Phoenix Tourism Guide

Things to Do in Phoenix With Kids: Family Guide

Things to Do in Phoenix With Kids: Family Guide

From June through August the Phoenix Zoo opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. (checked September 2026), and that schedule tells you most of what you need to know about things to do in Phoenix with kids. This is a city where the morning is for outdoors, the middle of the day is for air conditioning, and the evening is for water. Families who plan that way have a great time here in any month, and families who don’t spend a lot of afternoons in hot parking lots. This guide sorts the Valley’s family attractions by age, prices a real day for a family of four, adds the stroller and shade notes nobody else bothers with, and builds a summer plan that assumes you can’t be outside between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Short answer: For little kids, start with the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, the Phoenix Zoo in the early morning, McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park and the city’s free splash pads. For school-age kids, add the Arizona Science Center, the Arizona Museum of Natural History’s dinosaurs, SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Tempe, and a water park day at Golfland Sunsplash. Expect a family of four to spend about $80 at the Science Center and $156 at the zoo in admission alone (checked September 2026), and keep summer afternoons indoors.

Prices, hours and rules in this guide were last checked on September 24, 2026.

Phoenix with kids at a glance Details (checked Sep 2026)
Best months October to April for outdoor days; May and September for mornings only
Summer rule Outdoors before 10 a.m. and after 5 p.m.; normal highs of 104 to 106.5°F in June, July and August
Top picks under 5 Children’s Museum of Phoenix, i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa, splash pads, McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
Top picks 5 to 12 Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Zoo, Arizona Museum of Natural History, SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Discovery Center, Golfland Sunsplash
Free and nearly free City splash pads (through October 4, 2026), McCormick-Stillman park entry, Hole-in-the-Rock, Tempe Town Lake, Phoenix Art Museum on Wednesday afternoons
Biggest single cost The Phoenix Zoo: $155.80 for two adults and two kids aged 3 to 13
Downtown cluster Children’s Museum and Arizona Science Center, 3 minutes from City Hall and on the light rail
Where attractions cluster Downtown Phoenix, Papago Park (zoo and garden), Tempe’s Arizona Mills, Scottsdale’s Arizona Boardwalk, downtown Mesa

Things to do in Phoenix with kids, by age

Age matters more than anything else when you choose what to do with kids in Phoenix, because the Valley’s best family attractions are built for very different children. A toddler will have a better day at the Children’s Museum than at a science center built around exhibits for readers, and a 12-year-old will be bored at a railroad park that delights a 4-year-old. Here’s how the attractions sort out, with drive times from downtown Phoenix (off-peak, checked September 2026).

Babies and toddlers (0 to 4)

For the littlest kids, the goal is room to crawl and climb, a short drive, and air conditioning. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix, 3 minutes from City Hall in a restored school building downtown, is the anchor: floor after floor of play spaces made for exactly this age. The i.d.e.a. Museum in downtown Mesa is built for children up to 12, with hands-on art and creativity spaces, and charges a flat $9 for everyone age 1 and up (checked September 2026). Outdoors, the city’s splash pads are free and made for toddlers, and McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale has no admission fee and a miniature train and carousel that children 2 and under ride free. The Phoenix Zoo works well for this age too, as long as you go at opening and leave before the heat, and children under 3 get in free.

The two-story brick former Monroe School, now the Children's Museum of Phoenix and a top pick among things to do in Phoenix with kids, with palms along the street
The Children’s Museum of Phoenix fills the former Monroe School downtown, photographed in June 2021.

Little kids (5 to 8)

From kindergarten through second grade, kids can handle more walking and start to love animals, trains, water and anything with buttons. This is the sweet spot for the Phoenix Zoo, for SEA LIFE Arizona and LEGOLAND Discovery Center at Arizona Mills in Tempe, and for the Arizona Museum of Natural History in downtown Mesa, whose dinosaurs are a guaranteed hit and whose child ticket is $9 for ages 3 to 12 (checked September 2026). The Arizona Science Center downtown starts to click at this age, and Butterfly Wonderland at the Arizona Boardwalk in Scottsdale is a short, magical visit for kids who can stand still long enough for a butterfly to land. Splash pads still work, and so does the carousel.

