Desert Horizon Park

Desert Horizon Park at 16002 56th Street sits on the Phoenix side of the Scottsdale border in the Paradise Valley Village neighborhood. With 681 Google reviews at 4.6 stars, it's a well-regarded community park that draws families from both Phoenix and Scottsdale.

The park features playgrounds appropriate for young children, sports fields that see regular use for soccer and recreational sports, walking paths, and the kind of open desert-adjacent setting that reminds you this is Arizona. It's a large park — worth spending time exploring rather than just using the playground.

Managed by Phoenix Parks (not Scottsdale), it opens at 5:30 AM — one of the earliest start times for a public park in the area. This matters in summer, when the 6–8 AM window is genuinely the only comfortable time for outdoor play.

For families visiting the Scottsdale area and staying near Paradise Valley or northeast Phoenix: Desert Horizon is a reliable free option that covers the basics — playground, open space, sports — without any admission cost or planning required.

The park's size and sporting facilities make it a better fit for active families than it is for pure playground-focused toddler visits. Though the playground is perfectly adequate, families with kids who want to kick a soccer ball or throw a frisbee will get the most out of the full park.