Parks & Recreation in Peoria


With a glorious natural environment and 29 neighborhood parks, one community park in Peoria, three city pools, a community center, a women’s club and the 142-acre Peoria Sports Complex, there is no excuse to stay indoors.

The 23,662-acre Lake Pleasant Regional Park has two private marinas. Pleasant Harbor Marina is open to the public for launching boats, fishing, hiking, picnicking, shopping and hooking up campers at its five-star RV resort. The new five-star, state-of-the-art Scorpion Bay marina and Yacht Club has a floating restaurant, convenience store and deli and offers live entertainment.

The City of Peoria has approximately 35 miles of easy to challenging interconnecting urban and scenic desert trails. You will find spectacular views on the new West Wing and Sunrise Mountain Trails. Feeder trails on which you can walk, bike and rollerblade from neighborhoods to schools, commercial centers and the Park and Ride also connect with the city’s major park and mountain trail systems.

Located within Rio Vista Community Park, the Rio Vista Recreation Center is a multifaceted, family-friendly facility teeming with a wealth of modern amenities and programs designed to engage residents of all ages and encourage healthy living. It offers the city’s first public gymnasium, first indoor racquetball courts, first climbing wall, as well as state-of-the-art fitness equipment, group fitness and dance classes, circuit training, banquet and meeting space and more.

Outdoors, Rio Vista Community Park offers a walking/jogging path, a playground, picnic areas, volleyball courts, softball and multi-purpose fields, a splash park, a well-stocked fishing lake and a skateboard area. With commanding views of the lake and surrounding park, combined with natural interior finishes, the Rio Vista Recreation Center will be a point of pride for generations of Peoria residents.

Peoria’s Recreation Department is renowned for its dedication to creating and maintaining top-quality programs for residents. Offerings include many sport leagues for children through adults. There are also adventure camps, winter break programs, before- and after-school programs and a Little Learners Preschool. Senior programs include education classes, dancing, ceramics, scrapbooking, piano, planned trips and a variety of health and wellness programs.

Peoria also has an urban fishing lake that is seasonally stocked with trout or catfish, the best skateboard park in the nation and a history museum.

The city also provides one of the best adaptive recreation programs in the U.S. The programs are designed to provide a continuum of leisure opportunities and related services to enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. Ranging from Special Olympics to social events and inclusion programs, Peoria’s adaptive recreation programs are open to all ages. Call 623-773-7000 for information or go to www.peoriaaz.com.