Best Casino 2011 | Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino | Sports & Recreation | Phoenix
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Best Casino

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino

You could go to any casino to gamble, really — a slot machine's a slot machine, right? That may be true, but Wild Horse Pass offers a lot more than just roulette wheels and card tables. In addition to keeping its slots up to date with the latest models from companies like IGT and Aristocrat, Wild Horse has 25 poker tables, 46 blackjack tables in five pits, and more than 30 big-screen TVs (for those who like to be distracted with televised sports and such). And if gambling's not your bag, the live entertainment offered at the casino's Ovations LIVE! Showroom is pretty impressive, too: Just this year, it's hosted shows by America; Blood, Sweat, and Tears; The Turtles; and Kenny Loggins. Throw in promotions like Ladies' Night (Thursdays), prizes for liking the casino on Facebook, and redeeming Player's Club points for gas cards, and you've got a real winner.

Best Day Trip

Jerome, Arizona

Arizona has many special places, but we hold a special spot for this onetime copper-mining town turned tourist attraction that sits northeast of Prescott up the big hill from the Valley of the Sun. Our favorites in the quaint little town include the Asylum Restaurant, which is perched above the main drag and offers one of the best wine lists in the state, if that's your thing. Artisans peddle their wares on the street, eager to make a deal. Dozens of top-drawer artists show their stuff in more established venues (known as galleries). World-class glassblower Tracy Wiesel demonstrates his mastery in his studio directly behind the gorgeous Raku Gallery, which he and his wife, Nancy, own and operate. Wiesel is as quirky as the town itself — he's a former traveling salesman who still knows how to pitch with the best of 'em. We watched him create a colorful wine glass one day and returned the next morning to purchase it. Fun! Oh, and Jerome's average high temperature in July is about 90 degrees. Need we say more?

Best Activity for Out-of-Town Guests

Drive the Apache Trail

Drive along the Apache Trail to view one of the most scenic drives in the Phoenix area. For your out-of-town guests, this is a snapshot of desert living — without having to get out of the car. This trail offers visitors a view of canyons, geologic formations, desert plants, trees, flowers, the occasional critter, desert, and lake views. If your guests care to step out of the car, there are many enticing stops along the way, including museums, restaurants, ghost towns, lakes, and Roosevelt Dam. Don't forget to share the legend of Jacob Waltz (the Lost Dutchman) with your guests — maybe they'll want to pan for nuggets of gold during this day trip. Start your trip at Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce and pick up a brochure or two to keep the guests entertained once the drive is over.

Best Lake Camping

Rim Lakes, Woods Canyon Group Campground

There are many campgrounds to choose from in Arizona, and there are many lakes, surprisingly. The area of Rim Lakes at Apache Sitgreaves National Forest — Woods Canyon Group Campground specifically — is ideal because it is rustic and wooded. And just through the woods, along a path, is a stocked lake where boats can be rented and campers can become fishermen. The small store at the lake sells fishing equipment, and you can purchase a fishing license on-site.

Best Swimming Hole

Fossil Springs

Bummed you can't hit Slide Rock State Park because the fecal bacteria counts are too high? Not us. In fact, we won't dip a toe in Sedona's cesspool, even when the rangers say it's okay. Neither should you. Not as long as Arizona still has places like Fossil Springs to enjoy. The swimming hole on Fossil Creek north of Payson is fairly far from a trailhead or road, which is probably what helps keep this spot so pure — or at least free of used diapers. You might catch some teenagers sipping tallboys under the cottonwood trees that shade the rocks surrounding this cool, deep pool, but it's a little too far for most families hauling giant coolers — which is what keeps it nice and fairly clean. There's a back way, but we recommend the pleasant four-mile trail from the ridge down through the canyon. It's just outside Strawberry, so the drive is pretty short and the swim-in cave, which reminds us a little of the famed Playboy Mansion grotto, will impress even a true swimming-hole snob (read: the kind of person who wouldn't dare submerse themselves in the filthy waters of Sedona).