Families walking toward the Butterfly Wonderland entrance at the Arizona Boardwalk in Scottsdale, with its big butterfly sign above
Butterfly Wonderland at the Arizona Boardwalk in July 2022. The complex is 12 minutes from Old Town Scottsdale.

Big kids (9 to 12)

Older kids want action and real things. The Arizona Science Center becomes a full day, water parks come into their own (Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa and Hurricane Harbor Phoenix in Glendale), and the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix, where visitors hear instruments through headsets as they walk, is better than it sounds for this age. OdySea Aquarium’s big tanks suit them, spring training games in February and March make a great outing, and so do the old-West silliness of Goldfield Ghost Town near Apache Junction and a dawn walk up to Hole-in-the-Rock in Papago Park.

Teens

Teenagers are the easiest and hardest audience at once. The easy wins are water parks, a Suns or Mercury game at Mortgage Matchup Center downtown, a Diamondbacks game at Chase Field, and a sunrise hot air balloon flight for the ones who’ll get up at 4:30 a.m. Tubing on the Salt River, which requires riders to be at least 4 feet tall, runs roughly from late April to the end of September, so it’s a summer-only plan (checked September 2026). If your teens want to explore on their own, note that Waymo’s driverless rides require a teen account for riders under 18, and its own pages give different age ranges for those accounts, so read the rules before you count on it.

Attraction (off-peak from downtown, checked Sep 2026) Best ages Indoors or out Drive from downtown Phoenix Side of the Valley
Children’s Museum of Phoenix 0–8 Indoors 3 min Downtown Phoenix
Arizona Science Center 5–14 Indoors 3 min Downtown Phoenix
Phoenix Zoo All Outdoors 20 min Papago Park, east Phoenix
Desert Botanical Garden 5 and up Outdoors 17 min Papago Park, east Phoenix
SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Discovery Center 3–10 Indoors 19 min Arizona Mills, Tempe
OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland All Indoors 30 min Arizona Boardwalk, Scottsdale
McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park 1–8 Outdoors 26 min Scottsdale
Arizona Museum of Natural History 4–12 Indoors 27 min Downtown Mesa
i.d.e.a. Museum 0–12 Indoors About 27 min Downtown Mesa
Musical Instrument Museum 7 and up Indoors 29 min North Phoenix
Golfland Sunsplash 3 and up Outdoors, summer 25 min Mesa
Hurricane Harbor Phoenix 5 and up Outdoors, summer 31 min North Glendale
Wildlife World Zoo All Mostly outdoors 37 min Litchfield Park, West Valley

What a day costs for a family of four

Family attractions in Phoenix range from free to expensive, and the difference between a $0 day and a $200 day is mostly which tickets you buy. Here’s the arithmetic for two adults and two children, using each attraction’s published prices (checked September 2026). Where a child price depends on age, the example assumes kids in the most common ticket band; toddlers are often free.

Day out (2 adults, 2 kids; checked Sep 2026) Prices Family total
City splash pad Free $0
McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park Entry free; all-day ride wristbands $12 each $0 to $48
City pool (summer) Adults $3; kids free or $1, by pool $6 to $8
i.d.e.a. Museum $9 each, age 1 and up $36
Arizona Museum of Natural History Adults $16; children 3–12 $9 $50
Musical Instrument Museum Adults $20; children 4–12 $10 $60
SEA LIFE Arizona From $15.99 each online; from $22 on the day From $63.96 online, $88 on the day
Arizona Science Center Adults $22.95; children 3–17 $16.95 $79.80
Desert Botanical Garden, October to December 2026 Adults from $32.95; children from $14.95 From $95.80
Golfland Sunsplash Gate $59.99 (48 in. and over), $52 (under 48 in.); as low as $29.99 online $119.96 online to $239.96 at the gate
Phoenix Zoo Adults (14+) $44.95; children 3–13 $32.95 $155.80

