Ultimate family guide to Scottsdale, Arizona

If you’re searching for the perfect family vacation spot, look toward the western skies of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Tens of thousands of acres of sandy Sonoran Desert and year-round warm weather lend themselves to all manner of outdoor pursuits. There’s also no shortage of indoor fun when you need a break from the city’s 330 sunny days each year.

When you combine Scottsdale’s bounty of indoor and outdoor activities with the vibrant arts scene and upscale resorts, you have a desert paradise sure to please everyone in the family.

Here’s what you need to know to plan the perfect trip.

Getting to Scottsdale

Though Scottsdale does have its own small airport, the closest major airport is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). PHX is only about a 15-minute drive to downtown Scottsdale, making the airport a convenient option for travelers coming to the area.

The airport’s rental car center is accessible via the PHX Sky Train, which runs 24 hours a day and departs the airport every three to five minutes. I highly recommend renting a car so you can explore some of the surrounding area during your visit. Scottsdale is just over two hours from both Sedona and Flagstaff, and it’s less than four hours from the Grand Canyon.

Scottsdale Airport (SCF) is north of downtown, and it caters to private and public jet charter services like JSX, Jet Aviation, Atlantic Aviation and Signature Flight Support.

Exploring the great outdoors

Scottsdale has more opportunities to hike, bike, boat, balloon and otherwise traverse the desert terrain than a cactus has prickly spines. Here are just a few ways you can see Scottsdale’s sights from a variety of vantage points:

McDowell Sonoran Preserve

All the wide open terrain makes Scottsdale home to hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails. The bulk of those — 225 miles’ worth, to be exact — lie within the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. With so many trails to choose from, there’s sure to be a trail with a difficulty level appropriate for your family.

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If you have very young children or are just starting out with hiking, I recommend the Kovach Family Nature Trail at the Lost Dog Wash Trailhead. This 1/2-mile trail is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible, and it has fun educational signage to teach you and your kids all about the desert.

If you want to step it up a notch (pun intended), try the Gateway Loop at the Gateway Trailhead. You can hike all or part of this 4.5-mile loop, which offers an up-close look at several cacti varieties and beautiful views of the McDowell Mountains.

As you come off the trail, head to nearby The Thumb to refuel. At this combination gas station, car wash, gift shop and restaurant, you can sample barbecue so tasty that it landed itself on an episode of Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” Or, you can satisfy your sweet tooth with a homemade cinnamon roll or fruit-filled hand pie.

Desert Botanical Garden

As you stroll the sunny paths of the Desert Botanical Garden, you’ll find yourself face-to-face with the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert. During our visit, we saw butterflies, lizards, hummingbirds, bees and quail, along with notable landmarks like a 30-foot-tall Saguaro cactus, a butterfly garden and a nature playground for kids.

Be sure to pick up a free Cactus Keepers guidebook at the ticket office. Kids can use the guide to learn more about the Desert Botanical Garden and to help spot various plants and wildlife during their visit.

The Desert Botanical Garden hosts special events throughout the year that may coincide with your visit. Check their website for an up-to-date calendar of tours, story times, live concerts and more.

Historic Old Town Scottsdale

The streets of Historic Old Town Scottsdale are lined with shops that sell everything from Western wear to Native American art and jewelry to grow-your-own cactus kits, the latter of which is thriving on my kitchen windowsill.

Whether you’re on the hunt for unique souvenirs or just window shopping, it’s worth budgeting a few hours of vacation time to walk the streets of Historic Old Town. There are plenty of restaurants if you work up an appetite from all that walking. We stopped in for brunch at Beginner’s Luck, where I cooled off with a sorbet mimosa, and the kids found themselves facing down thick-sliced French toast bigger than their whole head. (If you prefer your brunch with a live DJ and BYO bloody mary bar, you should also check out Hash Kitchen on the weekends.)

We walked a bit more to make room for dessert because no visit to Old Town is complete without a scoop of ice cream from the Sugar Bowl. This perfectly pink Scottsdale staple has been open since 1958 and operates an authentic 1950s soda fountain counter to this day.

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

The McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is a must-visit spot for families visiting Scottsdale. Not only can you go for a ride on the Paradise & Pacific Railroad (a 5:12 reproduction of a Colorado narrow gauge railroad) and a vintage carousel, but you can also play in a kid-size Wild West town, learn about the history of trains and see dozens of model train exhibits.

There is no fee to enter the park and visit the playgrounds, museum and model railroad building. You can purchase tickets to ride the train and carousel or an all-day wristband at the entrance.

Hot air balloon rides

If you want to see Scottsdale’s beautiful landscape from a sky-high viewpoint, try a hot air balloon ride. You’ll have to be the judge of whether or not your kids are ready to soar hundreds of feet above the city. But, if they can brave it, you’ll be treated to unparalleled panoramic views of the desert.

Several hot air balloon companies service the Scottsdale area, and most offer sunrise and sunset rides in addition to daytime ones. Rainbow Ryders also offers tethered hot air balloon rides for those who want to test the experience before going up, up and away.

