From energizing hikes and unique attractions to inspiring scenic views, Scottsdale’s parks and preserves offer boundless opportunities for fun in the sun. Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve offers more than 60 miles of shared-use trails that will thrill hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. The Preserve also is a popular spot for bird watchers, photographers and artists who come to paint.

Running through the center of the city, the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt is an interconnected string of lush urban parks. Featuring lighted walking and recreation paths, fishing ponds, athletic fields, tennis courts, a skate park and see-and-be-seen dog park, this popular 11-mile urban playground doubles as a flood-control system that helps keep city streets high and dry during rare times of heavy rain.

And just west of downtown Scottsdale, Papago Park is home to the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Zoo and Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park, as well as fishing ponds, picnic areas and trails for running, hiking and mountain biking.