Gold Canyon, Arizona
Things to do.
Parks, museums, family days and nights out in Gold Canyon, plus the Valley icons a short drive away. Something for tonight and something for the weekend.
Outdoors
Cloudview and Peralta trailheads
Lost Goldmine Trail
A roughly nine-mile trail along the base of the Superstition Mountains, running from near Apache Junction to east of Gold Canyon. Pinal County lists daily trail hours from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and warns that Cloudview parking is limited.
Kings Ranch Rd
Gold Canyon Golf Resort and Spa
A Gold Canyon resort at 6100 S. Kings Ranch Road with two 18-hole courses, Dinosaur Mountain and Sidewinder, plus lodging, dining and a spa.
Superstition Mountain
Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club
Two Nicklaus courses laid under the range itself, and the view is genuinely the point.
Gold Canyon
Mountain Brook Golf Club
A public eighteen in the middle of town, walkable and unfussy.
Peralta Road
Peralta Trail
The classic Superstition hike, climbing to Fremont Saddle and the view of Weavers Needle that ends up on every postcard.
North on Kings Ranch Road
Lost Dutchman State Park
Three hundred and twenty acres under the Superstition cliffs, with the Treasure Loop and Siphon Draw trails.
Phoenix / Around the Valley
Camelback Mountain
The Valley's signature summit hike, 2,704 feet over the Sonoran Desert.
North Valley / Around the Valley
Lake Pleasant Regional Park
The Valley's big blue playground: boating, kayaking and desert coves up north.
Arts & culture
Kings Ranch Rd
Canyon Sounds
The Gold Canyon Arts Council's annual performance series, presented mainly at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church, 6640 S. Kings Ranch Road, from November through April.
Apache Trail, about eight miles north
Superstition Mountain Museum
The Lost Dutchman story, a working stamp mill and a chapel moved off a film set, all at the foot of the range.
Papago Park / Around the Valley
Desert Botanical Garden
50,000 desert plants and rotating shows like the Chihuly glass. Free the 2nd Tuesday monthly.
Phoenix / Around the Valley
Musical Instrument Museum
4,000+ instruments from every country on earth, routinely called the Valley's best museum.
Family fun
Alameda Rd
Dinosaur Park
A Pinal County park at 5622 S. Alameda Road with ramadas, a short trail, playground equipment and a butterfly garden beside Dinosaur Mountain.
US Highway 60
Arizona Renaissance Festival
A seasonal open-air festival village at 12601 E. US Highway 60 in Gold Canyon with jousting, falconry, shows, rides, food and an artisan market over nine weekends each spring.
Papago Park / Around the Valley
Phoenix Zoo
Arizona's beloved nonprofit zoo, wild since 1962.
Downtown Phoenix / Around the Valley
Arizona Science Center
Hands-on STEM, a planetarium and a five-story screen downtown.
Hours and prices change. Confirm with each spot before you head out. Looking for a bite after? Where to eat in Gold Canyon.
Never wonder what to do.
The Gold Canyon weekly rounds up what is happening, what is new and what is worth your weekend. Every Friday morning.
