Pioneer Park in Mesa is one of the best parks in Phoenix! On a recent errand in east Mesa I had some time to kill. The weather was nice, so I quickly Googled nearby parks and saw a cool picture of a climbing structure and clicked directions and headed that way. It was a spur of the moment, pure luck to stumble upon this park. I had heard the name but had no idea it was so massive! With so many fun things to do I didn’t know where to start, however my son did, he said “big train”, and we were off!
Killing 20 or 30 minutes at a park turned into over an hour long exploring the park, trying not to let them get too wet in the splash pad since I didnt have extra shoes with me, ooops. And of course having to drag them away from the climbing in order to get to finish our errand! We could have easily made this a much longer adventure.
Splash Pad
The 15 foot tall water tower streams down for quite a long time. No need to keep turning it on. There is also a button you can push to turn on the fountain style water. Good combination of possibilities of getting a little wet to cool off to full on soaking wet! I didn’t see any standing water, so no place for pre crawlers to sit in water. Splash pad is open 7 days a week from 10 am to 10pm. Great splash pad and open year round!
Playground
9,000 square foot playground was designed around the tree types of trees located in the park, pistache, palm and mesquite. Epic playground includes; treehouse play structure, friendship swing, elevated sand table, fossil dig, 500 foot suspension bridge, twisty slides, net climbers, freestanding swings, spinner seats, hangout room, unique climbing textures, rock wall to climb, roller slide and so many more details I don’t even know what to call them all. I managed to climb to the very top of the “tree” with my two year olds and slide down the tallest slide. Definitely want to keep an eye on your kids at this park!
Picnic
First come first serve shaded picnic ramadas are located throughout the park, as well as reservable shaded picnic ramadas. There were numerous benches and places to sit and snack located throughout the park. Ramada reservation information can be found on the website.
Park
After the 2018 renovation, the park has many features including:
- treehouse play structures
- 15-foot water wall and splash pad
- 500 foot suspension bridge
- 9,000 sq. foot playground
- food truck/food court area
- historic train and monuments
- reservable shaded picnic ramadas
- picnic tables
- restrooms
- two lighted basketball courts
- horseshoes (the horseshoe area at Pioneer Park is available for use by reservation only at no charge; reservations must be made 7 days in advance)
Restrooms are located near the splash pad and can I just say, they are great! Hand washing stations outside and rows of stalls with doors. I do not remember seeing a diaper changing station, but the handicap stall was in use so I did not get to look in there.
Many Mesa events are held at this park. Including Food Trucks and live music Saturday night from 5:30 to 9. More information can be found here.
While there weren’t many people here on a Friday morning, I can see how this park would quickly get very busy and easy to lose a child. The park is very spread out and there is limited visibility between structures. Also, the whole tree house is connected, so kids could easily run across to the other side or more dangerous areas. My advice, climb, swing and play with your children!
Sensory Guide
The city of Mesa created a Sensory Guide for guests with cognitive disorders.
Getting There
Pioneer Park
526 E. Main St
Mesa, AZ 85203
Looking for more awesome playgrounds in the Phoenix area? Check out this popular blog post with our top 10 list!
