Kiwanis Recreation Center — Attraction in Tempe

I MUST edit this review to be fair! Kiwanis Park has really done a 180 since I last made a review. The playgrounds are amazing now after a recent remodel and I have noticed less people having their dogs running around without a leash. I can now walk MY huge dogs with peace and comfort of them not eating someones Chihuahua or shitzapoo whatever! Now all people need to do is clean up after their shitzapoo so that there arent little turds all over the place.Other than that I actually like this park now! There is still a homeless problem here tho. Just saying.

I live in the neighborhood within walking distance to kiwanis Park and have for the past 3 years. I walk my dogs there almost every evening. The first 2 years I did this were very nice. The park was kept up, there was little noise, I would see police officers patrolling and I was able to walk my dogs without incidents. In the past year that has DRASTICALLY changed. The first problem is that this park has become homeless central. Homeless people lurking in the shadows by the kids play area and in every dark corner that has a bench or grass. People using the park as their bedroom (making out in the grass and screwing) is also in line with the homeless problem. The second problem is the feral cats. They are EVERYWHERE! My dogs try to kill them every time they see them (which is every 5 steps) Very annoying and the cat rescue places refuse to come out and spay/neuter/release. Instead every breeding season there are tons more cats. The third problem are the benches around the backside of the tennis courts. There is ZERO lighting and last night was the straw! I was walking my dogs and 5 young men kept whistling and barking and being immature towards my dogs who in return took it as them being aggressive (which they became after I told them that the dogs are still in training and to stop) Then I had to walk in the dark to get to the other side of Kiwanis pool area where the baseball fields and elementary school are. (the route I take is a big circle) Of course there is nothing against loitering at a park, especially in Arizona where there is nothing for young adults to do other than create mischief, so they continued to harass the next woman that walked by. ZERO police enforcement anywhere. Keep in mind there is a police station right there within walking distance of where this happened. Very annoying and the fourth problem is more of a parent problem than a park problem and that would be letting a toddler approach a 120 lb+ dog like they are hoping the dog knocks their kid down or bites them so they can sue or something. I seriously have to tell grown adults and their kids to NOT approach the dogs because one of them has been made semi aggressive by the A**holes at this park in the last year of walking them here by barking and approaching and just plain acting stupid. I am waiting for someone to get bit and then try to sue me because they are too stupid to stay away from a dog they dont know after being warned. There is also the problem of litter at this park. "FIESTA" is written in the grass in bricks on one of the grass hills and I have to say that its pretty accurate. Pinatas everywhere on the weekends and when they get smashed into a million pieces those pieces get taken by the wind and scattered everywhere! Not to mention the confetti and the candy wrappers that come from them. The grass on a Monday is a million different colors! If your looking to fish, walk your dog, or enjoy a peaceful evening at the park you may want to go to a smaller park or just plain go elsewhere. It probably isnt that bad if its your first time there and you dont go on the regular, but if you do BEWARE and bring a knife, mace and...

I have been going to this park since I was a little kid and the largest park has been remodeled 3 times including a complete taredown and remodel. The largest playground is far better then it ever was. The large playground Is not the only part of this enormous park that is worth mentioning. This park has the Kiwanis wave pool recreation center as well. I will not be reviewing that on this review but let's just say it's partially why this is not a 5 star review. The wave pool has a slide, concession stands and an indoor ⁴basketball court that can be used year round. The wave pool is durring the summer. The park also has batting cages (bats and helmets can be rented If you don't have them). You can choose to have softballs or baseballs pitched to you at various speeds. It's a very nice setup and lots of fun. Kiwanis also has a very large pond in which you can fish for bass, blugill, rainbow trout, catfish, grass carp or white amur. The pond is considered urban so get your urban stamp on your fishing license. You can also rent kiyaks, canoes or paddle boats. Many people walk, jog or rent one of the single or multi-person bikes to travel around the pond (which is a mile around) for excersize or liesure. There is also a covered playground for very young children and handicap children. It also has a workout are for body resistance training. There is basketball courts both by the pond (though these are know to be a rougher crowd that plays here and this area is not suitable for children or young teenagers. The other basketball court is suitable for everyone and is located by the large playground. There are also soccer fields located on both sides of the park. There is also baseball/ softball fields in the middle of the park by the large playground. There are even tennis courts next to the wavepool. This park when has remadas located both by the pond and playgrounds that are equipped with grills and trashcans. They can be reserved as well. Also, sister city is available for concerts or meetings. This park has been around for many years and weather you want a place to bring your kids, a place to excersize, a place to host a meeting, a place to fish, swim, or play sports, this park has something for you. It's location is great other then one surrounding town that brings in some people who can be unruley at times. It is rare to run into problems however. Just watch your kids. My son got punched in the nose by a child that was not being watched so head my warning. This again is a one time experience in the 100s of times I have been at this park. They host fireworks, movies by the pond and in the wavepool, Halloween festivals and tons of other events. You can Google the park to see the event list. Needless to say, come check it out... It will not...

I spent a portion of two days at the park but did not attempt to enter the Kiwanis Recreation Center. I did walk through the entlre park two times and read the signs. Signage is informative and possibly assists and guides. The Tempe Parks & Recreation website portion of Tempe, AZ is five stars. With more time spent I would have a better understanding of what where when and how? If you want good information please consider website, email and or phone. With reading Google Maps, viewing city website and reading other websites I am unclear as to what applies 04/20/22? Google mentions bike rentals. I missed that area and saw very few, possibly no bikes at the park. I did see scooters. The Finess Center & Gym are temporarily closed. There were no dates mentioned. Normally dates are specified or speculated. I saw courts that were not tennis or pickle ball and did not see the pickle ball courts. If squash or handball are what I saw I did not see a sign. Personally I believe Kiwanis is an exceptional park, in various transitions and attempting to best cope with Covid. Only useful thing in this particular review is get information from the Kiwanis Park. I went into the Rec Cntr mid May. It is incredible! Incredible in both staff and the facility. You have to see, touch and smell and then speak with staff. One of the managers let me ramble on and it is obvious she is rightfully very proud of staff. You probably can't have a vision of the complexity and number of projects in progress. The number of neat stacks of papers is astounding. Take a moment, if you are there at the pool, basketball courts, fitness room, tennis courts, and more to learn a little of why this looks better than a huge fitness group. The basket ball courts is perfect. Pool is amazing in too many ways to describe in this foolishly long review. The tennis courts are amazing in number and quality. At another park I spoke with two different park maintainance people. They were modest and realistic. Usually I am exceptionally impressed with each Tempe park. At those I felt were not on a level with the mostly better parks I have to think, I am not qualified to have a reliable opinion due to not understanding constraints and knowledge of projections...