Ok, I'm going to give this place 5 stars because, technically, it is a cool place that not a lot of…read morepeople know about. It's actually a hydroelectric plant along the Arizona Canal. As we approached the building (you can't go in it), the smell hit us and I thought, oh no, I've made a huge mistake. I think I was just there on a bad day or something, because I didn't see many reviews mention the smell at all. What smell? Raw sewage, very sulphur- and trash-like. I mean, it STUNK. It was strongest at the top overlook, right next to the building. As we went down the staircase to the lower level, the smell began to dissipate and eventually, to my nose, disappeared altogether. On the lower level, we saw the waterfalls. You can walk under/behind two of them and there are "seats" made of stone blocks in front of the third. The water was flowing pretty hard the day we visited, so the seats and all the pavement was wet and there was a slight mist coming off the middle one. The overall place is like a mixture of industrial and environmental architechture. There are metal-looking columns holding up the upper deck, yet the waterfalls look like they were copied from Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, and there are large stones/rocks embedded into the walls everywhere. It sits on the edge of a small park with a decent sized lot and there are hiking paths. We only came for the falls, so I can't speak to the hike, but the area looked fairly nice. I'd like to see it at night as it looks pretty cool in pictures I've seen. If you're looking for something a little different to do or show your visitors from out of town, this is a neat place to go. Hopefully, the smell is a one off, but even if not, hold your breath and go down the stairs..... 13/2026

I heard about this place recently and was in the area and decided to check it out. It basically…read more mini-hydroelectric plant on the canal system and the origin of the canal system is traced back to the Hohokam Indians that lived in the valley about 1500 years ago. The water falls are a cool secondary benefit of the water works plant at Arizona Falls. There is a nice park and biking trail that we look forward to exploring on our next visit. Highly recommended for a unique opportunity to enjoy waterfalls in the valley of the sun and learn about how the innovative Hohokam Indians.

Super cool places!! Definitely worth checking out!! Train ride was awesome, and the mine shack was…read moreso thrilling!

We had not been to this little Western ghost town before, but it has been at least 12-ish years. We…read moredecided to go visit the little ghost town (tourist site) and have an early dinner at the Saloon. This was actually a real mine and town back in the 1800s. We took the mine your, which was short, but interesting and informative. Made me glad was I wasn't a miner! We also took the haunted bordello tour. The bottom floor of the bordello is a gift shop, so we were only on the second floor, which is quite small. The pull the curtains to make the place dark, light a candle, and begin with the ghost accounts of the place. They hand out a couple of ghost hunting told, and take you to the two rooms where ghosts have been reported. It was fun! We also visited the mystery shack, which is a building built in two different angles so it looks like gravity is defied (water running toward, etc ). It was really fun, but kind of disorienting and kind of a workout. I almost feel twice. There are little shops with lots of Arizona-themed items (like paperweights with scorpions in them), cowboy hats and boots, and Western shirts. After going into all the shops, we went to the saloon for dinner. This place is very touristy, but we had a fun afternoon.

The tour was worth the five year wait/lottery! We had a wonderful docent and received a fantastic…read moretour of Tovrea Castle which was superb in every way possible. I have lived in Arizona, specifically the Phoenix area, for most of my life and have driven by Tovrea Castle thousands of times. It was so cool to be able to walk the grounds and get a peek inside. I would highly suggest entering the lottery, it's free and some people have better luck than I did and can get in sooner than 5 years. This was an insightful tour mixed with great storytelling and history. The basement with all the artifacts of the family and learning more about the area makes me proud to be a part of Arizona! Worth the visit!

If you live in the Valley it's highly likely that you have driven by this place. From the 202 fwy…read moreyou can easily see it. I often wondered what is that building? Finally after passing it so many times I was curious enough to look it up. I googled "cake shaped building PHX" and it was the first result. "Tovrea (said tov-ree) Castle aka A jewel in the Sonoran desert" Since 2010 the City of Phoenix purchased, renovated, and opened it for tours. The very abbreviated story with this place is that some homesteaders from the early 1900s owned the land, sold 277 acres to a wealthy Italian man. Alessio Carraro had built a fortune in the sheet metal business in the 1920s from San Fran. He planned to build a hotel resort surrounded by a housing subdivision on 277 acres, Carraro Heights. The castle was built near the timing of when the Great Depression set in. Carraro wanted out, he sold the castle and some amount of acreage (for a fraction of his investment) to Della Tovrea, wife of cattle baron E.A. Tovrea. She lived there until her tragic death in 1969. Nearby is the Stockyard Restaurant, built by E.A.'s son so cattlemen had somewhere to eat near the stockyards. That restaurant still exists today. I plan to check it out. If you want more details and full story, go take the tour :) however tickets are not easy to come by. Tours sell out many months in advance and they started using a lottery system. I bought my tickets months ago. However worth a try to go. I wouldn't say its the most amazing thing I've ever seen and the use of the word "castle" is a stretch. I've been inside some real castles in US and Europe, however it's interesting and a fun thing to do and it satisfied my curiosity! :) Per their website- The Ticket Lottery for Fall 2022 Tickets has ended and all tickets have been distributed - look for last minute cancellation tickets. Ticket Lottery for Spring 2023 Regular Tours closed on October 15, 2022 and Winners will be notified via email starting November 1, 2022. https://tovreacastletours.com

