Park of The Canals in Mesa

The Park of Canals in Mesa was a great find when looking for a not busy place to play on a Sunday afternoon. The Mesa Park has a playground, botanical garden, and hiking trails.

Playground

This wood chip playground has a lot of fun to offer. The large play structure has lots of ways to climb up, slides, rock walls, climbing nets and more. There’s a Scavenger hunt located by one of the slides and the images are hidden all over the playground and the kids had fun finding them all! There are 2 big kid and 2 toddler swings in the playground however not close enough to push one while standing under a new climber.

My kids enjoyed the little details in this playground the most. There is a place to dump balls in a dump truck, spin a man to make him run, a cat maze and a scavenger hunt. My kids refuse to leave until they found every last thing on the scavenger hunt.

Picnic

There are lots of picnic tables scattered around as well as reservable ramadas located throughout the park in numerous sizes. You can reserve a shaded ramada here. There is also seating inside the botanical garden and picnic tables over looking the playground that are not shaded, but great for snacks.

Park

The 31 acre park includes a playground, botanical garden, shaded garden areas, picnic tables and ramadas, and restrooms. The Park of the Canals preserves about 4,500 feet of ancient canals. The National Geographic Society has listed this park as an important site for Native American heritage.

The hiking trail is just right for small feet. Smooth enough for a stroller or wagon. However it is just long enough that you shouldn’t get many complaints. Pro tip: start the walk next to the information center and you will walk around directly to the playground!

Brinton Desert Botanical Garden

In order to persevere the ancient Indian and early generation Mormons, the Briton family wanted to purchase it but were not able to. The George Bond family bought the park for $85,000 in 1971 in honor of the Briton family. This short but beautiful botanical garden is a great mix of the beauty of Arizona that we see every day around here. This would be a great spot to bring out of town guests for a free walk around exploring the names of native Arizona plants. Or a place to take kids to study desert plants.

Getting There

Located off Horne, between McKellips and Brown, Park of the Canals in Mesa has a parking lot on the property with plenty of parking.

Park of The Canals

City of Mesa Park of The Canal

1710 N Horne, Mesa, AZ 85203

 

Lots of other great hiking spots for kids can be found here! Or browse these reviews of other playgrounds.