A few things lower those numbers. The Phoenix Art Museum is pay what you wish on Wednesdays from 3 to 8 p.m. and free on First Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. The Desert Botanical Garden runs a pay-what-you-can Community Day on the second Tuesday of each month (the next dates are October 13 and November 10, 2026). And if you’re visiting family who hold a Phoenix Public Library card, its Culture Pass gets two people into the Desert Botanical Garden, the Phoenix Art Museum and several other museums free, borrowed in person on a first-come basis (all checked September 2026). The Culture Pass doesn’t cover the Musical Instrument Museum or the Arizona Science Center.

Buying online is the other lever. SEA LIFE’s tickets start at $15.99 online against $22 on the day, and Golfland Sunsplash sells tickets online for as little as $29.99 against a $59.99 gate price (checked September 2026). For a family of four at a water park, that’s the difference between a $120 day and a $240 one, which is worth five minutes on a phone the night before.

The big attractions, one by one

Phoenix Zoo

The Phoenix Zoo, at 455 N. Galvin Parkway in Papago Park, is the Valley’s classic family day, 20 minutes from downtown Phoenix and 8 from Tempe. Adults (14 and up) pay $44.95 and children 3 to 13 pay $32.95, and the zoo is cashless (checked September 2026). Its hours follow the heat: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. from June through August; in September, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 8 to 4 Friday to Sunday; 9 to 4 daily from October to mid-January; 9 to 5 from January 18 through April; and 8 to 4 in May. Ignore older listings with lower prices; they’re out of date, and the zoo’s own visit page has the current schedule.

The zoo is big and much of it is outdoors, so it’s a morning outing in any month from May to September. Bring a stroller with a sunshade for small children, a refillable water bottle for everyone, and plan to see one section well rather than the whole park quickly. Its winter light show, ZooLights, returns each winter, so check the zoo’s site for this year’s dates and ticket rules. The zoo and the Desert Botanical Garden share Papago Park, so they pair well in the cool months; in summer, pick one.

Children’s Museum of Phoenix

The Children’s Museum sits in the former Monroe School at 215 N. 7th St., 3 minutes from City Hall and a short walk from the light rail. Admission has been listed at $19 per person with babies under 1 free, and it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily during summer and school breaks, with free admission on the first Friday of each month; confirm the current price and free-day hours on the museum’s site before you go (checked September 2026). It’s the single best rainy-day, hot-day or jet-lag-day plan in the Valley for kids under 8, and parents of toddlers tend to budget a whole morning and still leave early only because of nap time.

Arizona Science Center

Across the street from The Square PHX downtown, the Arizona Science Center charges adults $22.95, students, military and seniors 62 and up $20.95, and children 3 to 17 $16.95, and it’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. plus select Mondays (checked September 2026). It suits kids from about 5 to early teens, and older kids can easily spend a day. Because it opens at 10:30 a.m., it pairs neatly with an early zoo morning in summer: zoo from 7 to 10, drive 20 minutes downtown, science center until closing.

The angular concrete and metal exterior of the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix under a bright blue sky
The Arizona Science Center downtown in June 2021. The Children’s Museum is a few blocks away.

OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland

The Arizona Boardwalk, 12 minutes from Old Town Scottsdale and 30 from downtown Phoenix, packs OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland around one plaza. OdySea’s aquarium-only adult ticket has been listed at $49.95, with a twilight ticket after 4:30 p.m. at $34.95; Butterfly Wonderland has been listed at $33.95 for ages 13 and up and $23.95 for ages 2 to 12, with children under 2 free (checked September 2026; confirm prices on each attraction’s site before you go). For a family of four, Butterfly Wonderland alone comes to about $116 at those prices. Both are indoors, so they’re a strong summer afternoon or monsoon-day plan; on a perfect March morning, the zoo or the garden is better value.

