Free parking, free admission. The ghost town was located half an hour from Mesa…read more Came on a weekday morning. There was a good amount of people roaming around. The town was located really close to the Lost Dutchman State Park. All of the shops had air conditioning which was nice. The cowboy hat shop was really cool. Saw some of the hats were $79. They have a saloon called the Mammoth worth checking out. They had a lot of cute attractions, such as gold panning, mine tour, zip lining, and railroad riding. Bought a pound of copper from the museum for $50. Apparently everything in the museum was tax free. Looked like they charge $1.50 for credit card, which was not mentioned nor were there obvious signs about the credit card usage fee. Admission to the cost $10 for 13 and up, $8 for 65 and up, $5 for 8 to 12, and free for those under 8. Really fun town to spend an hour or two. Lots of things to do for all ages. All the staff were friendly. Town was clean. Would return.

What a great stop! I was on my way to tortilla flats and turned around to stop and explore this…read morelittle gem off the side of the road. They have everything from ice cream to sandwiches to a steak restaurant saloon to tattoos, ghost, mine and horseback riding tours. I was most excited to see an old town photo studio. What a fun experience! Definitely worth stopping! I had lunch at miners grill (blt) before exploring! The train tour was so cool! Tour guide Bruce was great and very funny! The mystical building was unreal. Be warned if you very motion sickness I got queasy! Matt at the mine tour was also great! Loved this so much I came back to hear the ghost tour by Michael! So good! I got lucky as I was the only one on the tour so I basically got it private tour and Michael's storytelling is off the chain! Love the multimedia to accent his stories. I'm actually going back next week and can't wait to take my mom. The ghosts tour was definitely the highlight of an already wonderful day!

The tour was worth the five year wait/lottery! We had a wonderful docent and received a fantastic…read moretour of Tovrea Castle which was superb in every way possible. I have lived in Arizona, specifically the Phoenix area, for most of my life and have driven by Tovrea Castle thousands of times. It was so cool to be able to walk the grounds and get a peek inside. I would highly suggest entering the lottery, it's free and some people have better luck than I did and can get in sooner than 5 years. This was an insightful tour mixed with great storytelling and history. The basement with all the artifacts of the family and learning more about the area makes me proud to be a part of Arizona! Worth the visit!

If you live in the Valley it's highly likely that you have driven by this place. From the 202 fwy…read moreyou can easily see it. I often wondered what is that building? Finally after passing it so many times I was curious enough to look it up. I googled "cake shaped building PHX" and it was the first result. "Tovrea (said tov-ree) Castle aka A jewel in the Sonoran desert" Since 2010 the City of Phoenix purchased, renovated, and opened it for tours. The very abbreviated story with this place is that some homesteaders from the early 1900s owned the land, sold 277 acres to a wealthy Italian man. Alessio Carraro had built a fortune in the sheet metal business in the 1920s from San Fran. He planned to build a hotel resort surrounded by a housing subdivision on 277 acres, Carraro Heights. The castle was built near the timing of when the Great Depression set in. Carraro wanted out, he sold the castle and some amount of acreage (for a fraction of his investment) to Della Tovrea, wife of cattle baron E.A. Tovrea. She lived there until her tragic death in 1969. Nearby is the Stockyard Restaurant, built by E.A.'s son so cattlemen had somewhere to eat near the stockyards. That restaurant still exists today. I plan to check it out. If you want more details and full story, go take the tour :) however tickets are not easy to come by. Tours sell out many months in advance and they started using a lottery system. I bought my tickets months ago. However worth a try to go. I wouldn't say its the most amazing thing I've ever seen and the use of the word "castle" is a stretch. I've been inside some real castles in US and Europe, however it's interesting and a fun thing to do and it satisfied my curiosity! :) Per their website- The Ticket Lottery for Fall 2022 Tickets has ended and all tickets have been distributed - look for last minute cancellation tickets. Ticket Lottery for Spring 2023 Regular Tours closed on October 15, 2022 and Winners will be notified via email starting November 1, 2022. https://tovreacastletours.com

INCREDIBLE HISTORY! Casa Grande is a testament to the resilience and strength of the native people…read moreof Arizona! The inhabitants of Casa Grande thought about everything when they made this structure to preserve their farming operation. I'm so happy the structure is protected and the national monument is well-maintained. My family and I spent a while exploring and reading about the architectural/agricultural genius of this location. I enjoyed going in December, it was cool and I got really appreciate the views. I got to peak inside the monument through a small opening and it's pretty big! Be careful not to touch it! There's pits, native shade coverings, and plenty of signs to enjoy during your tour of the monument. The visitor center/gift shop next to Casa Grande has a brief video presentation (also on YouTube) surrounding the monument and a mini-museum with local artifacts. Everything is completely free! The staff were friendly and they had a national park stamp for park passport holders.

I have lived in AZ for many many years now, so how I have not stopped in to visit and see this gem…read moreof history is beyond me. We had decided to take the scenic route (Pinal Pioneer Parkway) home from a day trip to Phoenix, and am so glad we did. Casa Grande Ruins was right on the way and was an easy stop that you MUST carve out at least 30-45 minutes for. Of course you can spend way more time than that here doing the movie and perusing all of the inside exhibit/information areas but can definitely do this in about half an hours time if you focus on the outside/ruins themselves. I found the ruins, along with the information fascinating. The monument/area is as well preserved as possible, although I will say I was sad to see that there were current day people who had etched things in the adobe. The inside area has lots of great information, National Park employees that are well versed in the history and a little gift shop. Pets are welcome in outside areas, including a short cut through the building to the ruins themselves. Clean bathrooms and a picnic area across the parking lot.

My goodness this place is wonderful! I went on a Tuesday and ended up having a solo tour. The…read moregentleman who gave the tour was so enthusiastic, kind and it was such a fun experience. I very highly recommend!!