Indoor pursuits

More often than not, Scottsdale’s warm weather is conducive to being outdoors, but there’s no getting around the fact that it can get hot — so hot, in fact, that you may need to find some air-conditioned fun. Luckily, there’s no shortage of cool indoor activities in Scottsdale. Here are a few I’d recommend:

Butterfly Wonderland

Butterfly Wonderland is a tropical paradise right in the heart of Scottsdale. The large conservatory is home to more than 60 species of butterflies who flutter freely all around (and will happily take a seat on your shoulder). Butterfly Wonderland provides free paper guides for kids, so they can track which species they spot during their visit.

We spent the majority of the time in the conservatory coaxing butterflies to land on us. We also watched a touching 3D film about butterfly migration, spotted several other rainforest critters and observed butterflies in various states of metamorphosis.

Butterfly Wonderland is open 365 days a year and offers scheduled activities, including koi feedings, stingray and shark feedings, beekeeper presentations and more.

OdySea Aquarium

I’ve visited a lot of aquariums, but the OdySea Aquarium had one exhibit I’d never seen before: Right outside of the bathroom was a sign declaring it a winner of the America’s Best Restroom contest. I had to see what that was all about, so I headed inside. When I looked where the mirror above the sink would be, I was met with toothy sharks rather than my own reflection.

That was enough to get me hook, line and sinker, but it only got better from there. OdySea also has the world’s only rotating aquarium experience and hundreds of aquatic critters from the rivers and oceans of the world. We saw tiny jellyfish, giant sharks, and adorable penguins and otters.

Most of these exhibits are included in your ticket cost, but there are a few add-on experiences you may want to consider. You can don a special SeaTrek helmet to walk underwater with the animals, or purchase a separate penguin or sloth encounter.

Museum of Illusions

The Museum of Illusions, OdySea and Butterfly Wonderland are all on the Arizona Boardwalk, so it’s convenient to visit multiple attractions in one day. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Museum of Illusions, but I think we laughed more here than at any other stop on our vacation.

Every exhibit in the museum is interactive, and the placards clearly instruct visitors how to successfully execute each illusion for picture-perfect memories. Even so, helpful staff members wandered around to ensure everyone knew how to make each illusion work properly.

Wonderspaces

In keeping with the interactive theme, Wonderspaces is a modern museum with a rotating collection of immersive, interactive installations at the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall. I was surprised at how the exhibits held my kids’ attention — something typically only reserved for their iPads or Lego sets.

We all had fun adding colorful lines of tape to a collaborative installation called “Rules” and recording silly clips on a digitally controlled kinetic screen installation called “Silver.”

What shocked me was how quiet and contemplative they became when we explored some of the more immersive installations.

The installation “Parastella” featured a series of mesmerizing laser projections on the ceiling of a room filled with beanbags, where you could comfortably relax and take it all in. Another stand-out audiovisual installation, “Volumen,” played a sequence of evolving and rotating images that were truly captivating.

Wonderspaces sells premium admission that allows you to come at any time, but it also has timed tickets for a discounted price. There’s also a bar with an impressive cocktail list, but we visited a bit too early for me to drink in anything but the artwork.

Mavrix bowling

You can’t go wrong with a little friendly competition among family. Mavrix is more than just your typical bowling alley. This entertainment complex has 22 bowling lanes, a huge arcade, a laser tag arena, dozens of televisions (so you don’t have to choose between the big game and bowling) and a restaurant.

During our visit, we ate dinner and bowled. We went with a couple of sampler platters to make it easy for everyone to grab a bite between frames.

If you look up “luxury resort” in the encyclopedia, you’ll probably find a reference to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. This 65-acre resort has 750 guest rooms, five award-winning restaurants, six pools, a full-service spa and salon, a kids club and more.

In addition to standard rooms and suites, you can stay in the exclusive Privado Villas section for more spacious, private accommodations. The villas also provide extras like a private lobby with complimentary snacks and drinks, complimentary valet parking, chauffeur service, a private pool and complimentary access to the spa’s fitness and relaxation facilities.

Room rates at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess start at around $420 per night for standard rooms and $950 per night for the Privado Villas.

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa is home to one of TPG’s favorite hotel pools, and a good pool is a nonnegotiable when you visit Scottsdale. The Adventure Park pool has a 900-foot winding lazy river ride, a 110-foot waterslide and a splash pad for kids with zero-depth entry. (Don’t worry, there’s an adults-only pool, too.)

The Westin Kierland also has a golf course and several dining outlets, and many guest rooms have a view of either the pool, mountains or the golf course.

Room rates at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa start at around $263 or 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.

Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town

If you’re in search of a budget-friendly option, try the Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town. This 177-room boutique property has a rooftop pool with views of Camelback Mountain, a fitness center and an on-site restaurant.

This hotel’s guest rooms sleep up to four guests, but suites that sleep up to five guests are also available for larger families.

Rates at the Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town start at around $178 or 55,000 Hilton Honors points per night.