The OdySea Aquarium entrance with its name above glass doors, shade sails and visitors walking in
OdySea Aquarium’s entrance in July 2022. Its twilight ticket after 4:30 p.m. is the cheaper way in.

SEA LIFE Arizona and LEGOLAND Discovery Center

Both sit inside the Arizona Mills mall in Tempe, 11 minutes from Mill Avenue and 19 from downtown Phoenix, which makes them easy to combine in a single air-conditioned half day. SEA LIFE Arizona is open year-round, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, with tickets from $15.99 online and from $22 on the day and children under 2 free. LEGOLAND Discovery Center keeps the same hours with last entry at 3:30 p.m.; its annual passes start at $59, and both sell combination tickets (checked September 2026). They suit kids from about 3 to 10. Book online and arrive at opening on weekends, when the mall fills with families escaping the heat.

Arizona Museum of Natural History and i.d.e.a. Museum

Downtown Mesa, 27 minutes from downtown Phoenix and 15 from downtown Chandler, has two excellent and inexpensive museums. The Arizona Museum of Natural History, at 53 N. MacDonald, has dinosaurs, gems, meteorites and the archaeology of the Sonoran Desert’s first people; it’s open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., and charges $16 for adults and $9 for children 3 to 12, with children 2 and under free. The i.d.e.a. Museum nearby is an art and creativity museum designed for children up to 12, at $9 for everyone age 1 and up (both checked September 2026). Together they make one of the cheapest good museum days in the Valley.

Wildlife World Zoo

Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park, at 16501 W. Northern Ave. in Litchfield Park, is the West Valley’s big family attraction, with more than 600 species and daily sea lion, penguin and wildlife shows. It’s open every day of the year: from October 1 to May 31 the zoo runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the aquarium 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and from June 1 to September 30 the zoo runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the aquarium 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (checked September 2026). Its home page doesn’t list admission prices, so check the ticket page before you go. At 37 minutes from downtown and 51 from Old Town Scottsdale, it makes sense for families staying in the West Valley, 22 minutes from Westgate, and as a full-day trip for anyone else.

Musical Instrument Museum

The Musical Instrument Museum, at 4725 E. Mayo Blvd. in north Phoenix, charges $20 for adults, $15 for teens 13 to 19 and $10 for children 4 to 12, with children 3 and under free; it’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and parking is free (checked September 2026). Visitors wear headsets that play the music of each display as they approach it, which is exactly the kind of self-directed wandering older kids enjoy. It’s 29 minutes from downtown Phoenix and 27 from Old Town Scottsdale, and it’s one of the best ways to spend a July afternoon.

Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botanical Garden in Papago Park prices tickets by date: from October 1 to December 31, 2026, adults start at $32.95 and children at $14.95 (checked September 2026). It’s mostly outdoors on paved and gravel paths, so it’s a cool-month plan for families, best from October to April and early in the day. Kids who liked the zoo’s desert animals will like the garden’s giant saguaros; toddlers in strollers will manage the main loop, though gravel slows small wheels.

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, 7 minutes from Old Town and 26 from downtown Phoenix, charges no admission. Rides on the Paradise & Pacific Railroad or the Charros Carousel cost $3 each, children 2 and under ride free, eight tickets cost $20, and an all-day wristband costs $12 (checked September 2026). The park is open 363 days a year, closing only on Thanksgiving and Christmas; the rides run every half hour on weekdays and continuously on weekends, and hours shift with the seasons. It’s a perfect two-hour outing for kids under 8, and the playgrounds and shade trees make it one of the more comfortable outdoor spots in the cooler months.

A children's play area built like a small Western town, with a red stagecoach, a depot and a bank facade, at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
The Western-town playground at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in June 2019. Park entry is free; rides are $3.

Water: splash pads, pools and water parks

Water is how Phoenix families survive summer, and it comes in every price range. The cheapest is the City of Phoenix splash pads, which are free. In 2026 the city opened them early, on March 20, because of extreme heat, running Friday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until May 22 and then seven days a week; the 2026 season closes on Sunday, October 4 (checked September 2026). They’re ideal for toddlers and preschoolers, and the early-morning and evening hours match the heat.

