Whether a person lives in the Phoenix area or is visiting on vacation, there is no shortage of activities to take part in within the city. Phoenix has good weather year-round and is one of the nation's largest cities by land area, making for seemingly limitless opportunities for enjoyable activities in the Valley of the Sun.
The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix welcomes more than 300,000 visitors per year who come to see the park dedicated to the preservation of desert plant life. Within the boundaries of the park are 139 rare plant species from all around the world.
The Desert Botanical Garden is accredited by the American Association of Museums. This is a source of pride for the facility and is a distinction only shared by 44 botanical gardens. The garden has been open since 1939 and is located in Papago Park where environmentalist Gertrude Divine Webster founded the garden. Papago Park is a 1,200-acre desert park filled with unique buttes and other desert land formations that lies between the cities of Phoenix and Tempe. Tours of the garden are available from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. throughout the year, with the exception of some holidays.
Desert Botanical Garden
1201 N. Galvin Pkwy.
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
480-941-1225
dbg.org
A visit to the Phoenix Zoo is a treat for the whole family that will fill an afternoon with fun, education and exercise. A walk through the 125-acre zoo will take around three hours, and visitors will get to view around 1,200 animals of all types.
The zoo is divided up into four unique trail sections including an Africa, the Tropics, Arizona and a trail specifically designed for children's interests. Visitors are welcome to bring their bikes or rollerblades to tour the zoo and there areareas dedicated to picnics if guests wish to bring their own food.
The zoo offers a Safari Train ride, giraffe encounters, a place to touch stingrays, a monkey village, petting zoo and much more to entertain and educate visitors of all ages during their visit.
Phoenix Zoo
455 North Galvin Pkwy.
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
602-273-1341
phoenixzoo.org
The Phoenix Mystery Castle is a home where the owner gives regular tours of the city's most unusual abode. Although it is called the Mystery Castle, there is nothing mysterious about it. The home belongs to Mary Lou Gulley, whose father Boyce Gulley built the odd structure in the 1930s. Gulley chose the location on the edge of the desert city because of the weather in an attempt to make living with his tuberculosis more manageable. When Gulley died in 1945, he willed the home to his daughter.
Gulley built the home out of some very strange materials, which have made this large 18-room house a tourist attraction over the years. The castle is built of old car parts, petroglyphs, stone and adobe and is held together with cement mixed with goat's milk. Mary Lou Gulley still lives in the Mystery Castle and gives a majority of the guided tours through her home.
Mystery Castle
800 E Mineral Road
Phoenix, AZ 85040
602-268-1581
mustseephoenix.com
