Mesa, Arizona is home to over 200 parks offering a wide variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. From expansive regional parks with lakes, gardens, hiking trails, sports fields and more to quaint neighborhood green spaces, Mesa has something for everyone when it comes to outdoor fun.
| Park Name | Features & Highlights |
|---|---|
| Desert Breeze Park | Large area, central lake, playgrounds, courts, indoor pool, event programming. |
| Dobson Ranch Park | Riparian Preserve, birdwatching, playgrounds, picnic ramadas, sports courts. |
| Pioneer Park | Replica farmstead, train park, historical exhibits, model train rides. |
| Riverview Park | Overlooks Salt River, fishing, picnic areas, playgrounds, community events. |
| Mesa Urban Garden | Urban agriculture, demonstration gardens, workshops, community space. |
| Red Mountain Park | Sonoran Desert landscape, trails, ramadas, sports fields, amphitheater. |
| Golf Land Sunsplash | Water playground, mini golf, arcade, sports courts. |
| Viewpoint Park | Panoramic views, picnic tables, walking paths. |
| Pheasant Run Park | Sports amenities, playgrounds, picnic areas, walking path around pond. |
| Eastmark Great Park | Sports facilities, aquatics center, playgrounds, green spaces, community events. |
| Cosmo Dog Park | Areas for large/small breeds, obstacles, dog washing stations, community events. |
| Freedom Heroes Park | Veterans memorial, remembrance ceremonies, military branch flags. |
| Pioneer Community Park | Playgrounds, splash pads, ball fields, indoor playground, educational programs. |
The following are 12 of the top parks that highlight the natural beauty and diversity found across Mesa’s vibrant park system. Whether you want to take the kids to a playground, have a picnic, go for a jog, play sports or just relax in nature, these Mesa parks offer the perfect outdoor escape right in the heart of the city.
Desert Breeze Park
Name and Location: Desert Breeze Park is located in Mesa, Arizona. It covers over 60 acres near the US 60 and Stapley Drive.
History and Significance: Desert Breeze Park first opened to the public in 1991. It has become a popular spot for Mesa residents to walk, jog, play sports, and spend time outdoors with family. The park includes a large ramada area that can be reserved for special events.
What to Expect: Visitors to Desert Breeze Park can enjoy basketball courts, volleyball courts, baseball and softball fields, a large playground, walking paths, grills and picnic areas, and open green space. There are also restrooms available onsite. It’s a great place for outdoor recreation and relaxation.
Visitor Information: Desert Breeze Park is open daily from 5am to 11pm. There are no admission fees. Parking is available onsite and pets are permitted on leashes.
One of Mesa’s largest at 384 acres, Desert Breeze Park has something for visitors of all ages and interests to enjoy. The park’s 80 acre central lake is stocked for fishing and encircled by a paved walking path that connects to the wider trail system that runs throughout the grounds.
For families, the lakeside area has multiple playgrounds, interactive water features, and shaded ramadas perfect for hosting a birthday party or family gathering. Adults can enjoy the tennis and pickleball courts or test their skills at the disc golf course and archery range located in the park.
Inside the main building, visitors can cool off at the indoor pool, enroll kids in educational programs at the onsite nature center, or rent rooms in The Studios at Desert Breeze for private events. With its diverse recreational offerings plus regular programming like summer concerts and holiday celebrations, Desert Breeze has secured its place as one of Mesa’s premier outdoor attractions.
Dobson Ranch Park
Name and Location: Dobson Ranch Park is a 23-acre park located in Mesa, Arizona on the south side of US 60 near Val Vista Drive.
History and Significance: Dobson Ranch Park opened in 1999 and provides an important outdoor recreational space for families in southeast Mesa. It was funded through a joint effort between the city of Mesa and local developers to serve the needs of the growing Dobson Ranch community.
What to Expect: The park features playground equipment, walking paths, ramadas, grills, picnic tables, restrooms, one full basketball court, two tennis courts, and plenty of open space for games, events, and relaxing outdoors.
Visitor Information: Dobson Ranch Park is open daily from 5am-11pm. Admission is free. Pets must be kept on a leash when visiting. Parking is available onsite.
At Dobson Ranch Park visitors are treated to gorgeous views of the surrounding desert landscape. The 17-acre park’s centerpiece is the Riparian Preserve showcasing the Salt River’s original wetland environment.
Paved walking paths wind through lush aquatic vegetation, with educational signs identifying the diverse native plants and wildlife sustained by the preserve. Birdwatching is especially popular at Dobson Ranch, which the city keeps well-stocked with food during winter months when species from cooler regions flock south.