The city’s public pools are the next step up. In summer 2026 they opened May 23, ran daily except Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. through late July, then weekends through September 6 plus Labor Day, and charged adults $3 and children free or $1 depending on the pool (checked September 2026). The 2026 pool season is over; expect a similar late-May start in 2027.

Water parks

Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa, 25 minutes from downtown Phoenix and 11 from downtown Chandler, charges $59.99 at the gate for guests 48 inches and taller and $52 for younger kids under 48 inches, but sells tickets online from $29.99 (checked September 2026). Its season passes include Night Splash evenings, which are the best time to go in July. Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix, the former Wet ‘n’ Wild, is in north Glendale, 31 minutes from downtown and 27 from Westgate; it was operating in 2026 and selling 2027 passes that cover the rest of 2026, but check its calendar for season dates and daily prices before you plan around it.

Resort water parks are the other option, and several sell day passes to non-guests. On ResortPass in September 2026, the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa, with its water park and lazy river, listed from $50; JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge, with a lazy river, waterslide and splash pad, listed from $50; and Great Wolf Lodge Arizona’s indoor water park, about a mile from the Arizona Boardwalk, listed from $55 (checked September 2026). Our guide to the best resorts in Phoenix compares these family pool resorts, their day passes and when a night’s stay beats a pass.

The Salt River

Tubing on the Lower Salt River is a classic Phoenix summer outing for older kids and teens, 47 minutes from downtown and 40 from Old Town Scottsdale. The 2026 season opened on April 25 and runs through the end of September, Fridays to Sundays only from September 8; riders must be at least 4 feet tall, children 12 and under wear life jackets, and a tube rental with shuttle costs $28 (checked September 2026). It’s a long, sunny day on the water, so it suits teens and confident swimmers far better than young children.

The summer plan: nothing outdoors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

From June through August the normal high at Sky Harbor is 104.2°F in June, 106.5°F in July and 105.1°F in August (NOAA 1991–2020 normals), and children overheat faster than adults. The rule that works is simple: outdoors before 10 a.m. and after 5 p.m., indoors or in the water in between. Monsoon season, from June 15 to September 30, adds afternoon storms, dust and lightning, which close pools and splash pads until they pass.

Summer day plan (checked Sep 2026) Morning, before 10 a.m. Midday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evening, after 5 p.m.
Animals Phoenix Zoo from 7 a.m. (closes 1 p.m. June to August) Arizona Science Center, 20 minutes away (opens 10:30 a.m.) Dinner and a pool back at your hotel
Museums A splash pad at 8 a.m. Children’s Museum of Phoenix or the Musical Instrument Museum Tempe Town Lake at dusk
East Valley The hotel pool at 7 a.m. Arizona Museum of Natural History and i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa Golfland Sunsplash for Night Splash
Water Water park at opening Lunch and a nap indoors Back to the water after 5 p.m.
West Valley Wildlife World Zoo at 8 a.m. (zoo open 8 to 4 in summer) Its aquarium, open until 5 p.m. A hotel pool in Glendale

A few rules make a summer trip with kids safe as well as fun. Never leave a child in a parked car, even for a minute; a car’s interior heats dangerously fast in Phoenix sun. Check car seat buckles and straps before you strap children in, because metal and dark fabric get hot enough to burn. Pack more water than seems reasonable, and have kids drink before they’re thirsty. Sunscreen goes on before you leave the hotel and again after every swim. And plan indoor backups for monsoon afternoons, when a sudden storm can clear a splash pad or water park in minutes.

Summer has upsides for families. The big resorts drop their rates, the museums are quiet on weekdays, and tables at restaurants are easy to get. If your kids are water babies, a July trip built around a resort pool, a water park and air-conditioned museums can be the best-value family trip the Valley offers.

