THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: OUR FAMILY TRAVEL GUIDE

When we first started planning our trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, we had a pretty clear picture in our heads: towering cacti, red mountains, cowboy hats and those huge desert sunsets you see in movies.

And Scottsdale definitely delivered on all of that.

What we didn't expect was just how much there was to do here as a family.

We spent a week exploring Scottsdale with our two kids and packed an incredible amount into our time here. We floated above the Sonoran Desert in a hot air balloon, hiked between giant saguaro cacti, bounced along desert tracks in an open-air Jeep, designed our own cowboy hats, walked among thousands of butterflies and even experienced a little slice of the Wild West.

Scottsdale manages to combine outdoor adventure with great food, beautiful resorts and plenty of activities for younger travellers. One minute you're surrounded by seemingly endless desert, and the next you're back in Old Town eating tacos and browsing boutiques.

So, after experiencing Scottsdale for ourselves, we've put together our guide to some of the best things to see and do in Scottsdale with kids.

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1. Take a Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight Over the Sonoran Desert

If there's one experience we'd put right at the top of a Scottsdale bucket list, it's seeing the Sonoran Desert from a hot air balloon. Stephen and Hunter headed out before sunrise with Hot Air Expeditions, with a very early 3:45am pickup from our hotel before taking to the skies around sunrise. And yes, waking a five-year-old up at that hour sounds slightly ridiculous... but this was absolutely worth it.

Once you're floating above the desert, everything becomes incredibly peaceful. Below you are miles of Sonoran Desert dotted with saguaro cacti, while mountain ranges stretch out towards the horizon. Depending on conditions, balloons can reach heights of up to 5,000 feet, giving you an entirely different perspective of Arizona's landscape. The actual flight lasts around an hour, but the whole experience takes several hours. After landing, our experience included breakfast bites and a celebratory drink among the saguaros, champagne for the adults and sparkling apple cider for the kids.

It ended up being one of those experiences Hunter will hopefully remember for a very long time.

Our tip: You'll need to be prepared for a very early morning, particularly during the warmer months when flights depart around sunrise. Closed-toe shoes are also a good idea.

2. Hike Through the McDowell Sonoran Preserve

You can't come to Scottsdale without spending some time properly exploring the Sonoran Desert. One of the best places to do that is the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, an enormous protected desert landscape encompassing the McDowell Mountains and more than 230 miles of trails.

We joined a guide from Cliff Creek Outfitters for an evening hike along the Gateway Loop Trail. The full Gateway Loop is around 4.5 miles with approximately 650 feet of elevation gain, so it's considered moderately challenging. Families with experienced little hikers can tackle the loop, but you can also simply walk a section of the trail and turn around when everyone has had enough. What we loved about hiking here was being able to slow down and actually look at the desert around us.

The Sonoran Desert is completely different from the landscapes we're used to seeing back home in Australia. The giant saguaros are the obvious stars, but there's wildlife, wildflowers and an incredible variety of desert plants along the trails as well. If you're visiting during the warmer months, we'd recommend doing what we did and hiking later in the afternoon rather than heading out during the middle of the day. Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, hats and sunglasses.

3. Explore the Sonoran Desert by Jeep

If hiking isn't quite enough adventure for you, there's another very fun way to see the desert. Jump in a Jeep!

We joined Scottsdale Adventure Tours for a 2.5–3 hour guided Sonoran Desert Jeep tour into the Tonto National Forest, just beyond Scottsdale. The open-air Jeep makes the experience particularly fun with kids. You're bumping along dirt tracks through landscapes that look straight out of an old Western movie while your guide explains the plants, geology and history of the area. Because these tours operate on protected federal land where development is prohibited, you get to see a much wilder side of the Sonoran Desert. And don't worry if you're travelling with younger children. Our itinerary specifically accommodated a booster seat for Hunter and a car seat for Koa, so this was an adventure all four of us could experience together.

Our tip: Wear closed-toe shoes and clothes you don't mind getting a little dusty!

4. Spend a Day Exploring Old Town Scottsdale

One place you'll almost certainly keep returning to during your trip is Old Town Scottsdale.

This is the heart of the city and where you'll find a mixture of historic buildings, art galleries, boutiques, restaurants and plenty of nods to Arizona's Western heritage.

It's also very easy to explore on foot. You can park once and spend a few hours wandering between the different downtown districts, including Historic Old Town, Fifth Avenue and the Arts District.

We loved that Old Town didn't feel like one enormous attraction you had to “do”. Instead, we'd recommend leaving a few hours free to wander, grab something to eat and see what you stumble across. If you're in town on a Thursday evening, there's also the Scottsdale ArtWalk, which takes place from 7pm–9pm around Main Street and Marshall Way. The event has been running for decades and lets you wander between galleries and public artworks at your own pace.

5. Make Your Own Cowboy Hat

If we're in Arizona, we're obviously going to need cowboy hats.

