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What cool things to do in Maricopa, Arizona?
Maricopa is located in the south-central part of Gila River Valley Arizona. As of 2019, the estimated population was 52,127 Residents. In Maricopa and in nearby cities there is a variety of attractions, we have listed down a few of them for you.
Dwarf Car Museum
The Dwarf Car Museum in Maricopa AZ is owned and managed by Ernie Adams, who built his first Dwarf Car in 1965. In 1965, his childhood dream of making a working dwarf version of a car became a reality with the construction of a mini ’28 Chevy two-door sedan from 9 old refrigerators. The visitors can see the aforementioned car at the museum as ‘Grandpa Dwarf.’ The car is still operable today. Later in the ‘80s, Adams turned his attention to Dwarf Race Cars.
The first Dwarf Car race took place at the Prescott Yavapai County Fair in Arizona in 1983. Eventually, he turned his skills to Dwarf Car Cruisers, which are extremely popular. The visitors coming to the Dwarf Car Museum will be able to see every car in Adams’s collection from Grandpa Dwarf to the latest cruiser. The Dwarf Car Museum is one of the best things in Maricopa AZ. It is open every day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m and is located on West Halfmoon Rd Maricopa AZ.
UltraStar Multi-tainment Center
Check out the UltraStar Multi-tainment Center in the city or Maricopa AZ for complete indoor family fun and is one of the best things in Central Arizona. UltraStar is guaranteed to keep you entertained as it is a great place that offers activities and locations for parties, small groups, and families to have fun. At UltraStar, you will find bowling lanes, laser tag, arcade games, and a movie theater.
There are five food venues located in UltraStar Multi-tainment center, including 347 Grill, a fine-dining restaurant, and Star Class Cinemas which offers meals that you can enjoy while watching films. The staff is dedicated and kind and the time that you spend here will make you want to come back for more! It is located at N Maricopa Rd, Maricopa, AZ.
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club spans 320 acres on the Ak-Chin Indian Reservation located in Santa Cruz Valley in Central Arizona about an hour southeast of Maricopa AZ. It’s a beautiful central green patch with 360-degree views of the surrounding desert. The views and the convenience of playing here makes it one of the best things to do near Maricopa AZ.
This course is managed by Troon and has a junior golf program that allows kids aged 15 and younger to play with a paying adult, get complimentary golf club rentals, and take free golf lessons also with a paying adult. They also offer amenities like play and stay packages at Harrah’s Ak-Chin, a physical and online golf store, and Arroyo Grille which is an upscale, onsite restaurant.
Harrah S Ak-Chin Casino
The Harrah s Ak-Chin Casino is located in the Harrah s Ak-Chin Resort & Casino Hotel which is on the same property as Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club and playing here is among the best things to do near Maricopa AZ and all of Central Arizona. Harrah s Ak-Chin Resort & Casino Hotel is counted among the best hotels in Maricopa Arizona. The casino offers you to play on 1,100 video and reel slots. The guests can choose from among several denominations of play.
Harrah s Ak Chin also features a huge range of gaming tables including Pai Gow Poker, Blackjack, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em. You will also find a Poker Room, Keno Parlor, and Bingo Hall in the Casino. Ak-Chin Casino hosts Throwback Thursdays where players get $10 free slot play each Thursday morning. Make sure to keep an eye out for frequent promotional events like the Labor Day Corvette Sweepstakes where you get extra offers and benefits on top of all the fun and enjoyment.
Ak-Chin Him-Dak Museum
The Ak-Chin Him-Dak Museum, established in Maricopa, Arizona to protect, preserve, collect, and analyze multiple aspects of the Ak-Chin Heritage, brings the collected knowledge to the public every day. You can learn about Ak-Chin heritage and culture, through the generations you visit here. At the museum, you will view tribal crafts, photographs, and exhibits about the Ak-Chin people.
The place is ranked among the best things in central Arizona related with the history of the state. Unlike traditional museums, land and territory replace the museum building, and local residents are curators to the project. Your visit to the museum will give you a better understanding of the true Arizona natives and leave you with an experience you’ll never forget.
You can check for the privacy policy and information rights reserved by the museum on some of the antiques of the museum on the website of Ak-Chin Him-Dak Museum. They also have an eco-museum and the Ak-Chin Him-Dak Museum is considered the best Eco-Museum in Central Arizona.
Copper Sky Recreation Complex
TheCopper Sky Recreation Complex is best place for you and your family for some physical activities. As the sporting, fitness, recreation and leisure destination in Maricopa, Arizona, you can enjoy activities like swimming, fishing, baseball, tennis, basketball, volleyball, and more in the Copper Sky Recreation Complex.