Strollers, shade and practical stuff

Phoenix is spread out, so most family days involve a car, a parking lot and a walk across hot pavement. A stroller with a full sunshade is worth more here than almost anywhere; add a clip-on fan and a spray bottle in summer, and a light blanket for the cool mornings from December to February. Most of the Valley’s big attractions have paved main paths, but the Desert Botanical Garden has gravel sections that slow small wheels, and the zoo’s loop is long enough that toddlers will want to ride most of it.

Shade is the scarce resource outdoors. Plan zoo and garden visits for the first two hours after opening, when the paths are cooler and the animals are more active, and take breaks in indoor exhibits or under trees. At a splash pad or pool, bring a pop-up canopy only where it’s allowed, and otherwise claim the shade early. On summer days, the parking lot is the hottest place you’ll visit: park in the shade or a garage when you can, and run the air conditioning for a couple of minutes before loading kids.

Downtown’s two big museums, the Children’s Museum and the Arizona Science Center, are on the Valley Metro light rail, where children 5 and under ride free with a fare-paying adult and adults pay $2 a ride (checked September 2026). That makes a car-free museum day possible from a downtown hotel. For kids with sensory sensitivities, Sky Harbor has a Sensory Room inside the Compassion Corner on Level 3 of Terminal 4, a useful quiet spot on travel days.

Tempe Town Lake at night, with the lights of the rail bridge and Tempe buildings reflected in the dark water
Tempe Town Lake after dark. In summer, the lake is an evening outing, not an afternoon one.

Car seats, rideshares and the airport

Arizona law requires child restraints for young children, which shapes how a family gets around. A rental car is the simplest answer, because you can bring your own seats or rent them with the car; if you plan to use rideshares, bring a lightweight travel seat or booster and install it every ride. Waymo’s driverless cars are an option for teens with their own accounts, but read its rules for younger riders first. At Sky Harbor, the PHX Sky Train that links the terminals, the Rental Car Center and the light rail is free, runs around the clock and takes strollers, so you can reach your rental car without folding anything. On the way home, leave extra time: returning a car, riding the train and getting a family through security takes longer than any one of those steps suggests.

A three-day family plan for the cool months

From October to April, a family can be outdoors most of the day, which opens up the Valley’s parks and gardens. This plan keeps each day in one part of town and mixes indoor and outdoor stops, with drive times off-peak (checked September 2026).

Day one: downtown museums. Start at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix when it opens at 9 a.m., which suits kids under 8, or at the Arizona Science Center at 10:30 a.m. for older kids; the two are a few blocks apart, 3 minutes from City Hall and on the light rail. Eat lunch downtown, walk across to The Square PHX to see the Victorian Rosson House from the outside, and save energy for the afternoon at the museum you didn’t do in the morning. Admission for a family of four comes to $79.80 at the Science Center (checked September 2026); check the Children’s Museum’s current price before you go.

Day two: Papago Park. Arrive at the Phoenix Zoo at opening, 9 a.m. from October to mid-January, and spend the morning there ($155.80 for two adults and two kids aged 3 to 13, checked September 2026). After lunch, either cross to the Desert Botanical Garden in the same park or, with young kids, drive 8 minutes to Tempe Town Lake for a free afternoon by the water. Finish with the short walk up to Hole-in-the-Rock for sunset, which works in the cool months, when the sun sets before the lot closes at 7 p.m.

Day three: trains and dinosaurs. In the morning, go to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, where entry is free and all-day ride wristbands cost $12. Drive 19 minutes to downtown Mesa for the Arizona Museum of Natural History ($50 for a family of four with kids 3 to 12) and, for younger children, the i.d.e.a. Museum ($9 each). That’s a full day of museums and rides for under $150 in admission (checked September 2026).

Day trips and bigger outings with kids

A few outings take more time or money and repay it with memories. Goldfield Ghost Town, a re-created mining town near Apache Junction about an hour east of downtown Phoenix, is kid-friendly silliness: its railroad and mine tour cost $12 each for adults and $8 for children 5 to 12, with children 4 and under free, a zipline costs $15, and shops and tours run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (checked September 2026). Combine it with Lost Dutchman State Park nearby for a desert walk in the cool months.

