The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture Public Art Program funds public art projects that can be seen throughout the city. Spend your day discovering the different works of art in public spaces including the street scape panels with art and poetry at Seventh and Glenrosa Avenues and the two sculptural seating benches, "Dove Valley Silhouettes" in Dove Valley Park (no website; 4728 E. Rancho Paloma Drive; Phoenix). Harmony Park (no website; Fourth Avenue and W. Yavapai Street; Phoenix) has paths embedded with colorful glass, leaf-shaped benches and a fence designed by artists. The works of art that you can see in Ponderosa (no website; 10215 S. Central Ave.; Phoenix) are the entry gates, cast-concrete hay bale benches used in the amphitheater and a horseshoe nail fence.
Explore the desert by foot or bike along trails located just minutes from downtown Phoenix from dozens of trail access points throughout the city. Take a walk along the .3-mile trail in North Mountain Park (no website; 10600 N. 7th Place; Phoenix; 602-262-7901) from the trailhead in Havasupai parking lot or along the .75-mile trail in the Reach 11 Recreation Area (phoenix.gov) from the trailhead in the east side of Tatum Boulevard. Hiking and biking is allowed in the 1.2-mile trail in Papago West Park (arizonensis.org) from the the trailhead located on Papago Park Road. The 17,000-acre South Mountain Park (no website; 10919 S. Central Avenue; Phoenix), Pueblo Grande Museum (pueblogrande.org) and Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center (riosalado.audubon.org) offer guided, educational trail walks throughout the year.
Challenge your friends to a round of golf or take golf lessons in one of the five 18-hole championship courses or in one of the three nine-hole courses in Arizona. Layouts and landscapes vary such as Aguila's (phoenix.gov) and Aguila 9's (phoenix.gov) numerous bunkers and Cave Creek's (phoenix.gov) wide rolling fairways. Other public golf courses in the city are Encanto 18 (phoenix.gov), Encanto 9 (phoenix.gov), Maryvale (phoenix.gov), Palo Verde (phoenix.gov) and Papago (papagogolfcourse.net). All the courses have full-service pro shops, practice facilities and equipment rentals and are open daily year-round.
Cool off by going swimming in one of Arizona's city pools. The pools under the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department open on Memorial Day Weekend and reopen for the remainder of the summer in June. The swimming pools, including Telephone Pioneer pool (no website; 1946 W. Morningside Drive; Phoenix; 602) 495-2404), Encanto pool (no website; 92125 N. 15th Ave.; Phoenix; 602-261-8732), Hermoso pool (no website; 5749 S. 20th St.; Phoenix; 602- 261-8731) and Roadrunner pool (no website; 3502 E. Cactus Road; Phoenix; 602-262-6789) are open daily for open swim. Pools are closed on Fridays.
