What Are the Best Parks in the Eastmark Area?
With the weather cooling down here in Arizona, it is the perfect time to get out and explore some of the local parks in the Eastmark area.
The Eastmark Community is home to more than 25 parks. As popular gathering spaces for outdoor playdates and parties, each park has its own special feature that could include play structures and swings, ramadas, patios, fire pits, outdoor seating, lighting, and plenty of grassy spaces.
The Eastmark Great Park is the great outdoor connector of Eastmark. Owned and operated by the City of Mesa, this park features a splash pad, play structure, lake with riparian stream, event pavilion, open fields, and paths and trails. The Eastmark splash pad was voted one of Arizona Foothills Magazines Valley’s Best Splash Pads and is a great place for kids to cool off in the warmer months.
The Great Park also is home to the Event Pavilion. On a typical month, residents can catch a community concert or performance, like the First Friday Concert Series. This Pavilion can hold up to 8,000 people, and there isn’t a bad seat in the park!
One of the coolest features of the Great Park is the Orange Monster. This feature was designed by kids, for kids. The structure is made from two tandem pipe structures connected with exercise and play netting that twists and turns up to nine feet and back down to the ground for almost a half-acre. The surrounding area also includes a playground with a swings, slides, and other fitness challenges.
The Great Park is also home to a few shaded ramada areas and a shaded amphitheater, some of which are available to be reserved ahead of time for parties or other gatherings. There are picnic tables and barbecue grills in the area as well as basketball courts, baseball fields, sand volleyball areas, and walking trails.
Another cool feature of the Eastmark Great Park is an off-leash area for residents with dogs. This area includes two separate sections, one for more timid dogs to get some exercise, as well as another for more active dogs.
In the surrounding areas of Eastmark, there are a handful of other unique parks that residents can visit. One of the other parks nearby is Signal Butte Park. This park showcases a one of a kind geometric play structure called the “Hedra” and “Hedra Towers”, perfect for kids aged 5-12, and a mini “Hedra Scout” for toddlers and preschoolers. This distinctive design is linked together by pods that lets kids explore within an interconnected matrix comprised of slides, tunnels, gliders, climbers, and overhead hanging areas. The park also is home to swings, a 1.5 mile walking path loop, and reservable and drop-in picnic ramadas.
Desert Sky Park is another new park near Eastmark in neighboring Gilbert. Residents can find a large group of multi-use grass fields, a 3.5 acre lake, and ramadas at this park. What makes this park rare is that the playground area is meant to be an “American Ninja Warrior” style fitness obstacle course. There is also a smaller playground area for toddlers.
Eastmark residents will definitely want to check out one of these parks this winter!