Roadrunner Park
Rating
Family of 4
$0 to about $25 for a typical visit.
Duration
1 to 3 hours, or half a day if you combine fishing in the morning with the pool in the afternoon
Best Ages
2 to 12 is the sweet spot, with real reasons for teens to come too. The playground is split into separate zones for toddlers and bigger kids and sits under a shade structure, which is what makes it usable through a north Phoenix spring and fall. The 2-acre fishing lake is the differentiator: it is stocked through Arizona's community fishing program, has three fishing docks and a walking path all the way around, and a 6-year-old with a cheap rod and a container of worms can have a genuinely good hour there. Teens use the basketball, tennis, pickleball, and sand volleyball courts, the soccer and ball fields, and the pool in summer. Infants get the least out of it, though the paved perimeter loop is a decent stroller walk.
About
Roadrunner Park is 37 acres on Cactus Road in north Phoenix, and it earns its reputation for one specific reason: it has a real fishing lake in the middle of a city park, and that changes what a family morning looks like.
The lake is about 2 acres with a maximum depth around 8 feet, and it is part of Arizona's community fishing program, meaning Arizona Game and Fish stocks it on a published schedule. Depending on the season you can catch catfish, trout, bass, sunfish, and white amur. The pond was remodeled to better support aquatic life and now has three fishing docks and improved walking paths around the perimeter, so a family can spread out and a kid who loses interest after 20 minutes has somewhere to walk.
Anyone 10 and older needs an Arizona fishing license, and bag limits are posted at the water: 2 catfish, 2 trout, 1 bass with a 13-inch minimum, 5 sunfish, and 1 white amur with a 30-inch minimum. Kids under 10 can generally fish alongside a licensed adult without their own license, which makes this one of the cheapest real first-fishing-trip options in the Phoenix metro. Aim for the cool months if you can, because trout stocking happens in winter and standing at a pond in July is a different experience entirely.
The playground is the other reason families come. It sits under a shade structure and is split into separate zones for toddlers and bigger kids, which solves the usual problem of a 3-year-old getting run over by a pack of 9-year-olds. In Phoenix, the shade structure is not a nicety, it is what makes the equipment touchable for most of the year.
Roadrunner Pool is on the same property, one of the City of Phoenix neighborhood pools, running a summer season that has typically opened around Memorial Day weekend. Recent listed pricing was $3 per session for adults and $1 for seniors 60 and older, with kids 17 and under able to swim free at select pools through the city's Kool Kids admission, so confirm the current schedule and fees on phoenix. gov.
Note that the lake itself is not for swimming or wading.
Beyond that, the park has ball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, pickleball courts, sand volleyball, soccer fields, grills and picnic areas, restrooms, drinking fountains, and shade structures. A long-running Saturday farmers market is held here, which is worth checking the schedule for, both because it is a nice morning and because it fills the parking lot. Park hours are posted at roughly 5:30 a.
m. to 11 p. m.
, and everything except fishing licenses and pool admission is free.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Yes
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
N/A
Setting
Outdoor
Rainy Day
Not ideal
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Early morning, especially for fishing, when the lake is calm and the shade structure has not yet been claimed. From May through September, plan for before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Winter is prime time here, because Arizona Game and Fish stocks trout in the cool months and the whole park is comfortable all day.
Wait Times
No admission line for the park. The three fishing docks can be occupied on a weekend morning right after a stocking, in which case you fish from the bank instead. Roadrunner Pool operates on posted recreation swim sessions in summer and can reach capacity on the hottest afternoons, so check phoenix.gov for the current schedule.
Nearby Food
Nothing sold inside the park apart from the Saturday farmers market when it is running, so pack a cooler or plan to drive a few minutes. The park sits at 35th Street and Cactus Road in north Phoenix, and the Cactus Road and Paradise Valley Mall area just east gives you a dense cluster of fast casual, chain sit-down restaurants, coffee, and grocery stores within about five minutes. Tatum Boulevard and Bell Road to the north add more options. If the farmers market is on, you can usually buy prepared food, baked goods, and produce right there and picnic at a ramada, which is the best version of a morning here.