INCREDIBLE HISTORY! Casa Grande is a testament to the resilience and strength of the native people…read moreof Arizona! The inhabitants of Casa Grande thought about everything when they made this structure to preserve their farming operation. I'm so happy the structure is protected and the national monument is well-maintained. My family and I spent a while exploring and reading about the architectural/agricultural genius of this location. I enjoyed going in December, it was cool and I got really appreciate the views. I got to peak inside the monument through a small opening and it's pretty big! Be careful not to touch it! There's pits, native shade coverings, and plenty of signs to enjoy during your tour of the monument. The visitor center/gift shop next to Casa Grande has a brief video presentation (also on YouTube) surrounding the monument and a mini-museum with local artifacts. Everything is completely free! The staff were friendly and they had a national park stamp for park passport holders.

I try to do as many things as possible in Arizona before taking my tourist dollars out of state…read more It's also nice to learn about your own state, its history and people. I know people who have lived in Arizona for twenty years and still haven't visited the Grand Canyon. That's just crazy in my mind. So I checked out the Casa Grande Ruins. The main attraction here is the visitor center. The 'ruins' are a couple of structures which are u treating, but the visitor center tells the real store of how the natives irrigated the land and farmed it back in the day. That's the real story. If you want to visit with kids be sure to point out all the owls which inhabit the rafters Over the ruins. They are really neat, and will probably be what the little ones remember most. There isn't much of a wow factor here, but historically it is an interesting story and if you live anywhere near Coolidge it's one worth checking out.

This was my number one destination spot when I planned on going to Apache Junction simply because…read moreit's not something you hear about or get a real chance to learn about and I was not disappointed. The tour is entertaining and informative and costumes and rooms look so authentic. Absolutely LOVED everything about it!

I'm one of the tour guides here and I love all the guests that come in here. They truly make the…read morejob enjoyable followed by getting dressed up and being able to educate them of the town history and the history of the woman of the town back in 1893.

We had an absolutely wonderful day on our private Grand Canyon tour from Phoenix. To be honest, we…read morehad two hesitations when we booked: (1) It sounded like a LONG day (with a really early start), and (2) It seemed a little pricey. At the end of the day, though, everyone in our group agreed that it was well worth the price (and, particularly if you're coming from the East Coast, you're going to be awake early anyway!). Our guide, Jon, made sure that everything ran as efficiently as it possibly could have. Not only did he ensure that we hit all of the Park highlights, but he took us away from the biggest crowds to show us views that were true " hidden gems." Jon was so knowledgable on the history, the environment, and other facts related to the area that we could not have enjoyed it more. Truly an experience of a lifetime! If, like us, you are making your first trip to the Grand Canyon, this is THE way to see it! Thank you, Jon - and Arizona Scenic Tours - for a very memorable trip.

Wonderful trip. Steve was extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend this company.read more

So for my thousand Yelp review I wanted to make it special. I wanted to chose a place that is a…read morestaple of the local community. I mean after all, isn't that what Yelp is all about? I wanted to review a local business that seemed to Ooooooze AZ identity. Sooooooo, I even put a call out to my friends and fellow Yelpies on social media. I asked them to think about it. When they thought of AZ, what local businesses came to mind? I got so many great answers. However, when I saw the list I realized that after 15 years being Elite, I had already reviewed all of them. When I went onto this page and realized I had not made a review of the David and Gladys Wright House. It seemed like a perfect Karma solution and partnership. I did not know how that was even possible that I had not already reviewed this local treasure. What a great way to complete my One Thousandth review with such an amazing place! To honor a great artist that is associated and influenced within the State of 48 is special. Wright is one of the Kings of American Architect. So let's begin. When you go you will be greeted to a unique layered circular shaped home. Some of you might recognize the ASU Grady Gammage cake swirl technique. ( do you like my fancy non expert architecture terminology there? Ha!) The driveway is the same. Take in all the glory of that breathtaking view of camelback mountain and the property. According to https://franklloydwright.org/site/david-wright-house/ the masterpiece of this Wright residential home home was Titled "How to Live in the Southwest" in the plans by Frank Lloyd Wright, the David & Gladys Wright House is one of three spiral designs realized by Wright. Raised on columns to provide a view of the property's citrus orchard, the house at the base of Camelback Mountain looked outward towards the surrounding desert and inwards onto a central courtyard with a plunge pool and shaded garden. David and Gladys Wright lived in the house until their deaths (David in 1997 at the age of 102, and Gladys in 2008 at the age of 104), after which the residence fell into disrepair. Saved from demolition, its current owners are restoring the property. In early 2022, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Definitely sign up for a tour and go and check it out. It is totally worth it for historical and artistic purposes alone. Oh, okay, who am I kidding? It is worth the price alone to just check out that view and the home. Just a quick note, you cannot just show up and expect to get in. You have to go with a tour. Enjoy your visit. Happy 1,000 review! I hope this was helpful to those architecture and history fans out there.

