Kleinman Park — Attraction in Mesa

I gave it one stars not because I hated the place, but because it just doesn't look safe and seems to be used as a neighborhood park only. It's big enough to be a city park but looks like only local residents use it and LOTS of homeless live in the park. I felt really depressed going there. I stopped by on my way home from work, just to eat some messy bbq wings. I didn't get out of the car, but I noticed at least 42 homeless people spread out all over the place. (Yes, I counted them). They were under all the shelters/tables and trees for shade with makeshift tents, umbrellas, shopping carts full of belongings. I saw a woman take a shower in the sprinklers with her clothes on. She had a bar of soap. I even witnessed a small group of people smoking and sharing a pipe that clearly wasn't marijuana out in the open. It was very depressing. Yes, this is actually happening in our cities. You would have thought you were watching a TV documentary about some third world country. It's really sad and by no means am I judging them. I'm just stating what I observed.

With that said, if you're looking for a nice place to barbecue or just hang out with the family outside, don't go there. You're better off going up the street to the larger park off Dobson and Rio Salado next to the new baseball training center. It is much larger, nicer and safer. It's less than 10 minutes away from this park.

Now if you're into helping the community, an activist, or generally concerned about social justice and poverty in your community, please go there. Find out what's going on and see what you...

This review is for pickleball visitors only. PSA: DON'T play pickleball at kleinman park in mesa-- no court queue system, there are no gates separating the courts, only four courts, it was packed to the brim, there was garbage left inside of the court, and when we finally got on a court we played for five minutes before getting strongarmed off the courts by a group of rude players claiming they "reserved the court online for five dollars" -- even though there is absolutely no signage advertising a court reservation system anywhere on the premises. It was upsetting due to the lack of forewarning for something like this happening. meanwhile, everyone else around us on the other three courts had lawn chairs set up on their courts, no reservations all walk-ons, and played several games in a row.

This court goes directly against the spirit of pickleball culture well established on several great public courts i've been to with easily adaptable and free court queues, namely arrowhead in chandler, and higley courts in gilbert to name a few examples. Again, DO NOT PLAY PICKLEBALL...

This park is a hidden gem. Would have never thought that there would be such a nice and fun park here. So glad Google Maps brought me here. This park has a huge softball playing field, and water fountains too and I like how with these fountains they have the option where you can put your bottle down and fill it up. (The restrooms seemed a bit not so clean, at least when I walked by, but at least this park has them.) When you enter this park, you'll see a sidewalk that connects all the different sections of the park: softball field, playground, volleyball court, tennis court, and basketball court. There is just so much to do, and I love how everything is spaced apart too, so you can focus on your activity.

Bear in mind, this is a popular park, and even though I arrived here early morning, by the time I got here, I already saw a bunch of people; lot of people were busy playing volleyball and tennis too. The two or three ramadas they had for shade too were also...