Scottsdale With Kids: Family Things to Do

Why Scottsdale works for a family trip

Parsons Hospitality is a family business, and most of our biggest houses were furnished with cousins and grandparents in mind. So when people ask about Scottsdale with kids, we have a real answer. The city mixes desert you can walk into with indoor attractions built for children, and the weather is kind for most of the year. Scottsdale with kids works because the day has a rhythm: something outdoors in the morning, something cool and indoors after lunch, and a pool at the house for everything in between.

This guide covers the attractions that hold a child's attention, the parks locals actually use, the water options for hot months and the seasonal events worth planning around.

OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland at Arizona Boardwalk

OdySea Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the Southwest, with around 50 exhibits spread across a multi-level building. Sea turtles, sharks, jellyfish and sea lions are the crowd pleasers. The Living Sea Carousel rotates you past the tanks, there is an underwater walking tour and a set of 3D films, and the stingray touch experience is the part most kids talk about afterward. Have older children bring their school IDs, since the aquarium sometimes runs student specials.

Butterfly Wonderland is next door and billed as the largest butterfly pavilion in the country. You walk through a warm rainforest atrium with thousands of butterflies landing wherever they like, which is magic for younger children and surprisingly calming for adults. There is also a 3D film about the monarch migration, working honeybee hives and another stingray touch tank. Do both in one visit and you have a full, air-conditioned day.

Two more aquariums round out the options. Sea Life Arizona has an undersea tunnel and a 161,000-gallon ocean tank and suits kids twelve and under. Wildlife World Zoo Aquarium has more than 80 exhibits, penguins, a touch tank and a restaurant with windows into the shark tank.

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park and the best parks in Scottsdale

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is the one every local parent knows. There is a miniature train you ride around the grounds, a carousel and playgrounds, and on Sunday evenings in summer the park hosts free Rock and Roll at the Railroad Park concerts. Bring a blanket.

Chaparral Park is the picnic park, with a lake to sit beside and plenty of grass. Paiute Park has a big splash pad plus tennis courts and playgrounds, and it stays open from sunrise until late evening. Papago Park, on the Tempe border, gives you short trails through sandstone buttes and the Phoenix Zoo inside the same park, which is an easy way to combine a hike with animals.

Splash pads, pools and rafting: Scottsdale water activities for kids

For a proper swim outside the house, the Chaparral Aquatic Center has ten lap lanes, a diving board and a wading area for little ones. The Kiwanis Wave Pool in Tempe is indoors, so it works in any weather and makes the ocean feel close.

For adventure, Wilderness Aware runs rafting trips on the Salt River out of Scottsdale in half-day, full-day and multi-day formats and tailors them to the group. Older kids love the rapids, and the guides point out wildlife and geology along the way. Gentler options are a float down the Salt River in a tube, a kayak on the Verde River where the water brings the desert to life, or paddleboards rented on the shore of Saguaro Lake.

Desert Botanical Garden, horseback rides and the preserve with a stroller

The Desert Botanical Garden is the best introduction to the desert for a child. Hands-on exhibits explain native plants, the trails are flat and the seasonal events are worth checking before you go.

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is stroller friendly on its easier trails, so families with toddlers can get into real desert without carrying anyone. Guided hikes, Jeep tours and horseback rides all run into the preserve, and the KOLI Equestrian Center offers scenic desert rides for families. Camelback Mountain is for older kids with energy to burn, and even then, go early. TopGolf is the fallback when the group cannot agree on anything.

In Phoenix, the Arizona Science Center is the rainy-day pick, though rainy days are rare.

Old Town Scottsdale with kids: the trolley and Sugar Bowl

Old Town is more child friendly than its nightlife reputation suggests. The free Scottsdale Trolley is a hit with small kids on its own merits, and the Saturday farmers market is an easy morning. Sugar Bowl is the classic soda fountain, and the Dusty Road Sundae or a thick milkshake is the reward for a good day. Ruze Cake House does baked goods and cold drinks when the afternoon heats up.

Family events in Scottsdale by season

Winter brings the light displays. Las Noches de las Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Garden lights thousands of hand-lit paper lanterns along the paths, and ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo is the other big one. Whole neighborhoods decorate, and some houses draw a line of cars.

Late winter into spring is spring training, when the San Francisco Giants play at Scottsdale Stadium and the bleachers are full of kids who came for the corn dogs. Western Week brings parades, and the Scottsdale Arts Festival adds interactive exhibits and performances. Fall is when locals tell you to come. The heat breaks, the trails open up all day and fall break lands right in the sweet spot.

Where to stay in Scottsdale with a big family

A hotel suite falls apart at eight people. Our houses start where hotels stop. Casa Palacio has eight bedrooms and sleeps 20, with a grotto pool and a tennis court that keep teenagers occupied without leaving the property. Valley Vista Estate in Paradise Valley has eleven bedrooms and sleeps 30, which is the house for the reunion where three generations and a couple of strollers all need their own corner.

Both have kitchens meant for cooking real meals, separate living areas so early bedtimes and late movies coexist, and outdoor space where nobody is counting heads. Our concierge can arrange a private chef, groceries before arrival or a car for the days you would rather not drive.

Questions we get asked