Kids love exploring the preserve’s two large playgrounds modeled after river boats and surveying for turtles and fish from the dock extending out on the pond. With picnic ramadas, sports courts and wide open grassy areas as well, Dobson Ranch Park has a relaxed yet engaging atmosphere that makes it a favorite of Mesa families.
Pioneer Park
Name and Location: Pioneer Park is a popular 21-acre park located near downtown Mesa at 526 E Main Street.
History and Significance: Pioneer Park has served Mesa residents since 1917, making it one of the city’s oldest parks. It has historic significance as an early gathering place and recreational area as Mesa was established. The park sees heavy community use with its central location.
What to Expect: Visitors to Pioneer Park can play tennis or basketball, walk the paved trail around the park perimeter, have a picnic, play on the playground and splash pad, see public art displays, attend events at the amphitheater, and more.
Visitor Information: Pioneer Park is open 5am to 10pm daily. No admission fees. Public parking and restrooms available onsite. Leashed pets welcome.
Experience what life was like for Mesa’s founders at Pioneer Park, located adjacent to the Lehi Railroad Passenger Station Museum. The shady 11-acre park transports visitors back in time with a replica farmstead demonstrating pioneer living conditions and agricultural practices.
Kids can feed chickens, milk a wooden cow, play old-fashioned yard games like horseshoes and have a seat in a model one-room schoolhouse. Right next door lies the expansive Train Park, with an elaborate miniature train layout operated by the Arizona Garden Railway Society. Rides on the society’s 7.5 inch gauge railroad run weekends from November through April.
Between the living history exhibits at Pioneer Park and the model train extravaganza next door, families with kids or anyone interested in local history will find ample opportunities for discovery and fun just steps from downtown Mesa.
Riverview Park
Name and Location: Riverview Park is a 120-acre park located along the Salt River in Mesa, Arizona with entrances at 2100 W Rio Salado Parkway and 1000 N Dobson Road.
History and Significance: Riverview Park has provided recreation opportunities along the Salt River since it first opened in 1976. Its trails, fishing areas, and access to the river have made it a popular spot to experience the iconic Arizona landscape.
What to Expect: Visitors can walk over 5 miles of trails, fish for bass and trout in designated areas, observe wildlife near the river, picnic under ramadas, play at the inclusive playground, and take in views of the river and nature.
Visitor Information: Riverview Park is open 6am-10pm daily March 1st through September 30th, and 6am-8pm October 1st through end of February. No entrance fees. Parking available onsite.
Riverview Park is beloved for its stunning vista overlooking the Salt River. The 26-acre park occupies a prime spot atop a bluff, offering unobstructed panoramic views from its overlook deck out to Four Peaks and the surrounding mountain ranges.
Along with taking in the inspiring landscape, visitors enjoy fishing in the well-stocked pond and lagoon area or having a picnic in one of the covered ramadas. Two popular playgrounds give kids room to dash about, along with sports courts, walking paths circling through desert vegetation and lots of grassy areas and shade trees ideal for whiling away a sunny afternoon.
Special community events held at Riverview Park like outdoor movies and concerts under the stars make it easy to see why the park with million-dollar views remains a jewel in Mesa’s recreation system.
Mesa Urban Garden
Name and Location: Mesa Urban Garden is a community garden space located at 535 W Main Street in downtown Mesa, Arizona.
History and Significance: The Mesa Urban Garden began development in 2014 through collaborative community effort to transform an unused lot into a thriving garden supporting healthy lifestyles and nutrition education. It provides garden plots and hands-on programs.
What to Expect: Visitors can walk through the open garden areas, view different urban agriculture techniques, see flowering plants and trees, attend gardening workshops, volunteer in the community garden plots, and more.
Visitor Information: Mesa Urban Garden is open daily from dawn until dusk. Guided tours or gardening activities available by appointment. Free admission. Street parking nearby.
Mesa Urban Garden brings farming into the heart of downtown at this unique park showcasing water conservation and urban agriculture. Vegetables, herbs and fruit trees grown using environmentally-responsible garden practices thrive across the park’s two acres.
Visitors are encouraged to explore the demonstration gardens on self-guided tours aided by educational signage. Seasonal offerings sourced from the park make their way to an onsite farm stand and downtown Mesa restaurants. Gardening classes, workshops on sustainability topics and community volunteer days offer hands-on learning opportunities for adults and kids.
