Fun Weekend Family Activities in Phoenix Arizona

Are you looking for fun weekend family activities in Phoenix Arizona? There are so many things to do in Phoenix Arizona with kids. This weekend we flew out to Phoenix to escape the snow. We filled our days with charity, nature, and delicious food. We spent our weekend in Phoenix (and surrounding cities) with our kids.

Fun Weekend Family Activities in Phoenix Arizona

Phoenix Miles for Migraine walk/run/relax event

Miles for Migraine is a nonprofit organization that holds events to donate funds to local migraine and headache research. Annually, this event is held in Phoenix Arizona, in March. Come meet powerful advocates and receive information and promotional goodies. Funds go to local headache centers around the Phoenix area. Remember to wear purple, migraine, and headache awareness color. It was such a fun family activity to get some exercise and donate money to a well-deserving charity.

Want to know more about the events and find out if one is in your city? Miles for Migraine has walk/run/relax events throughout the U.S. and patient educational days throughout the year.

Decadent Macaron

A fun weekend activity on vacation, for us, always involves finding the sweet. And we found it with Decadent Macaron. This is a must-visit-stop if you are in the Chandler area (and worth going out of your way for if you aren’t!). This charming shop is located in the Palette Collective on Chandler Village Drive. Their menu has flavors like salted caramel, pistachio, cake batter, red velvet, lemon, butterbeer, and many more.

The owners are passionate about putting beauty, flavor, and love into each gluten-free bite. The colors are vibrant, the owners are lovely, and the flavors had us eating macarons for breakfast (hey, we were on vacation!), lunch, and dinner. There were so many delicious options that we couldn’t choose just one!

Before our visit, we taste-tested Cleveland’s best macaron location, and Decadent Macaron blew us away with their taste comparatively. My children were not fans of our local shop but begged us to return to Decadent Macaron after our initial visit for more.

Not only do the owners make the best macarons we’ve ever tasted, but they are a God-loving, charitable couple who donated to the Miles for Migraine race to bring a smile to a few lucky winners. How can you not love them?

Weekend Family Activities Outdoors

Phoenix Zoo

When talking about fun activities with kids, we usually end up at the local zoo. Traveler’s tip- if you are a zoo member in your local city, the Phoenix zoo gives discounts on general admission tickets. We used our membership passes and upgraded to experience the 4D theater, Bugs Big Bugs! We loved the exhibit, safari tour, and stingray encounter.

My children loved petting the stingrays! We spent a long time around the covered tank learning about the babies, differing personalities, and lives of these silky, slippery creatures.

Fun activities include

Bug, Big Bugs! The exhibit was a path that meandered around rocky paths teaching us about bugs and viewing them as massive electronic species that was informational and fun. In each corner, we encountered a new bug to learn about and see in a Big Way.

The 4D theater was a movie that provided a 3D experience with flower smells and mists of rain. Full disclosure, we did not last 15 minutes of the film. The shaking chairs and dramatic music freaked out my children (6 and 8). Leaving was not a problem, and those sensitive to sensory exposure should proceed cautiously.

The safari ride was a tour around the zoo. We began our day (after running out of the theater) with this to give us an idea of how the zoo was laid out, gave us info about their animals, and gave us ideas on where we wanted to spend the most time. The zoo was smaller than our local zoo but had many animals to look at and shaded paths that gave relief from the heat. My children particularly liked the petting zoo that allowed them to brush goats that were large and gentle.

Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botanical Garden is a really fun keekend family activities that I would highly recomend. The tranquil desert plants are settled in the red rocks of Papago Buttes that makes it especailly beautyfil. There are five thematic trails that allow you to wander the Sonoran Desert. Our favorite was the butterfly garden in which we had them land on us and allow us to watch their beauty in close range. Along with tthe different kinds of cacti, we were in awe with the Dave Chihuly sculputres. It’s the type of place that I plan to return to on each trip. Once just wasn’t enough.

Fun Weekend Family Activities: Hiking

Hole in the Rock-Papago park

Hole in the Rock is next to the zoo and was a favorite for my tiny hikers. It is a path that walks up to a large rock formation that has, you guessed it, a hole in it. We went first thing in the morning before the zoo opened and had the place to ourselves. We explored the rocks and saw an incredible view from the hole. This was my children’s first experience seeing the Arizona mountains and rocks. It was exciting for them to explore.

South Mountain

South Mountainis one of the largest municipally managed parks in the nation and consists of three mountain ranges.” We found a path around 2 miles, taking us to the top of a mountain and back around. We are still getting used to traveling without a stroller, and I was so excited for the freedom to walk on these winding rocky paths that I would have otherwise not been able to explore.

My favorite part was hearing my daughter say, “I never thought I’d get to say I climbed a mountain, and now I’ve done it!” Providing my children with a walk that feels like they are literally on top of the world (although this was NOT a huge mountain) gave me great pride. We saw a panoramic view of the mountains and city while the sun peeked through clouds lighting the area with such beauty. This hike filled us all with a sense of accomplishment and peace (Although not quite. I was walking with 2 motor mouths that had a lot to discuss!). But inner peace!

San Tan Mountains

We hiked the Moonlight trail at San Tan. It was a mild hike with great views and begins near the visitor center.

Camelback Mountain

We hiked Camelback before we had kids. This may not be family activities until our little ones are a bit older. This hike was much more advanced than our other hikes. Both Camelback Mountain trails provide fantastic views, a great workout, and lots of wildlife.

Overall, there are so many fun family activities to do in Phoenix on a weekend. It feels like the possibility is endless.

What are some weekend family activities you like to do in Phoenix Arizona?