Copper Sky Recreation Complex has a park that is equipped with six shaded ramadas, plus one group ramada. Each Ramada has a grill and picnic table, perfect for an afternoon lunch or evening barbecue.
Sonora Wings Handgliding
Fly above Arizona—without walls or an engine—with Sonora Wings Hang Gliding. At Sonora Wings Hang Gliding, an experienced guide will take you above the clouds for a tandem hang gliding adventure. Groups and families are welcome, with no restrictions for age or size.
Enjoy fantastic views while soaring like a bird, completely at ease thanks to your highly qualified guide. Your adventure begins as the glider is towed up to the desired altitude by the tow plane. You will then release from the tow plane and feel the true flight of freedom!
With help from your instructor, you will take control of your glider. Your instructor will show you how to control the glider as you glide effortlessly back down to land gently on the earth.
Varying rates are available for different altitudes and lengths of flight, including a mile-high flight that lasts over 40 minutes, and true to its name, will take you a mile (1.6 km) above the ground. If one trip isn’t enough, Sonora Wings Hang Gliding offers lessons to help you become a professional hang-glider.
The Duke at Rancho El Dorado
Hit the green while in Maricopa at the Duke Golf Club. This championship style, Par-72, 18-hole, the golf club is open to the public at a daily fee, so whether you’re in Maricopa monthly for business or just passing through, you don’t need a membership to enjoy a game. Set in the harsh Arizona desert, the lush golf course is perfect for a “serious” game among friends or just for practicing your backswing.
After you’ve golfed your heart out, grab a bite at The Silver Spur Grill. Located in the clubhouse, the grill is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Enjoy a relaxing meal on the patio while recollecting your day of play, with a view of the Estrella Mountains and the 18th hole in the distance.
Arizona Soaring
While in Maricopa, enjoy the ride of a lifetime and soar over Arizona with Arizona Soaring. Staffed by fun-loving individuals who are set on providing you and your friends with a memorable experience, you will love flying with Arizona Soaring.
Choose whatever type of flight you wish, and your pilot will deliver, from a peaceful soaring ride over the majestic Sierra Estrella Mountains or an aerobatic ride, full of thrilling twists and turns. Operated from a small, privately-owned airport, rides are easy to book, and if one ride isn’t enough, Arizona Soaring offers flying lessons for all aspiring pilots.
Skydive Phoenix
Travelers who dream of seeing the earth from miles above traveling at 120 miles per hour have found their Shangri la in Skydive Phoenix. This skydiving operation has a drop zone that affords skydivers views of the entire city Phoenix and the surrounding area from the plane, the free fall, and after the chute opens.
Skydive Phoenix offers both tandem skydiving and skydiving instruction from their Maricopa facility. Non-skydivers can enjoy the thrill of watching the jumps as participants parachute to the ground a few feet away. Skydivers can preserve their memories by purchasing high-definition videos of their jumps.
Hands of Silk
Hands of Silk takes a holistic approach to mind, body, and spirit healing massage. They offer an array of therapeutic massage techniques designed to restore overused muscles, relax stressed minds, and heal from traumatic experiences. Guests looking for an elevated spiritual experience can indulge in services that focus on energetics, including the body’s electromagnetic grid, meridians, and chakras.
Massage therapists teach guests to practice ‘focused attention’ to experience inner intelligence, fulfillment, and peace. Guests can experience one of seven types of massage – Swedish, deep tissue, sports, prenatal, reflexology, hot stone, and infant/child massage. They also provide craniosacral therapy, sugar scrub, and body contouring services.
Mahaganpati Temple
The vision for the Maha Ganapati Temple of Arizona started in 1999 with the acquisition of a four-foot-tall, 1400-pound, granite Ganesha murti. It was gifted to the Maricopa Hindu community as the centerpiece of a yet-to-be-constructed Hindu Temple. The first of four phases of the temple construction began in 2007 with the building of the Temple Hall and sanctum santorum.
Four shrines were added in 2011, traditional Indian artwork was added to the shrines in 2012, and four richly decorated towers and a shrine to Swami Satyanarayana were added over the next two years. The Temple was finished in 2014. Visitors to the Temple should check the website for hours.
Raceway Bar and Grill
Raceway Bar and Grill is a must-do experience. The décor alone is worth the visit; it’s a collector’s dream dining experience. There is hardly a space on the walls that isn’t covered with old license plates, signs, and other memorabilia. In fact, the restaurant has such a huge and diverse collection of items that it was featured on the TV show, “American Pickers.”