A sunrise hot air balloon flight is the splurge. Hot Air Expeditions charges $239 per adult and $189 per child aged 5 to 12 for a shared morning flight, plus 9% taxes and fees, so a family of four with two children in that age range pays about $933 (checked September 2026). Flights leave at dawn, and children need to be tall enough to see over the basket and patient enough for an early start; ask the operator about age minimums before you book.

For animal lovers, the wild horses of the Lower Salt River, northeast of Mesa, are best seen within a couple of hours of sunrise or sunset. The volunteer group that monitors them asks visitors to stay at least 50 feet away and never feed them. Bigger road trips, to Sedona or the Grand Canyon, have their own guides; with small children, break them up with a night on the road rather than doing them as long day trips.

Where to base a family trip

The Valley’s family attractions cluster in a few places, and where you stay decides how much of your trip you spend in the car. Tempe is the most central base for families: from Mill Avenue, the Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanical Garden are 8 minutes away, Arizona Mills 11, downtown Phoenix’s museums 15 to 16, and Golfland Sunsplash 17 (off-peak, checked September 2026). Downtown Phoenix puts you within walking distance or a light-rail ride of the Children’s Museum and the Science Center. Scottsdale suits families focused on the Arizona Boardwalk (12 minutes from Old Town) and McCormick-Stillman (7). Chandler and Gilbert are close to Golfland Sunsplash (11 minutes from downtown Chandler) and Mesa’s museums (15). The West Valley makes sense for Wildlife World Zoo (22 minutes from Westgate) and Hurricane Harbor (27).

Family-focused hotels are their own subject, but one point belongs here: in summer, a resort with a serious pool complex can be the whole trip, and a family of four often pays less for a room than for day passes plus a hotel elsewhere. Add a third or more to every drive time at weekday rush hours, and more on spring training weekends.

Sports and events with kids

Spring training, from February 19 to March 23, 2027, is the Valley’s best family sporting event: smaller parks, lawns for kids to roam, and players close enough to see. Hohokam Stadium in Mesa has Stomper’s Kid Zone, and Salt River Fields opens its Cold Stone Kids Fun Field an hour and 10 minutes before first pitch (checked September 2026). Downtown, the Suns and Mercury play at Mortgage Matchup Center, the arena many people still call Footprint Center, and the Diamondbacks play at Chase Field, two minutes from City Hall.

The cool months bring family events worth planning around. ZooLights returns in winter (check the zoo’s site for dates); the Desert Botanical Garden’s Las Noches de las Luminarias fills 20 evenings between November 27 and December 30, 2026, with separate tickets; the Phoenix Art Museum holds a free Family Funday Sunday on November 15, 2026; Canal Convergence lights up the Scottsdale Waterfront from November 6 to 15, 2026; and the Heard Museum’s World Championship Hoop Dance Contest runs February 6 and 7, 2027 (checked September 2026).

Free and cheap things to do with kids

Phoenix has more free family options than its reputation suggests, especially from October to April. Hole-in-the-Rock in Papago Park is a short, easy climb to a natural window in the red rock, and the trail starts at the Papago Park Visitor Center; a true sunset visit works only from roughly mid-September to mid-April, when sunset comes before the 7 p.m. lot closing (checked September 2026). Walking the paths around Tempe Town Lake, about two miles long, costs nothing, and there are paid boat rentals from a vendor at Tempe Beach Park. McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park charges nothing to enter. The city splash pads are free until October 4, 2026.

For museums, the Phoenix Art Museum’s pay-what-you-wish Wednesday afternoons and free First Friday evenings are the cheapest way in, and the Desert Botanical Garden’s second-Tuesday Community Day is pay what you can (checked September 2026). The Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve in north Phoenix, run by ASU, charges $5 for ages 7 to 12 and nothing for children 6 and under, with a quarter-mile trail past ancient rock art; it’s open from January through April and in May and August to December, and closed in June and July.

