passed downtown Phoenix. My kids decided at that time they wanted to experience the city. Today my kids and I went to Arizona Center, a retail area in the heart of phoenix, so they could experience the city.

Arizona Center offers a plush downtown experience with affordable restaurants. The architecture near and around Arizona Center is aesthetically pleasing. The landscape architecture is world class with water features-not always easy to find in the desert.

The Arizona Center is located right next to Saint Mary’s Basilica. The Basilica is usually open within reasonable hours. The 100 year building is a fun experience with  religious artwork in the Basilica.

For more information about the Arizona Center please visit   Arizona Center’s Website.

Papago Park: Hole in the Rock

This cool little park is found near the heart of Phoenix Arizona right next to the Phoenix Zoo. Papago Parks Trails are smooth and pretty flat. The trails make biking, walking, or trail running easy. The park is divided into the East and West sides. Papago Park offers great outdoor recreation including hiking, fishing from stocked lakes, and Golf at the Papago Golf Course. The Phoenix Zoo and Desert Botanical Gardens are close so adding them to your adventure would make for a great day of outdoor desert adventure.

Every week I have to convince my son to go on our Saturday adventures. By convince, I forced him to go on our Saturday adventures. At least, this was the way things were before I took my daughter and son to Papago Park: Hole in the Rock. This is one of my 7 year old sons favorite places to go. There are rocks for a boy to climb on all around the park that seem just dangerous enough to capture a young boys attention without scaring a parent to death.

The first time my 9 year old daughter went down the steps of the big rock with a hole in it she was terrified. You can look at the pictures of her on her bottom scooting down the steps with a mixture of fear and excitement radiating from her facial expressions. She was terrified most of the time and would not cross from the hole in the rock to the cave next to the rock because it was just to scary. When we were walking back, my daughter was exhilarated. I could tell she had a great time from her expressions and the excitement in her voice as she told me about her experience on the walk back to the car.

Papago Park is free. The only expense you accrue is time spent and gas driving to and from the park. I highly recommend this park, especially Hole in a Rock. For more information regarding Papago Park: Hole in a Rock please visit Papago Park’s Website. You and your family will be glad you did.