Rather than simply buying one, we visited Rancher Hat Bar in Old Town Scottsdale and designed our own. You start by choosing your hat before customising it with different accessories and details. Their team then puts everything together in front of you, and you leave with your completely unique hat that same day. It was such a fun souvenir because rather than buying another magnet or T-shirt, we came home with something we'd actually created ourselves. And let's be honest, walking around Arizona wearing the cowboy hat you just designed feels considerably cooler.

6. Visit OdySea Aquarium

If you're travelling with kids, we'd definitely put OdySea Aquarium on your Scottsdale itinerary.

Located at Arizona Boardwalk, OdySea is home to more than 30,000 marine animals across a huge two-level complex containing around two million gallons of water. There are underwater tunnels and exhibits covering everything from rivers and coral reefs to penguins, jellyfish, octopuses and seahorses. It's also a great option for those really hot Arizona afternoons when everyone needs a few hours indoors.

Better yet, don't leave after the aquarium because your next stop is right nearby.

7. Walk Among Thousands of Butterflies at Butterfly Wonderland

Also at Arizona Boardwalk is Butterfly Wonderland, which ended up being such a beautiful experience with the kids.

After learning about the life cycle of butterflies and seeing chrysalises inside the Butterfly Emergence Gallery, you enter an enormous tropical rainforest atrium. And suddenly there are butterflies everywhere. Thousands of butterflies from around the world fly freely through the space, landing on tropical flowers and occasionally on the visitors themselves. It's warm and humid inside, so be prepared for the sudden transition from Arizona desert to tropical rainforest!

OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland are incredibly easy to combine into one morning or afternoon because they're both part of Arizona Boardwalk.

8. Experience the Wild West at MacDonald's Ranch

This might be one of the most “Arizona” things we did during our entire trip.

MacDonald's Ranch sits across 1,280 acres of Sonoran Desert and offers a whole range of Western experiences, including horseback riding, pony rides, hayrides, stagecoach rides, a petting zoo and gem mining. We took the kids to the petting zoo before climbing aboard a stagecoach and heading out into the desert. There's something pretty special about bouncing through the Sonoran Desert in a stagecoach with cacti all around you. If you've travelled to Scottsdale with kids specifically looking for a cowboy-style Arizona experience, this would be high on our list.

The younger kids are catered for particularly well too, with pony rides and the petting zoo making this more than somewhere exclusively for older children who can go horseback riding.

9. Step Inside Wonderspaces

One of Scottsdale's more unexpected attractions is Wonderspaces, located inside Scottsdale Fashion Square.

It's essentially an evolving immersive art show filled with installations from artists around the world. Rather than walking around a traditional gallery where you're repeatedly telling your children please don't touch that, a lot of the experience is designed around interacting with the artwork.The exhibitions change periodically, so exactly what you see will depend on when you visit.

It's another great indoor option to keep in your back pocket when Scottsdale's desert heat starts getting a little intense. And because it's inside Scottsdale Fashion Square, you can easily combine it with some shopping afterwards.

10. Visit the Musical Instrument Museum

The Musical Instrument Museum, or MIM, takes you around the world through music and instruments. But the big winner for families is the Experience Gallery. Instead of simply looking at instruments behind glass, kids can actually get involved - strumming guitars, shaking rattles and banging gongs. There is also an Artist Gallery featuring displays connected to musicians including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, John Lennon and Taylor Swift.

We always love museums that give children something to actually do, and this is exactly that sort of place.

11. Go Stargazing Under Arizona's Dark Skies

One of the best parts of being surrounded by desert is what happens after the sun goes down.

We stayed at ADERO Scottsdale Resort, which is located in a certified Dark Sky Community, and one evening joined the Star Dudes for a stargazing experience on the resort's lawn. Using high-powered telescopes, we could look deep into the night sky while learning about different planets, constellations and galaxies. After spending your days looking out across the desert, there's something very cool about finishing one of them looking in the complete opposite direction.

12. Wander Through the Desert Botanical Garden

We'd already spent several days exploring the Sonoran Desert by this point, but the Desert Botanical Garden gave us a completely different appreciation for it.

Set among the red rocks of the Papago Buttes, the garden is home to around 50,000 desert plants from arid regions around the world. There are five themed trails covering subjects including desert conservation, wildflowers and the relationship between people and plants of the Sonoran Desert. It is a beautiful place to wander with a camera, but we also found it surprisingly interesting for the kids because you're constantly spotting strange cacti and unusual plants.

Again, we'd recommend visiting earlier in the morning during the hotter months.

Where to Stay in Scottsdale With Kids

We experienced two very different resorts during our time in Scottsdale, and both would suit families for different reasons.

ADERO Scottsdale Resort

ADERO was our main base during the trip and we'd recommend it if you want to feel properly surrounded by Arizona's landscape.

The resort sits on 17 acres with views towards Four Peaks and the McDowell Mountains and offers direct access to the surrounding desert through private trailheads. There's also a spa, large wellness studio and the resort's signature restaurant, CIELO.

But the setting is what makes it special.