Shaded seating areas make Mesa Urban Garden an inviting spot downtown to catch up with friends or enjoy a bite from the Micro Urban Farm food truck regularly parked onsite. For city dwellers, it’s both an uplifting example of nature in the suburbs and a treasured community space bringing people together green thumb or not.
Red Mountain Park
Name and Location: Red Mountain Park spans over 150 acres in Mesa, Arizona off of West 8th Avenue near North Center Street, adjacent to the Usery Mountain Regional Park area.
History and Significance: Red Mountain Park has preserved valuable Sonoran Desert landscape since first opening to the public in 2005. Its trails allow visitors to experience diverse desert vistas, plants, and wildlife native to the region.
What to Expect: Hikers can walk over 5 miles of trails of varying difficulty to scenic lookout points over Mesa. Leashed pets are permitted. Ramadas, restrooms, and playground facilities available. The park also connects to extensive regional trail systems.
Visitor Information: Red Mountain Park is open 5am-10pm daily. No entrance fees. Parking areas are found off of N. 92nd Place.
Nature takes center stage at Red Mountain Park situated below the iconic crimson colored peak it’s named after. The 135-acre park contains multiple ecosystems within southeastern Arizona’s representative Sonoran Desert landscape.
Along the park’s many dirt walking and mountain biking trails, saguaro cacti, flowering bushes and a diversity of trees and wildlife accompany visitors passing through desert grassland, scrubland and riparian areas. Educational signs identify native flora and describe their ecological connections coexisting in the desert.
Other amenities include ramadas with grills for hosting gatherings, sports fields and courts, a large playground modeled after Red Mountain, and an outdoor amphitheater that hosts performances and events. With options from desert tromping to culture, plus regular programming like guided hikes and nature walks, Red Mountain Park lets visitors immerse themselves in Mesa’s striking native environment.
Golf Land Sunsplash
Name and Location: Golf Land Sunsplash is a family entertainment park located at 3155 E Baseline Road Mesa, AZ 85204.
History and Significance: Golf Land Sunsplash first opened in 1983, offering mini golf, go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, arcade games, rides, and the Wet n’ Wild Jr. water park featuring slides and a lazy river. Generations have enjoyed this Mesa staple for affordable outdoor fun.
What to Expect: Visitors can enjoy a wide range of attractions like mini golf, roller coasters, slides, batting cages, rides, arcade games, bumper experiences, and wet water fun at Wet n’ Wild Jr. Food is available onsite. Attractions are both outdoor and indoor.
Visitor Information: Golf Land Sunsplash is seasonal, open March-September. Hours vary by month. Admission fees include unlimitedsame-day access to all attractions. Parking onsite. Cash and cards accepted.
When Arizona’s dry desert heat intensifies, Golf Land Sunsplash offers families a perfect park for staying cool while having fun in the sun. The park features a large water playground, brand new for 2023, equipped with splash pads, tipping buckets, slides, and interactive elements. Kids can spend hours happily occupied in the zero-depth surf-simulator area while adults relax poolside from lounge chairs.
Six acres of lush landscape surround two scenic ponds stocked for catch-and-release fishing. Paved walking paths encircle the ponds underneath shade trees, with a trail looping the park’s perimeter ideal for a leisurely stroll or morning jog. Other attractions include an 18-hole mini golf course, arcade room, sports courts and a skate park.
With opportunities to make a splash plus much more, Golf Land Sunsplash ranks as a premier choice for beating the heat while enjoying ample outdoor recreation. The park’s location beside the Golf Land at the Sunland Village also brings mini golf and dining right next door for convenient one-stop fun.
Viewpoint Park
Name and Location: Viewpoint Park is a 10-acre scenic overlook park located atop Red Mountain at 7655 E Stoney Ridge Drive in Mesa, AZ.
History and Significance: Developed in the 1960s, Viewpoint Park was created to showcase panoramic views of the Mesa area and Salt River Valley below. Its elevated location provides a unique landscape perspective.
What to Expect: Visitors can take in sweeping views from covered ramadas or along walking paths, have a picnic, and spot Mesa landmarks like the temple. Informational plaques identify visible mountain ranges. It’s popular for photos, events, or simply appreciating views.
Visitor Information: Viewpoint Park is open 5am-11pm daily. No entrance fees. Parking area available. Not suitable for sports, bikes, or skates.
True to its name, Viewpoint Park rewards visitors with exceptional panoramas out over the surrounding Mesa landscape. The intimate neighborhood park occupies nine acres atop a bluff on Red Mountain. From the central overlook area, the valley and city unfold below with the mountain ranges of central Arizona as a backdrop.
