Readers Respond: How I Spent Spring Break in Arizona

Whether you are a tourist from another country, a visitor to Arizona from the blustery regions of Canada or the Northeast U.S. or even if you are a local resident, Spring Break is a time for students and families to relax and rejuvenate.

Tell us what you did on your Spring Break in Arizona. Were your activities more appealing to young singles? Families with little kids? Families with teenagers? Married or older couples? What activities do you recommend for others visiting Arizona during Spring Break?

Four Days in March with 2 Kids, 5 and 10

We are back from our Spring Break trip to Phoenix. 1. MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale (5 minutes off the Loop) – horseback riding for the family, petting zoo, few games for the kids), picnic area. Kids didn’t want to leave. Staff at MacDonald’s were wonderful and professional. I was a little unsettled going there since I had 2 young ones that would be on horses and if anything happened I knew I would be of no use since I had never ridden a horse either. But after meeting the team that would be handling our group (my family of 4 and 6 others), I relaxed. We took a picnic lunch and ate after the ride, and the girls talked non-stop. 2. Hockey game and sat outside for dinner in the entertainment area (Jimmy Buffet’s restaurant). 3. Tour of the new football stadium. Even the kids enjoyed it and I wasn’t sure they would. 4. Baseball game at Surprise Stadium. Very nice stadium. Kids of course were happy as long as they were eating (but that was true of me too) 5. Cerreta candy factory tour. Kids didn’t want to leave. Had a great time making a chocolate pizza. 6. Local rec centers in Surprise West. Swimming each day (during hours allotted for kids which was expanded during Spring Break from 3-8, and pools being heated is terrific). Shuffleboard each day was a good family game that all ages enjoyed after swimming and dinner. 7. There is a fountain close to the hockey stadium located in the area where the restaurants and shopping are. The fountain shoots water intermittently and kids can run through the fountain. We had pizza one day in that area and the kids saw the fountain and had a great time spending 15 minutes after lunch playing with other kids in the fountain. The area is circled with trees and wicker furniture under the trees for the parents to lounge as the kids have fun. We all loved it. 8. We stayed at my sister’s house that has fruit trees in the backyard. Our kids loved picking fruit each morning and using a juicer to make juice for us. Doesn’t seem like much, but the kids thought that was amazing (they are both girls—boys might not care as much as the girls). We were going to go to the kids science museum but simply ran out of time since we were only there 4 days. The Loop makes Phoenix extremely easy to navigate.

—DC