Not everyone plans a big vacation trip when the kids are out of school during Spring Break. It is, however, a great opportunity for some family time, especially if you can get a day or two off for a special adventure with the family.
Of course there are always movies if you can only eke out a couple of hours to spend with the kids. If you need to keep them occupied while you are working many of the area cities and towns have Kids' Clubs for Spring Break. Some of them even open up the swimming pool during Spring Break, but you'll have to contact your city's Parks Department to see what programs they have available.
The
Phoenix Zoo is located in Papago Park in central Phoenix. It's easy to get to from all directions, and it is a lovely zoo, especially on a day when it isn't too hot. Get there early in the morning on those warmer, sunny days.
If you haven't been to Wildlife World Zoo, you might want to give that a try for a change of pace. They are more focused on exotic animals. Wildlife World Zoo is on the west side of town in Litchfield Park.
Everyone knows that March is the month for Cactus League baseball. Tickets are very reasonably priced, and the
stadiums around town are easy to get to. You can even take a trip down the road to
Tucson for a change of pace. There are usually
six games or more scheduled on any day in the month of March! If you can't take off from work, there are evening games, too.
Amazingly enough,
Castles and Coasters in Phoenix is the closest thing to a theme park that we have in the Phoenix area. The water slides and features are only available during the summer, but the miniature golf courses, large arcade, and the rides, including roller coasters, are always popular with the young folks.
If you are in the southeast part of town, commonly referred to as the East Valley, Mesa Golfland SunSplash is open all year long, but again, the water features aren't offered until May. No roller coasters here, but there's mini-golf, an arcade, bumper cars, and racing cars.
You'd better be a confident and calm driver for this one, but a
road trip on the Apache Trail will be a memorable trip. Stop at Tortilla Flat before you continue your desert driving adventure. Don't be frightened, now....
This is
an easy hike; I did it once with a 5 year-old! This is a great way get the kids outside, see some petroglyphs, and let them do some climbing on boulders, too. You probably won't see any waterfalls in March unless we've had a good rain. Bring water and a hat!
There are plenty of
lakes close by, but if you don't want to rent a boat
you can even fish in one of the many
urban lakes around town.
Fishing is a great way for kids to get outside in the fresh air, learn something, and allows you to have a conversation with them.
The
Arizona Science Center has exhibits, many hands-on activities, a large screen theater offering movies related to science, and a planetarium. Located in downtown Phoenix, The Arizona Science Center also features special exhibits, like
Gross Anatomy and
Body Worlds, for example. The special exhibits are always fun for both kids and adults, and they always draw a crowd.
The farms are slowly but surely disappearing in Maricopa County, and as development continues it's getting harder and harder for kids to see a real cow around here! Problem resolved at
Shamrock Farms, where you can see thousands of them, and take a cool tour of this huge, high tech operation. There's no petting zoo, but if you bring the little ones there is a playground, and you can bring your own snacks for a picnic.
If you are looking for a great day trip, a ride on the
Verde Canyon Railroad is fun for everyone. Call first to make your reservation. It's about a 2 hour drive from central Phoenix to Clarkdale, where the train station is located. During peak months (and March is one of them) there are two trains per day, one in the morning and one in the early afternoon. The train ride itself takes about 4 hours, 2 hours each way. No, you don't have to get out and turn the train around--they take care of that for you!
If there has been any precipitation, there could easily be snow in March at one of our northern
Arizona ski resorts. Snowboards, sleds, cross country, and downhill are all right here in Arizona just a few hours away. Check the individual ski resorts' web sites or call the hotline for the current snow report.