Shaded picnic tables take advantage of the superb sightlines, inviting visitors to linger while soaking in the views. Paved pathways lined with desert vegetation wrap around the park perimeter, popular for walking dogs or taking a break to appreciate the vistas revealed around each turn. As sunset nears, many take up spots on the overlook plaza to watch the fading light set the mountains aglow in brilliant color.
Whether visiting for some serenity amidst nature or to contemplate broader perspectives gazing out at surreal desert scenery, Viewpoint Park’s lofty locale makes it a consistent favorite.
Pheasant Run Park
Name and Location: Pheasant Run Park is an 85-acre community park located in southeast Mesa, Arizona off Hampton Avenue near Ellsworth Road.
History and Significance: Pheasant Run Park opened in 1989 through joint efforts by the city of Mesa and developers to provide expanded recreation opportunities as the area grew. It remains an important outdoor venue.
What to Expect: The park features playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball fields, a large skate park, ramadas, walking paths, and open areas for games and relaxing. Various community events are also hosted here throughout the year.
Visitor Information: Pheasant Run Park opens daily 5am-11pm. No entrance fees. Parking available onsite. Leashed pets allowed.
Active recreation takes the spotlight at Pheasant Run Park, highly rated for its sports amenities. The 37-acre park contains athletic fields for soccer, football, softball and baseball with covered dugouts. Tennis and pickleball players give the court complex high marks for having several lines dedicated to pickleball along with sufficient tennis courts to meet demand.
Friends and families come out for friendly games followed by cookouts at the barbeque grills and ramadas when shade and picnic tables provide a perfect atmosphere for lingering post-activities. Two playgrounds including one designed for younger kids give children places to expend energy. Those looking for some peace and quiet appreciate the walking path encircling a pond filled with ducks and turtles.
With its pleasing environment and variety of courts and fields tailored for team sports, Pheasant Run Park scores big points as a well-rounded recreation destination for athletes and sports lovers.
Eastmark Great Park
Name and Location: The Eastmark Great Park is a 150-acre park located within the Eastmark master-planned community in Mesa, Arizona off Ellsworth Road east of Ellsworth Loop Road.
History and Significance: Development of Eastmark Great Park began in 2018, envisioned as a central gathering place for recreation, events, public art, and community activities within Eastmark. Phase 1 opened in 2020. When finished, it will be Mesa’s largest park.
What to Expect: Current amenities include playgrounds, trails, sports fields, picnic areas, and open event lawn. Future phases plan to add an amphitheater, community center, lakefront area, and more over the coming years.
Visitor Information: Eastmark Great Park is open daily 5am-10pm. No admission fees currently. Parking available within Eastmark community.
Spanning 150 acres, Eastmark Great Park ranks as the largest in Mesa’s park system and one of the city’s most elaborately developed. Sports make up a central focus, with a dozen baseball diamonds, multi-use athletic fields and a cricket pitch located onsite.
Visitors also flock to the parks aquatics center during warmer months to cool off at the beach-like entry pool, speed down three story water slides or take younger kids to the children’s water playground. Inside the main building, families have access to gymnasium courts used for basketball, volleyball and pickleball along with a cardio and weight room.
When not actively playing sports, people congregate outside near the covered playgrounds and splash pads, tree-shaded seating areas, walking paths weaving through green spaces and the central great lawn used for community events. For families residing in Mesa’s newer Eastmark community, the namesake Great Park provides immediate access to premier sports and recreation facilities just steps from home.
Cosmo Dog Park
Name and Location: Cosmo Dog Park is a 1.3 acre off-leash dog park located at 10540 E Cosmo Avenue in Mesa, Arizona.
History and Significance: Cosmo Dog Park opened in 2007 as Mesa’s first official dog park, providing a designated space for dogs to play and socialize. Its creation fulfilled demand for more dog-friendly public spaces in the city.
What to Expect: The park features separated areas for large and small dogs to socialize off-leash. Owners can monitor dogs while relaxing under ramadas. Water stations, waste bags, trash cans available. Benches line the perimeter fencing.
Visitor Information: Cosmo Dog Park is open daily 5am-10pm for Mesa residents and their leashed, licensed dogs. Parking available near dog park entrance gate.
Dog owners across Mesa let their pups run free at Cosmo Dog Park, repeatedly voted among the city’s top parks. The 8-acre site gets divided between large breed and small breed areas, each with their own shaded ramadas and dog washing stations supplied with hoses. While the dogs roam and play, owners gather at picnic tables to chat while keeping watch.