This was my number one destination spot when I planned on going to Apache Junction simply because…read moreit's not something you hear about or get a real chance to learn about and I was not disappointed. The tour is entertaining and informative and costumes and rooms look so authentic. Absolutely LOVED everything about it!

We had an absolutely wonderful day on our private Grand Canyon tour from Phoenix. To be honest, we…read morehad two hesitations when we booked: (1) It sounded like a LONG day (with a really early start), and (2) It seemed a little pricey. At the end of the day, though, everyone in our group agreed that it was well worth the price (and, particularly if you're coming from the East Coast, you're going to be awake early anyway!). Our guide, Jon, made sure that everything ran as efficiently as it possibly could have. Not only did he ensure that we hit all of the Park highlights, but he took us away from the biggest crowds to show us views that were true " hidden gems." Jon was so knowledgable on the history, the environment, and other facts related to the area that we could not have enjoyed it more. Truly an experience of a lifetime! If, like us, you are making your first trip to the Grand Canyon, this is THE way to see it! Thank you, Jon - and Arizona Scenic Tours - for a very memorable trip.

Wonderful trip. Steve was extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend this company.read more

So for my thousand Yelp review I wanted to make it special. I wanted to chose a place that is a…read morestaple of the local community. I mean after all, isn't that what Yelp is all about? I wanted to review a local business that seemed to Ooooooze AZ identity. Sooooooo, I even put a call out to my friends and fellow Yelpies on social media. I asked them to think about it. When they thought of AZ, what local businesses came to mind? I got so many great answers. However, when I saw the list I realized that after 15 years being Elite, I had already reviewed all of them. When I went onto this page and realized I had not made a review of the David and Gladys Wright House. It seemed like a perfect Karma solution and partnership. I did not know how that was even possible that I had not already reviewed this local treasure. What a great way to complete my One Thousandth review with such an amazing place! To honor a great artist that is associated and influenced within the State of 48 is special. Wright is one of the Kings of American Architect. So let's begin. When you go you will be greeted to a unique layered circular shaped home. Some of you might recognize the ASU Grady Gammage cake swirl technique. ( do you like my fancy non expert architecture terminology there? Ha!) The driveway is the same. Take in all the glory of that breathtaking view of camelback mountain and the property. According to https://franklloydwright.org/site/david-wright-house/ the masterpiece of this Wright residential home home was Titled "How to Live in the Southwest" in the plans by Frank Lloyd Wright, the David & Gladys Wright House is one of three spiral designs realized by Wright. Raised on columns to provide a view of the property's citrus orchard, the house at the base of Camelback Mountain looked outward towards the surrounding desert and inwards onto a central courtyard with a plunge pool and shaded garden. David and Gladys Wright lived in the house until their deaths (David in 1997 at the age of 102, and Gladys in 2008 at the age of 104), after which the residence fell into disrepair. Saved from demolition, its current owners are restoring the property. In early 2022, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Definitely sign up for a tour and go and check it out. It is totally worth it for historical and artistic purposes alone. Oh, okay, who am I kidding? It is worth the price alone to just check out that view and the home. Just a quick note, you cannot just show up and expect to get in. You have to go with a tour. Enjoy your visit. Happy 1,000 review! I hope this was helpful to those architecture and history fans out there.

Came here for a holiday lights open house this year…read more You park at the south side of the church at 5225 E. Camelback and there is a door that you walk through to get to the Wright House. I have to share, it was a beautiful evening. The weather was warm and even before we got out of our car, we could see the hundreds of Christmas lights twinkling in the distance. As we walked through the door, we were greeted warmly by volunteers and there was a long, long driveway leading to a giant Christmas tree beautifully lit, the long driveway continues to the house. There was a string quartet playing and hot chocolate/ coffee & macaroon served by the Henry. I brought my 9 year old son & his friend with me. There were not too many kids there which was too bad since the look of wonder on their faces were priceless. They were old enough to appreciate the experience and the architecture. It created a memorable experience for them. The house itself is being restored and sits on I think sits on at least a 3 acre property. It's beautiful & worth a visit. Thank you for opening this up for the public for this holiday season!

Albesila is a traveling art exhibition, passing through various cities in the US and is designed by…read moreAlan Parkinson. Held at Mesa's Pioneer Park, it was here for 2 weekends and has since moved on for its next stop in Virginia. We went on the last Sunday before the show ended here in AZ. Parking was plentiful at the park and it was a short walk to the sculpture. It was a chilly day so I'm glad we bought our tickets in advance since there was a long line for tickets at the door. As a result we didn't wait too long, maybe a few minutes after getting our tickets scanned. Since the entire exhibition consists of plastic inflatable sculptures, shoes are not permitted in order to prevent any damage to the structure. There's some cubby holes off to the side next to the entrance where you can store your shoes while you're inside. Although the structure is meant to be maze-like it was a fairly straightforward walk through everything. It was fun walking through the different "rooms" of various colors. Those red rooms are intense! There are some illuminated patterns on the ceilings of some of the domes to serve as landmarks. The main dome had a brilliant display of pattern and color and I also liked the other main landmark called The Tree, which had some circular above ground cutouts within the structure. It was a pretty short walk through the entire exhibition. You have around 30 minutes to be inside but we were done in maybe 15 minutes. When you exit there are some food trucks along the street if you feel like grabbing a bite to eat. When we were here they had Philly cheesesteak, coffee, and Udder Delights food trucks. The price was reasonable, $7 per person so overall I felt satisfied for how much we paid.

I waited in line for an hour in 50 degree weather for this? I was done in 5 minutes. All it is, is…read morea bunch of bounce house connected together without the fun of the bounce. I'm pretty sure even the three year olds were unimpressed.