Best Urban Kayaking

Dobson Ranch

Metro Phoenix is an urban kayaker's dream — if you don't mind ignoring a few posted signs and are willing to drag your 'yak a couple of yards down to the shore, that is. Case in point, the lakes of Mesa's Dobson Ranch neighborhood. These pretty little canals loop around for several miles, giving pleasant views of nice homes and cute little parks. Technically, you're doing just a teensy-weensy bit of trespassing if you paddle without permission. And since you probably don't pay HOA dues, you don't, in the strictest sense, have permission. Don't be a sissy — so long as you don't appear to be casing the houses, no one is gonna notice you're poaching their water. Hey, it's not like this is the similarly devised 'hoods of The Lakes in Tempe or The Islands of Gilbert, where strangers can actually raise a few eyebrows. Folks are chill in the DOB, man. Drop in from one of the grassy parks tucked into corner lots along the snake-shaped lakes. If someone on a pontoon boat asks what you're doing, keep paddling. If they ask again, say you're visiting your friend Tom over on Javelina Street. What do you mean you don't know Tom? He used to be the president of the HOA. He draws a lot of water in these parts, buddy!

Best Place to Swim If You're Training for a Triathlon

McDowell Mountain Ranch Park and Aquatic Center

The way we figure it, the water in the small lap pool at our local gym must comprise at least 10 percent sweat. It looks relatively clean and gets the job done — our arms feel like strands of linguine after 70 laps. But who knows what's in that water? And don't get us started on Tempe Town Lake. In our quest to someday complete a triathlon, we love to work out at the eight-lane outdoor pool at the McDowell Mountain Ranch Park Aquatic Center. Every time we've been there, the pool clearly (get it?) has been sparkling clean and has an upscale sheen our crappy gym lacks. The view of the McDowell Mountains is stellar, and it's located near one of our favorite long bike rides, up the Beeline Highway to Bush Highway, making it a convenient place to cross-train. If we could just manage to add a run on top of one of those marathon workouts, we'd be ready for the big league.

Best Splash Pad

South bank of Tempe Town Lake

Once the temperatures zoom above 100 degrees, parents start the summer scramble for what to do with the kids. The Splash Playground at Tempe's Town Lake meets their demand with gusto. The entrance to the playground welcomes with a metal circle of clouds that rains mist onto visitors. Thunder claps and lightning flashes. Waterfalls turn into streams and water rushes into canals. This splash pad is the best in town because it keeps the kids cool and offers education about the rain in the desert. A lifeguard-style attendant is on hand to help parents keep an eye on the kids around flowing water.

Best Water Park

Golfland Sunsplash

Years ago, having a large pool with a wave-maker and a slide or two was good enough to call yourself a "water park." But thanks to establishments like Golfland Sunsplash, modern water parks more resemble amusement parks, with a variety of rides and water slides seemingly engineered by thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies. Sunsplash boasts attractions like the Master Blaster Water Coaster, Thunder Falls (a raft ride that starts nearly seven stories high and features three huge drops), the Stormrider (a massive drop into the water from about 70 feet), and the Sidewinder (a half-pipe slide that allows riders to zip from one end of the bowl to another). Of course, there's the standard wave pool (all 450,000 gallons of it), but Sunsplash also offers a separate "activity pool" for water sports, a toddler pool for the wee ones, and even the Endless River (which ends after about 800 feet) for emulating tubing at the Salt River — minus the salt water, beer coolers, and rock-ravaged rear ends. With so many ways to get wet, why would we go anywhere else?

Best Skateboard Park

Desert West Skatepark

Desert West had a taste of the limelight when its 2011 PhxAM Skateboard Tournament aired on ESPN. But while cameras zoomed in on amateurs and professionals performing kick-ass kick-flips, manuals, and serious airtime, our eyes were stuck on the park's features — more than 25,000 square feet of skateboard-only curbs, bumps, hips, steps, and three full bowls. Sounds sick enough for national coverage, but the park scored big when local artists Thomas Marcus Breeze and Lalo Cota exhausted an army of spray paint cans when they canvassed the concrete with their signature interlocking designs and grinning skeletons. Now, that's a pretty sweet view — even if you're spending less time landing tricks and more time eating the painted pavement.

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