To keep pups stimulated, Cosmo staff frequently change up the obstacle equipment scattered across the landscape. Tunnels, ramps, hurdles and balance equipment challenge dogs to navigate various surfaces while discovering new smells. Special events held regularly at the park give rescue groups occasion to match displaced dogs with potential owners.
Ensuring responsible pet ownership underscores the park’s mission as well. Along with the strict rules posted reminding owners to clean up after their pets, educational seminars held at Cosmo teach proper obedience training, healthcare and socialization techniques to establish happier human-canine relationships.
Freedom Heroes Park
Name and Location: Freedom Heroes Park is located in Mesa, Arizona spanning 10 acres at 2155 S Center Street near University Drive and US-60.
History and Significance: Freedom Heroes Park first opened on Memorial Day 2002 with monuments honoring military, law enforcement, and emergency personnel who serve the public good. Its sculptures, memorial walls, and events pay tribute to heroes.
What to Expect: Visitors can walk among monument statues, view names engraved on memorial walls, reflect by the water fountain, have a picnic, and attend annual remembrance events honoring first responders and veterans.
Visitor Information: Freedom Heroes Park is open daily with no entrance fee. Parking available onsite. Public events held periodically honor and memorialize freedom heroes for their service and sacrifice.
Freedom Heroes Park honors military heroes from Mesa and the state of Arizona with a moving memorial paying tribute to homegrown veterans. The intimate 1.3 acre park predominantly serves as the site for the Arizona Veteran’s Memorial, a stylized sculpture depicting soldiers that doubles as a fountain. Veterans gather here for remembrance ceremonies that move many visitors to tears with their solemn dignity.
Etched into the perimeter wall, the Arizona Veteran’s Memorial honors those killed in action from World Wars I and II through present day conflicts with engraved names under each era’s designated section. Space remains to add future names, which park volunteers do so with regular dedication ceremonies. Walkways inscribed with all US military branch seals connect the memorial to the parking lot lined with flags representing different service branches.
While one of Mesa’s smaller parks, Freedom Heroes Park provides an invaluable dignified setting for Arizonans to recognize and pay respects to men and women who made profound sacrifices answering the call of duty to protect national freedoms.
Pioneer Community Park
Name and Location: Pioneer Community Park is a 16.5 acre park located in downtown Mesa near Pioneer Park at 333 E Main Street in Mesa, Arizona.
History and Significance: Pioneer Community Park first opened in 2014 after the city of Mesa renovated the site of a former transit operations facility to create green space with historical connections to Mesa’s origins.
What to Expect: The park features covered playground equipment, pickleball courts, a splash pad, outdoor fitness equipment, walking paths circling perimeter grass areas, ramadas, and public art displays. The site links Mesa’s past to the present community.
Visitor Information: Pioneer Community Park is open daily 5am-10pm. No admission fee. Parking available curbside or in adjacent garage. Leashed pets permitted.
Families with children delight in the lively atmosphere at Pioneer Community Park offering 16 acres loaded with amenities to occupy kids for hours. Two playgrounds including one just for preschoolers provide imagination-stoking equipment alongside splash pads to help keep cool. Sports lovers take advantage of the multiple ball fields, lined courts and even pickleball while parents watch from shaded bleachers and picnic areas.
Inside the recreation building, young kids burn energy in the indoor playground or participate in arts and crafts and educational programming. Rental rooms host everything from indoor soccer to dance lessons and birthday parties year-round. Outside, families reconnect over potluck picnics at the ramadas and grill up feasts to fuel all the activity that unfolds from sunup to sundown at this family-friendly park.
With its action-packed environment buzzing with excitement from dawn through bedtimes, Pioneer Community Park spells full days of fun within walking distance for many fortunate Mesa households.
Conclusion
Families searching for beautiful parks offering diversion for all interests can discover an impressive selection right in their Mesa backyard. The scenic landscapes, recreational facilities and regular community programming available across Mesa’s 200+ public parks reveal the city’s ongoing commitment to nurturing vibrant outdoor spaces for residents.
Whether you want to host a family barbecue, enjoy a neighborhood stroll, walk the dog, play sports, cool off on hot days or simply relax amidst nature, Mesa parks have all recreation lovers covered. By getting out to explore new parks around the city, locals continue discovering wonderful public spaces where the Mesa community comes alive through memorable shared outdoor experiences.