They say the best things in life are free. That’s we’ve collected the 42 fantastic activities in Phoenix that will cost you precisely zero dollars! Enjoy!
1. Visit Phoenix Art Museum
Admission is free on Wednesdays from 3pm to 9pm for you to get your culture on.
2. Go to Cardinals Training Camp
The Cards have open practice at University of Phoenix Stadium from 2pm to 4:30pm through August 1-28. Go watch greatness in the making.
3. Take a Walk at Desert Botanical Garden
Admission is free on the second Tuesday of each month from 8am to 8pm. Immerse yourself in gloriously costless nature.
4. Tour Karsten Manufacturing aka PING
Yep, PING is headquartered right here in Phoenix. You can tour the facility on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday with a rezzie.
5. Tour de Fat
Tune up your bicycle and bring your ID to Tempe’s Tour de Fat. The New Belgium-sponsored bike parade promotes sustainability. And, of course, beer drinking.
6. Catch the Scottsdale ArtWalk
The free event happens from 7pm to 9pm in downtown Scottsdale along Main Street and Marshall Way. Trust us, you’ll learn a thing or two.
7. Explore the Open Air Market
Phoenix’s Saturday morning farmers’ market is open year-round from 8am to 12pm. And yes, there are samples.
8. Experience the Fiesta Bowl Parade
Even if you’re not a fan of the teams playing in the bowl game the parade is worth checking out.
9. Hike South Mountain’s trails
There are 51 miles of trails waiting to be explored. And many of them are vastly underrated.
10. Take a Road Trip to the South Mountain
If nature isn’t really your thing, take a scenic drive up to Phoenix’s South Mountain Park. Fun fact: Dobbins viewpoint is the highest lookout point in The Valley.
11. Catch Four Peaks Oktoberfest
Grab your lederhosen and head to Tempe Town Lake. This free event is sponsored byFour Peaks so you know it’s good.
12. Take a self-guided tour through First Friday
Every first Friday of the month downtown Phoenix’s art spaces from Grand Avenue to Roosevelt Row, and everywhere in between, come alive from 6pm to 10pm.
13. Explore Singh Farms
The farmers’ market is open on Saturdays, but the hours tend to change — visiting in the morning is best.
14. Float the Salt River
Grab something that floats and find a good place to launch. Basking costs zero dollars.
15. Take a Trolley Tour
Scottsdale is giving San Francisco a run for its money with its trolley system. The tour starts at 10:30 am at The Old Adobe Mission and takes riders through the Arts District, the Waterfront, and Southbridge. The two-hour tour happens on the second Saturday of every month.
16. Hike Piestewa Peak
Half a million people hike to its summit each year. Have you?
17. Learn how to swing
Every Tuesday from 7 to 8pm, The Duce offers free swing dance lessons. There may be a small emotional price, however, when you realize how bad your dancing actually is.
18. Have Fun at Uptown P.E.N.
Got a passion for prose? Bring your best poetry pieces, fiction, and anything else with words and read it aloud during open-mic night. The event runs every second Tuesday of the month from 7 to 8:30pm.
19. Visit Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
Old Town’s modern art museum offers free admission on Thursdays from 10am to 8pm. It’s also free after 5pm on Friday and Saturday.
20. Experience Dia de los Muertos at the Mesa Arts Center
Celebrate the Day of the Dead in true fashion at the Mesa Arts Center on October 24-25. Parking and admission are free.
21. Catch the Birds ‘n Beer
Audubon Arizona’s Birds ‘n Beer event happens on the third Thursday of each month and it’s completely free.
22. Experience Street Food Saturdays
Local music and local food trucks mash-up for Food Truck Caravan, a weekly event in Scottsdale from 6:30pm to 10:30pm every Saturday. It’s free… but you can get the VIP experience, starting at $200, which includes a “designer” tent, rose water hand wash, and a personal sherpa. Only in Scottsdale.
23. Enjoy Open-mic night at Stand Up Scottsdale
Do you think you’re funny? Prove it at the comedy club’s open-mic night which happens every Wednesday at 7:30pm.
24. Visit the ASU Art Museum
Arizona State’s Art Museum is free to everyone.
25. Visit Arizona Science Center
You can see the Arizona Science Center and more than a dozen additional cultural sites around Phoenix for free with a Culture Pass.
26. Explore Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve
This 47-acre Sonoran Desert preserve is home to the most Native American petroglyphs in The Valley and it’s free every third Saturday through September.
27. Join the Zombie Walk
Thousands of zombie makeup-clad (we hope) Phoenicians descend upon the streets of downtown for a 1.5-mile walk every October. It’s one of the biggest zombie gatherings in the world and it’s free.
28. Catch the Food Truck Friday
Scope out new food trucks every Friday from 11am to 1pm on the corner of Central and McKinley.
29. Climb Camelback Mountain
Take on one of the mountain’s two trails, Cholla or Echo Canyon. Both hikes take you to the 2,704ft summit.
30. Experience Rainbows Festival
Arizona’s second-largest LGBTQ event, behind Phoenix Pride, is 100% free.
31. Have a Free yoga
Every Sunday the three Phoenix-area Lululemon shops host complimentary community yoga classes outside of their storefronts. The Biltmore and Scottsdale Quarter classes both begin at 10:30am and the session in Chandler starts at 10am. Bring your own yoga mat and water.
32. Visit Old Town Farmers’ Market
Need a reason to wake up early on Saturday? Check out Scottsdale’s farmers’ market. It opens at 7am and it’s always free. Again, samples are your friend.
33. Catch Chile Pepper Fest
For the best local food and music check out the Chili Pepper Festival happening in Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row Arts District this September. Local faves like Paletas Betty and Gallo Blanco will be there.
34. Attend a Trivia night
Test your trivia knowledge on topics ranging from music to pop culture. All that time spent online and watching TV might just pay off — there are prizes. The weekly event takes place every Sunday at 6pm at the Crescent Ballroom.
35. Vsit Cosmo Dog Park
It’s basically an amusement park for dogs — without the admission. And, Cosmo regularly ranks among the top dog parks in the country.
36. Explore Ahwatukee Farmers’ Market
Get your fix of locally made jams, jellies, salsas, and more at the ‘Tukee Farmers’ Market. Parking is free, too.
37. Visit the Historic Heritage Square
When most people visualize Phoenix they envision big-box stores and stucco-style houses, and while some of that is true, we’ve got some history here, too. This Phoenix city block is home to Victorian-style homes that date back to the 1800s. Take a stroll through the neighborhood to see where it all began. And, Pizzeria Bianco is just down the street.
38. Walk, run, or bike Tempe Beach Park
… Mill Ave is just a short walk from Tempe Town Lake.
39. People-watch on Mill Avenue
Grab a seat on the patio. Tempe is full of interesting people.
40. Enjoy a Poetry night
Mesa’s Lo Fi Coffee hosts poetry night every third Thursday from 6pm to 8pm.
41. Catch the Arizona State Fair
On Thursdays you can get into the state fair for free. The catch? It’s only for an hour — just enough time to grab a turkey leg or something a little more adventurous like a maple bacon donut cheeseburger.
42. Catch the Finally Friday
Every Friday at 5pm the Tempe Center for the Arts hosts Finally Friday, an event with live music and bites from local restaurateurs. Admission to the TCA gallery is always free.
