Papago Park is a 1,500-acre desert park straddling the Tempe-Phoenix-Scottsdale boundary, distinguished by its red sandstone buttes weathered into rounded shapes. The most famous, Hole-in-the-Rock, is a natural arch in a small butte that frames the sunset perfectly — a five-minute climb gets you there.
The park contains the Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo, both attractions in their own right. Beyond them, a network of trails winds among the buttes, and several stocked fishing lagoons sit beneath cottonwoods. The park is generally cooler than Tempe Town Lake — the rocks throw shade — and a popular early-morning destination.