Free

Free Admission to Phoenix Museums and Attractions

This is a hidden gem of the Scottsdale and Phoenix Library. If you have a library card you can get admission for two people to museums and activities. I use the Culture Pass instead of having memberships to these places. This makes my kids love them too because they think they are a “special treat”. Check out the links for the Desert Botanical Gardens and Arizona Science Center if you haven’t been to either for my go to guide.

Check here for more info on the Culture Pass and the whole list of places that participate. Passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis so I always go to the smaller library locations.

McCormick and Stillman Railroad Park

This sprawling park has two playgrounds, a train, carousel, train museum and an indoor miniature train exhibit. Lots of the park areas are free and you can easily skip riding the train and carousel if you don’t want to spend money! It even has a real pay phone which my kid’s love calling me on.

Train-themed playground-Free

Come play with three climbing structures, sand to dig in and misters to run in when it’s hot. I love this playground because it’s safe for little kids since it is mostly enclosed except for the slides and rock wall so they can climb and explore. For the littlest conductors, there is a miniature train play structure they can crawl and slide on. There is also a train cafe where you can buy food during certain times of year.

Western Town-Free

Across the train tracks there is a two story Western-themed playground. Kids can go back in time with a pretend jail, gold mine, and even a fun wagon that you climb in.

Model Railroad Building- Free

This air-conditioned gem is more fun than it sounds! The building is filled with mini trains that are activated by a hand button. The first area is made for kids with trains pulling animated characters like Mickey through a fair, . There is even a miniature LEGO land. They change the theme based on the time of year which is also fun. Your kids will love watching their hand make their train go and ride through all the different scenes.

Train Ride- $3 per person

This 7 minute train is a blast to ride and goes across the entire park. You ride by all the playgrounds and kids love to run and wave to the train as it passes. The end is a dark tunnel you ride through which is always the highlight of the ride!

Carousel-$3 per person

Hop on and ride your horse to Disney-themed music!

Train Museum-$2 per person

These are real trains that you can walk through! One of the trains is best known for being used by every president from Herbert Hoover through Dwight Eisenhower. It is staged showing how the train was setup for the presidents with their dining room complete with china, sitting room and even the servant quarters.

Admission and Hours

Click here for their hours since they change seasonally.

$3 per person to ride train and carousel, 2 and under free

Address: 7301 E Indian Bend Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85250
Phone: 480-312-2312
Email: [email protected]

Paradise Valley Mall Indoor Playground

I always love when I find a free place that my kids love! We came across this one day when I parked in the wrong part of Paradise Valley Mall. They have several places that cost money to play that are fun but if you’re looking for a free spot to play this is it. Once we went here my kids didn’t want to go to the other ones.

This rainforest themed playground has lots of soft climbing structures which I love. For being such a small area, they really maximize the space with two waterfall slides, a crawl through log with a slide and big tree with a slide and several stand alone climb on structures.

The best spot to park is on the south side of the mall near JC Penny’s. There is an entrance just to the east of the JCPenny entrance. They do clean the playground everyday from 2-3pm so make sure to plan accordingly. There is also a Free Kids Club on the first Friday of each month at 10am. Click here for more info.

Address

4568 E Cactus Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85032
(602) 996-8840