You wake up surrounded by mountains and desert, spend the afternoon beside the pool and then watch the sky completely change as the sun goes down.

Being in a certified Dark Sky Community also makes it particularly appealing if stargazing is high on your Arizona wish list.

Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort

If your children judge hotels almost entirely by their swimming pools, the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort is going to score very highly.

The resort has a 2.5-acre water playground with 10 pools, a three-storey, 30-foot high-speed waterslide and even a sand beach.

Yep. A beach. In Arizona.

There are also golf courses, tennis facilities, jogging and cycling trails, Spa Avania and several restaurants. We spent the day here with a poolside cabana and basically let the kids live their best lives between the pools, beach and waterslide.

For families planning a longer trip, we'd actually consider splitting your stay between somewhere like ADERO, where the desert feels like part of the experience, and Grand Hyatt for a couple of classic resort days.

Where to Eat in Scottsdale

One thing we definitely didn't struggle with in Scottsdale was finding somewhere to eat.

We tried a lot of restaurants during our week here, ranging from modern Mexican restaurants in Old Town to BBQ inside a gas station!

Diego Pops

For Mexican food in Old Town, we stopped at Diego Pops, a colourful modern Mexican restaurant that puts a playful twist on the classics.

Think tacos, guacamole and quesadillas alongside dishes like Brussels sprout nachos. It's fun and casual, which always gets bonus points when you're travelling with kids.

Craft 64

If pizza is required (and at some point on every family trip, pizza is always required) head to Craft 64.

They specialise in artisan wood-fired pizza and make their mozzarella and dough in-house daily, with a big selection of Arizona craft beers for the adults.

The Thumb

This was easily one of the quirkiest places we ate.

The Thumb is part BBQ restaurant, part coffee shop, part market, part gas station and even part car wash. It has also appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and is known for its hardwood-smoked BBQ. Sometimes the weird roadside stops are the ones you remember most.

HULA's Modern Tiki

Back in Old Town, HULA's Modern Tiki takes inspiration from the classic tiki restaurants of the 1950s and '60s, with a menu combining Polynesian and American flavours. The relaxed indoor-outdoor atmosphere makes it an easy lunch stop while exploring Old Town.

Sugar Bowl

Right next door is a Scottsdale institution.

The Sugar Bowl has been serving ice cream since 1958 and is everything you'd hope an old-school American ice cream parlour would be: sundaes, milkshakes, malts and plenty of pink.

If you're travelling with kids, good luck walking past without going inside!

O.H.S.O.

After our Jeep adventure we stopped at O.H.S.O., a local brewery known for craft beer, food and its laid-back, dog-friendly atmosphere. This is a nice casual option after spending a morning out in the desert.

Culinary Dropout

For another relaxed meal, Culinary Dropout has a rock 'n' roll-inspired gastropub atmosphere with modern takes on classic pub dishes alongside cocktails, wine and beer.

How Long Should You Spend in Scottsdale?

We spent around a week exploring the area, which gave us enough time to experience the desert as well as enjoy Scottsdale's restaurants, resorts and family attractions.

If Scottsdale is part of a larger Arizona road trip, we'd recommend at least three or four days.

With three days, you could easily combine a morning hot air balloon flight with Old Town, spend another day hiking or taking a Jeep tour through the Sonoran Desert, and dedicate your third day to family attractions like OdySea Aquarium, Butterfly Wonderland or MacDonald's Ranch.

But if you have five days or more, even better.

One of the things we appreciated about Scottsdale was having time to actually enjoy the resorts rather than treating our hotel purely as somewhere to sleep.

Do You Need a Car in Scottsdale?

For the kind of trip we did, we'd recommend hiring a car.

Old Town itself is very walkable, but Scottsdale's attractions are spread across a fairly large area.

Places like the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, MacDonald's Ranch, Arizona Boardwalk and the different resorts are much easier to reach when you have your own transport.

Having a car also gives you the flexibility to start early, return to your hotel during the hottest part of the day and head back out towards sunset.

Our Final Thoughts on Scottsdale

Scottsdale was one of those destinations that completely changed our perception once we actually arrived.

Yes, there are cowboy hats and giant cacti. And yes, you absolutely should lean into both. But Scottsdale is so much more than the stereotypical Arizona experience we'd pictured before arriving. You can wake up before sunrise and float over the Sonoran Desert in a hot air balloon, spend your morning hiking among saguaros, cool down inside an aquarium, make your own cowboy hat in Old Town and finish the day watching the stars through a telescope. And the next morning, you can climb into a Jeep and head straight back into the desert.

For a family like ours that loves trips where we're actually doing things together, Scottsdale worked incredibly well. It's adventurous without being difficult, family-friendly without feeling like the entire destination is built around kids, and different enough from anywhere else we'd travelled in the US to really stick in our memories.

If you're planning an Arizona road trip with kids, we'd definitely make room for Scottsdale!

A huge thank you to Experience Scottsdale for hosting our family and helping us experience so much of Scottsdale during our visit. As always, all opinions and recommendations are our own.