What to skip

Skip any outdoor outing between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. from June to September. Normal highs run 104 to 106.5°F, and kids overheat faster than you do. Move the zoo, the garden and the park to early morning, and spend midday indoors or in the water.

Skip the zoo after lunch in summer. From June through August it closes at 1 p.m., and by then the paths are brutal anyway (checked September 2026).

Skip paying at the gate. Golfland Sunsplash’s online tickets start at $29.99 against a $59.99 gate price, and SEA LIFE’s online price starts at $15.99 against $22 on the day (checked September 2026).

Skip the long drive for a half day. Wildlife World Zoo is 51 minutes from Old Town Scottsdale; make it a full West Valley day or skip it for the Phoenix Zoo, 10 minutes from Old Town.

Skip OdySea and Butterfly Wonderland on a perfect spring day. They’re indoor, pricey and ideal in July; in March, spend the money and the morning outdoors.

Skip the splash pads after October 4, 2026. The season ends that day; the city pools closed after Labor Day.

Skip leaving anyone in the car. Not for a minute, not with the engine running, not in any month from April to October.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is there to do in Phoenix with toddlers?

The Children’s Museum of Phoenix downtown is built for them, and the i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa charges $9 for everyone age 1 and up. McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale is free to enter, with $3 train and carousel rides that children 2 and under take free, and the city’s free splash pads run through October 4, 2026 (checked September 2026).

How much does the Phoenix Zoo cost for a family?

Adults (14 and up) pay $44.95 and children 3 to 13 pay $32.95, so two adults and two kids pay $155.80; children under 3 are free (checked September 2026). The zoo is cashless. From June through August it opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m., so summer visits are morning-only.

What can kids do in Phoenix when it’s too hot?

Go indoors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: the Children’s Museum and Arizona Science Center downtown, the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix, SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Discovery Center at Arizona Mills in Tempe, and the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa. Save the zoo for 7 a.m. and water parks, splash pads and pools for the morning and evening.

Are there free things to do in Phoenix with kids?

Yes. City splash pads are free through October 4, 2026; McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park charges no admission; Hole-in-the-Rock and Tempe Town Lake are free; and the Phoenix Art Museum is pay what you wish on Wednesdays from 3 to 8 p.m. and free on First Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. (checked September 2026).

What water parks are near Phoenix?

Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix in north Glendale are the two big ones. Golfland charges $59.99 at the gate for guests 48 inches and taller but sells online tickets from $29.99 (checked September 2026). Resorts including the Arizona Grand and JW Marriott Desert Ridge sell water-park day passes from about $50.

Is the Arizona Science Center worth it for kids?

For ages 5 to 14, yes. Adults pay $22.95 and children 3 to 17 pay $16.95, so a family of four spends $79.80, and it’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. plus select Mondays (checked September 2026). It’s downtown on the light rail and pairs well with an early zoo morning in summer.

What is the best area to stay in Phoenix with kids?

Tempe is the most central for family attractions: the Phoenix Zoo and Desert Botanical Garden are 8 minutes from Mill Avenue, Arizona Mills 11 and downtown’s museums 15 to 16 (off-peak, checked September 2026). Downtown Phoenix suits museum days on foot, Scottsdale suits the Arizona Boardwalk, and a pool resort can carry a summer trip.

When is the best time to visit Phoenix with kids?

October to April, when you can be outdoors all day. November and December add ZooLights and the Desert Botanical Garden’s luminarias, and February and March add spring training. Summer works for water-focused families who plan indoors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., when normal highs reach 104 to 106.5°F.

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Sources and verification

This guide is built from research, not hosted visits. Prices, hours and seasons were checked on September 24, 2026 against the attractions, the City of Phoenix and the other organizations listed below, and drive times were measured the same day with OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data (free-flow times, so add more at rush hour).

Photo Credits

Phoenix Tourism Guide