Phoenix, Arizona

Rating:

While it may be tempting to spend a Phoenix family vacation within the confines of a five-star luxury resort, families venturing beyond the swimming pool, spa and golf course will quickly discover that there are lots of fun things to do with kids in the Valley of the Sun. Area parks such as South Mountain, McDowell Mountain and White Tank Mountain Regional Park offer more than a bit of 'green', hiking, biking and horseback riding await outdoor adventure seekers. If quintessential southwest is your goal, explore Hohokam Indian ruins and participate in a simulated excavation at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center. Tour a re-created Zuni Pueblo and participate in hands-on activities at the Heard Museum. Families in search of the 'Old West' will want to head to Goldfield Ghost Town and pan for gold and tour a once functioning gold mine. Jeep tours and amusement parks, not to mention the Phoenix Zoo and professional sporting matches, are but a few of the Phoenix attractions offering family fun.

Fun Facts about Phoenix

There are lots of fun facts about Phoenix, Arizona. Did you know that:

Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the United States. Nearly 1.5 million people live here!
The city of Phoenix, like the mythical bird, was born from something that came before it. Phoenix is built on the ruins of a Hohokam village.
Phoenix is nicknamed the Valley of the Sun because the sun shines 300 days a year.
Phoenix is situated in the Sonoran Desert and it is located on the banks of the once flowing Salt River.
The Phoenix area is surrounded by 4 mountain ranges; McDowell, White Tank, Superstition and Sierra Estrella.
Jack Swilling, the founding father of Phoenix, got his idea for canals from the Hohokam. They were the first people to use irrigation to make the area known as Phoenix inhabitable.
Phoenix was part of the territory of New Spain until the end of the Mexican-American War and it was clamed by both the Confederates and U.S. government during the American Civil War.