They’ve even started a Consign and Dine experience with antiques and collectibles. This casual diner has a value-priced menu that will please nearly any budget. Chicago thin-crust pizza is one of their specialties, but diners can also expect wing baskets, jumbo potato skins in four types, appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, and burgers.
Agave’s Restaurant
Agave’s Restaurant is located within Harrah’s Ak-Chin Resort and Casino hotel. This poolside restaurant features a casual-fun ambiance with an architecturally unique ceiling, mauve walls, a wall of windows, colorful patterned carpet, and light wood furniture. There are also three televisions in the restaurant.
The restaurant’s patio overlooks a resort-style pool (separated by a fence). The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch. The reasonably priced menu includes starters, soups and salads, and sandwiches and burgers for lunch. The breakfast menu features classic egg-centric dishes, omelets, and griddle selections like French toast, Belgian waffles, and green chili pork tostadas.
The Buffet at Harrah’s Ak-Chin
The Buffet at Harrah’s Ak-Chin is the perfect choice for families when everyone wants to eat something different. This casual buffet can accommodate the most discriminating tastes from toddlers to teens to adults.
Guests can expect an array of Asian, American, and Mexican-inspired dishes, hand-carved meats, soups, salads, and sides, plus a dessert bar. Weekend nights (Friday and Saturday), the Buffet kicks it up a notch with their Seafood Buffet dinners. Sundays, guests can expect a Champagne Brunch buffet. The circular restaurant design, pot lighting, modern chandelier, neutral color décor, and comfortable seating create a clean, modern, casual ambiance.
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Roll The Dice at Wild Horse Pass Casino
Sporting a spa, world-class dining and golf, premium shopping and swank nightclubs, there’s a lot more to do at Wild Horse Pass Casino than play the slots and drink free beer. Throughout the year, the Casino hosts many memorable sporting and cultural events, like mixed martial arts fights and art shows.
Wild Horse Pass is located south of downtown Phoenix, in Chandler, at the Wild Horse Pass Boulevard Exit. Their website has a great calendar function that’ll tell you what will be going on when you’re in the area, so check it out.
Koli Equestrian Center
Seeing Arizona’s majestic landscape on the back of a horse will make you feel like you’ve been teleported back in time 100 years or so. Located on the Gila River Indian Reservation, the guided tours will take you to some remote and untouched corners of the reservation’s nearly 2,500 acres.
If you’re not an experienced equestrian, don’t worry, you’ll get a patient horse and training before you head out. Tours of varying lengths and for various abilities are offered, as are private tours for couples, birthdays, and corporate outings. Check out their website for schedules and pricing.
Huhugam Heritage Center
It’s no secret that Native American culture has suffered greatly over the last century and a half, and that’s particularly true in Arizona. Part of the Gila River Indian Community, the Huhugam Heritage Center was created to promote the cultures of the Hohokam, Akimel O’otham, and Pee Posh people, especially so future generations will understand and preserve their fascinating heritage.
The collection consists of baskets, pottery, artwork, and implements used by the people in their everyday lives. Admission is inexpensive and the center is located on South Maricopa Road in nearby Chandler. Check out their website for a calendar of events and hours of operation.
Maricopa Lake Park
If this sounds like you, taking advantage of some of Maricopa’s beautiful and free parks is a great way to get your fill without taking your checking account into the red. Sporting a beautiful manmade lake with fountains, plenty of tall palms, and a fenced playground area for the little ones, it’s a place you may want to visit more than once if you’re staying close by.
The park is a great way to watch the sun disappear beyond the mountains on the western horizon; the evening skies in Arizona often turn a mesmerizing pink-orange color that’s hard to describe.
Your vacation in Central Arizona is incomplete if you don’t get a day trip to Maricopa Lake Park to see the palm trees swooshing away against a backdrop of majestic mountains and a blue sky.
Legoland Discovery Center
Legos have been around for a long time and have ever since been among the things that children love. Despite all the gadgets being available to kids, they still seem to love Legos. Located on South Arizona Mills Circle in Tempe in Middle Arizona, the Legoland Discovery Center is a great indoor escape where children can’t help but have fun and be creative.
Legoland Discovery Center has many different areas with different things for different ages and levels. There’s also a café and a lounge for parents to take a load off and catch a breath.
What is the crime rate in Maricopa AZ?
The overall crime rate of Maricopa AZ is 13 per 1,000 residents which happens to be very close to the the average for all cities and towns of all sizes in America.
According to FBI crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of crime in Maricopa is 1 in 75, which is almost as much as it is anywhere in the USA.
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