Why Kids Love It
There is a real lake here with real fish in it, and for a kid the difference between a playground and a playground with a stocked fishing lake attached is enormous. The 2-acre pond is stocked with catfish, trout, bass, sunfish, and white amur, it has three docks to fish from, and even kids who never get a bite spend the whole time watching for ducks and turtles. Then there is a big shaded playground with separate toddler and big-kid zones, so the 3-year-old and the 9-year-old both get something that fits.
Pro Tips from Parents
- Fish in winter, not summer. Arizona Game and Fish stocks trout in the cool months and catfish in the warm ones, and a cold December morning at Roadrunner Pond with a stocked lake is a far better experience than a July one. Check the current stocking calendar at azgfd.com before you commit to a date.
- Anyone 10 and older needs an Arizona fishing license, and bag limits at Roadrunner Pond are posted at the water: 2 catfish, 2 trout, 1 bass with a 13-inch minimum, 5 sunfish, and 1 white amur with a 30-inch minimum. Read the sign at the dock, since regulations get updated.
- The lake is for fishing, not swimming or wading. It is roughly 2 acres with a maximum depth around 8 feet, and there are no lifeguards. If your kids want water, the answer is Roadrunner Pool on the same property during the summer season.
- Take the shaded playground seriously as a reason to pick this park. In a Phoenix summer, a shade structure over the equipment is the difference between an hour of play and a five-minute retreat to the car.
- Roadrunner Pool is one of the City of Phoenix neighborhood pools and runs a summer season that has typically opened around Memorial Day weekend. Check the current schedule and fees on phoenix.gov, since neighborhood pool hours rotate and not every pool runs every session.
- Park hours are posted as roughly 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., which makes an early summer morning here practical.
- A long-running Saturday farmers market is held at the park. Check its current schedule before planning around it, and know that it makes the parking lot considerably busier on Saturday mornings.
- The paved loop around the lake is flat and complete, so a stroller, a scooter, or a first bike all work well here.
What to Bring
- A fishing rod, tackle, and bait, plus a current Arizona fishing license for anyone 10 and older
- A bucket or net for the kid who wants to look at everything up close
- Water bottles for everyone, since there is nothing to buy inside the park
- Sunscreen and hats, because most of the lakeside path is unshaded
- Swimsuits and towels if you are pairing the visit with a session at Roadrunner Pool
- A basketball, tennis racket, or soccer ball for the courts and fields
- A picnic blanket or chairs, and a bag for trash, since the ramadas fill up on weekends
Cost Info
Partially free — some areas or times are free
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
$0 to about $25 for a typical visit.
The park, the playground, the fishing docks, the walking path, and the courts are all free with free parking.
Two costs can get added on.
Fishing requires an Arizona license for anyone 10 and older, and license types and prices are set by Arizona Game and Fish, so check azgfd.
com for current pricing rather than budgeting from an old number.
Kids under 10 can generally fish without their own license when accompanied, which makes this a cheap first fishing trip for a family.
Roadrunner Pool, when it is open for the summer season, was listed at $3 per session for adults and $1 for seniors 60 and older, with kids 17 and under swimming free at select pools through the city's Kool Kids admission, so a family of four at the pool runs roughly $6.
Confirm current fees on phoenix.
gov.
Tips to Save
- The whole park is free, so the money question is really about fishing and swimming.
- On fishing, buy the license online through azgfd.
- com before you go rather than at a tackle counter, and check whether a community fishing license or a general license is the better value for how often your family fishes.
- Kids under 10 generally do not need their own license when accompanied, so one adult license can cover a family outing with young kids.
- On swimming, ask at Roadrunner Pool whether the Kool Kids free admission for ages 17 and under applies there, because it turns a family pool afternoon into two adult admissions.
- Bring your own bait, snacks, and drinks, since there is nothing to buy inside the park.
- And check whether the Saturday farmers market held in the park is running when you go, because that is a free morning of its own and lets you buy lunch on the way out.
Hours & Contact
Contact
Frequently Asked Questions
Tickets & Booking
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