Maricopa, Arizona
Things to do.
Parks, museums, family days and nights out in Maricopa, plus the Valley icons a short drive away. Something for tonight and something for the weekend.
Outdoors
AZ-238
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
A links-style desert course on Ak-Chin land, long enough to have hosted professional qualifying.
Estrella Sailport
Arizona Soaring
Glider flights out of the Sailport, from a quiet sightseeing loop to full aerobatics.
W Bud Road
Sonora Wings Hang Gliding
Tandem hang gliding with an instructor, towed up over the desert floor.
Rancho El Dorado
Maricopa Lake Park
A free park built around a manmade lake, with fountains and mountain views past the water.
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
Ak-Chin Indian Community
Ak-Chin Him-Dak Eco-Museum
The Ak-Chin community's own museum, built to keep its history in the community's hands rather than someone else's.
W Halfmoon Road
Dwarf Car Museum
Ernie Adams builds scaled-down classic cars by hand and shows them here. There is nothing else like it in the state.
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
Martin Luther King Blvd
Copper Sky Regional Park
Ninety-eight acres with a five-acre fishing lake, an amphitheater, a skate plaza, a dog park and a pool with a lazy river.
Copper Sky
Copper Sky Aquatic Center
Lap pool, splash pad, slide, rock wall and lazy river. No membership needed to swim.
N John Wayne Parkway
Pacana Park
The city park with the dog run, split into separate sides for big and small dogs.
Rancho El Dorado
Jane Askew Memorial Park
Neighborhood park at Rancho El Dorado Parkway with a playground, courts and water features.
44345 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Copper Sky Multigenerational Center
Open since 2014 at Copper Sky: fitness and cardio floors, free weights, group classes, drop-in sports and child watch, with the year-round aquatics attached. Run by the City of Maricopa.
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.
Nightlife & events
Maricopa Road
Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino
The Ak-Chin community's casino resort: gaming, restaurants, a pool and a concert calendar.
Health & fitness
19342 N Maricopa Rd, Heritage District
Peaches and Gains
A women-only gym in the Heritage District, opened in 2025 by Natalie McGrory, built around getting women onto the weights rather than parked on the cardio machines.
Hours and prices change. Confirm with each spot before you head out. Looking for a bite after? Where to eat in Maricopa.
Never wonder what to do.
The Maricopa weekly rounds up what is happening, what is new and what is worth your weekend. Every Friday morning.