Came here for a holiday lights open house this year…read more You park at the south side of the church at 5225 E. Camelback and there is a door that you walk through to get to the Wright House. I have to share, it was a beautiful evening. The weather was warm and even before we got out of our car, we could see the hundreds of Christmas lights twinkling in the distance. As we walked through the door, we were greeted warmly by volunteers and there was a long, long driveway leading to a giant Christmas tree beautifully lit, the long driveway continues to the house. There was a string quartet playing and hot chocolate/ coffee & macaroon served by the Henry. I brought my 9 year old son & his friend with me. There were not too many kids there which was too bad since the look of wonder on their faces were priceless. They were old enough to appreciate the experience and the architecture. It created a memorable experience for them. The house itself is being restored and sits on I think sits on at least a 3 acre property. It's beautiful & worth a visit. Thank you for opening this up for the public for this holiday season!

Albesila is a traveling art exhibition, passing through various cities in the US and is designed by…read moreAlan Parkinson. Held at Mesa's Pioneer Park, it was here for 2 weekends and has since moved on for its next stop in Virginia. We went on the last Sunday before the show ended here in AZ. Parking was plentiful at the park and it was a short walk to the sculpture. It was a chilly day so I'm glad we bought our tickets in advance since there was a long line for tickets at the door. As a result we didn't wait too long, maybe a few minutes after getting our tickets scanned. Since the entire exhibition consists of plastic inflatable sculptures, shoes are not permitted in order to prevent any damage to the structure. There's some cubby holes off to the side next to the entrance where you can store your shoes while you're inside. Although the structure is meant to be maze-like it was a fairly straightforward walk through everything. It was fun walking through the different "rooms" of various colors. Those red rooms are intense! There are some illuminated patterns on the ceilings of some of the domes to serve as landmarks. The main dome had a brilliant display of pattern and color and I also liked the other main landmark called The Tree, which had some circular above ground cutouts within the structure. It was a pretty short walk through the entire exhibition. You have around 30 minutes to be inside but we were done in maybe 15 minutes. When you exit there are some food trucks along the street if you feel like grabbing a bite to eat. When we were here they had Philly cheesesteak, coffee, and Udder Delights food trucks. The price was reasonable, $7 per person so overall I felt satisfied for how much we paid.

I waited in line for an hour in 50 degree weather for this? I was done in 5 minutes. All it is, is…read morea bunch of bounce house connected together without the fun of the bounce. I'm pretty sure even the three year olds were unimpressed.

Such a lovely mansion from the late 1800's early 1900's Museum with some great Tempe history…read moreinvolved. There is a lovely garden area outside for events and a kid's city park next door keeping with the farm cattle theme that the mansion once was. They are not open all the time but have an event schedule on the website. My friend is the creator of the Vintage Society so we had a garden party here yesterday and it was so, so, so lovely. If you can get to an event here it is wonderful. Check it out. I hear the holidays are really spectacular. Fair note, most of the mansion has been renovated and has non original, but still period era appropriate, pieces. However, there are still original pieces and the stain glass windows are original to the house. No public bathrooms only port a potty if you need to know that. All of the staff that we met were outstanding. I am not sure if the tours are given by Docents, volunteers, or paid staff but they were all so lovely, knowledgable, kind, and very helpful. I would go back here to an event in a minute. If you are looking for a unique venue space for a smaller maybe under 100 outdoor party this just might fit your bill. We had about 80 and it was perfect, with plenty of rooms for tables and high tops, a food buffet and even musicians.

What fun and decorated for the holidays a total win…read more What a great spot of history to visit in the heart of Tempe. Self guided.