Monday, August 31, 2026

The Top 44 Things to Do Near Picketpost Trailhead









  1. A 140-acre outdoor shooting facility east of Mesa, Rio Salado Sportsman's Club runs one of Arizona's more serious junior marksmanship programs, with .22-caliber rifle training for ages 10 to 20 and coaches certified through the NRA who point to a spotless safety record. The grounds include covered benches, a pistol range, silhouette ranges, and an indoor rifle range, so there's room to progress well past the basics.







  2. A B-17G Flying Fortress sits on the tarmac at Falcon Field, and you can climb inside it, which is either thrilling or deeply clarifying about how uncomfortable the war effort was. This aviation museum at Mesa's working airport spans WWI through Vietnam, mixing warbirds like a B-25 and an F-4 Phantom with artifacts and memorabilia. The 30,000-square-foot hangar floor disappears fast once you're standing next to a MiG.





  3. A dedicated saltwater taffy department is either a sign of a candy superstore done right or a sign your dentist is about to buy a boat. Sweeties is a sprawling bulk-candy shop where nearly everything sells individually or by the pound, the shelves run floor to ceiling, and the childhood nostalgia is stacked as deep as the gumdrops. The staff is genuinely warm, which softens the blow of the inevitable sugar spiral on the drive home.




















  4. The Stormrider drops you roughly 70 feet into the water, which is one way to spend a Tuesday in Mesa. Golfland Sunsplash is a full-scale water and amusement park with a wave pool holding 450,000 gallons, a raft ride that starts nearly seven stories up, a lazy river, a toddler pool, miniature golf, and an arcade big enough to lose an hour in. Bring the whole chaotic family; the park has something for every age group and nerve tolerance.








Recents

  • No recent searches yet.

Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. It runs on the scored places nearby: more good stuff within reach, higher score. If it looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.