VisiMesa
Travelling with tots? Don’t worry, Mesa has you covered. Whether it’s creating a work of art or panning for gold, Mesa offers an enriching experience for every single family member.
The city is recognized for offering one of the most family-friendly communities for its residents. In fact, the city most recently made the annual ‘Playful City USA’ list by KaBOOM!, a national non-profit organization dedicated to bringing play into children's lives.
Such distinctions bode well for travellers seeking out unique and different ways to keep the kids entertained and engaged on vacation. Year-round, Mesa attractions offer interaction both indoors and out at its museums, play centres, parks and shopping centres. So families have countless options to make memories in the Sonoran Desert...
Wet N' Wild
Grab your bathing suits: Salt River Tubing and Golfland Sunsplash provide travellers with a new way to cool off during the Arizona summers. Salt River tubers will enjoy floating down the mountain-stream waters while taking in the beautiful views of the surrounding valley and mountains. Kids will love the wildlife found on the riverbanks, including wild horses and blue herons.
Does your family like to play games? Golfland Sunsplash is the place to cool off while enjoying exciting family-friendly games such as miniature golf, laser tag and bumper boats. Sunsplash features several classic waterslides, a wave pool, and three unique slides sure to cool you off on even the hottest of days. And the little kids won't be left out at this park, as there is a special shallow pool with slides for them to enjoy as well.
Living History
Feeling ghoulish? Head out to Goldfield Ghost Town to learn about the history of this old mining town. Take part in an underground mine tour, watch a live gunfight or take a ride on Arizona's only operating narrow gauge railroad. 
Visit Mesa
Mesa’s Play Centres
Let your little ones burn some energy for a few hours at these Mesa play centres. Amazing Jakes Food & Fun indoor amusement park provides activities for adults and tots alike. Amazing Jakes has everything from go-carts, laser tag, miniature golf, rock climbing, bumper boats and cars, to a full-sized bowling alley and mini-roller coaster. Families can also enjoy bonding as a team at Stratum Laser Tag.
Mesa Riverview is home to two family play centres, each offering its own style of entertainment. Kids who are bouncing off the walls and full of energy will love Jump & Shout. Giant inflatables and climbing gyms fill this attraction. Kids can play for hours, while parents relax in the lounge complete with televisions and a café.
Alternatively, Howie's Game Shack is a social gaming centre that includes sound chairs, state-of-the-art gaming PCs, high-definition LCD displays, world premier game releases and tournaments. Howie's lets the family play together in a fun environment that creates a more social gaming experience.
Mesa’s Museums
Kids like history too, especially when there are dinosaurs involved! At the Arizona Museum of Natural History families can venture through the Dinosaur Hall to see some of the biggest creatures to ever walk the Earth, pan for gold in the History Courtyard, be locked inside a real territorial jail, or experience an indoor flash flood running down a three-story mountain.
Interactive learning for kids is the highlight at the Arizona Museum for Youth. The museum offers a number of changing exhibitions throughout the year and features ArtVille, an art-town where children under five-years-old can create their own masterpieces.
Mesa even offers a ‘3 For Free' program on the first Sunday of each month, where these two museums, along with Mesa Contemporary Arts, offer free admission to visitors.
Desert Explorers
The Apache Trail, which links Apache Junction with Theodore Roosevelt Lake, winds its way around 64-kilometres of the steep Superstition Mountains and past Canyon and Apache Lakes. The narrow winding road is Arizona’s only recognized Historic and Scenic Highway, and it lies just east of Tortilla Flat, Arizona's living ghost town with a population of six! 
Visit Mesa
Each interactive area allows children to strengthen their senses. For example, they rely on the sense of touch to feel their way through dark caves and mysterious forests in the Texture Garden, learn about the colour spectrum and see how rainbows are formed in the Colour Garden, hear a variety of animal sounds and chimes that warn of danger and hidden treasures in the Sound Garden, use their noses to discover plant aromas in the Scent Garden, and test their explorer skills in the maze.