Gilbert travel guide

Gilbert, United States

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Gilbert

Introduction

Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, sitting southeast of Phoenix. It is a suburb of the wider Phoenix area, and it has been described as the "largest town in America."

If you are basing yourself in the Phoenix area, Gilbert is one of the communities to the southeast of the city, and it is among the larger municipalities in Arizona.

Before you go

Gilbert sits in the southeast valley, south of Mesa, northeast of Chandler, and northwest of Queen Creek and Chandler Heights. The town began with William "Bobby" Gilbert, who provided land to the Arizona Eastern Railway in 1902 for a rail line between Phoenix and Florence, and it grew as a farming community after its incorporation in 1920, sustained by the railroad and the Roosevelt Dam and the Eastern and Consolidated Canals. It was long known as the "Hay Capital of the World."

Downtown Gilbert runs along Gilbert Road between Elliot and Guadalupe Roads, centered on the railroad crossing, and holds numerous historical buildings, some dating from the 1910s, including structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places and others recognized by the Gilbert Heritage District. The town has deliberately kept its "small town" image even as it has grown. For local information before your trip, the Gilbert City Council website is the official source.

Getting there

To reach Gilbert by air, you have two airports to choose from. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport sits in east Phoenix, roughly 30 minutes from Gilbert, and is served by all major US carriers, with hubs for Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport, east of Phoenix in neighboring Mesa, is a smaller field served mainly by Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines and is being redeveloped into a major regional airport. By car, Gilbert is primarily served by one area freeway: the Santan Freeway portion of Loop 202. A small section of the US 60, known as the Superstition Freeway, also skirts the northern boundary of the town at the Higley Road interchange (Exit 186). Several regional major surface streets serve the area as well, including Williams Field Road, Chandler Boulevard, Pecos Road, Gilbert Road and Greenfield Road.

Getting around

A car is the easiest way to get around Gilbert. The town is large and spread out, with a road network that follows a predictable grid; major thoroughfares include Power Road and Williams Field Road, and two regional freeways serve the area — the Loop 202 Santan Freeway through southern Gilbert and US 60 along the northern edge. Driving, expect roughly half an hour to downtown Phoenix and a similar trip to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, with rush-hour traffic adding time in the morning (westbound and northbound) and reversing in the evening.

Walkability varies by area. The downtown Heritage District, the town's dining, shopping and entertainment hub, is the most pedestrian-friendly, with wide sidewalks, marked crosswalks and a dense concentration of businesses. Cooley Station and Power Ranch are two other concentrated zones where most amenities are reachable on foot. Outside these areas, you will want a car or a bicycle for anything beyond a short stroll.

For most visitors, the simplest approach is to base yourself in or near the Heritage District if you want to walk, and to have a car, bicycle or ride-hailing app for everything else. Use Valley Metro buses for connections toward Mesa and Tempe if you want to reach the light rail, and treat taxis and ride-hailing as your flexible option for airport runs and cross-town trips.

Where to stay

Gilbert's lodging is concentrated in the San Tan Village area, where a cluster of chain hotels sits within easy reach of shopping and dining, and roughly 10 miles (16 km) from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport. Properties here include the DoubleTree Hotel Phoenix-Gilbert, the Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix/Gilbert, Home2 Suites, the Hyatt Place Phoenix/Gilbert, and Tru by Hilton Gilbert. Most offer free breakfast or an on-site restaurant, free Wi-Fi, free parking, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, and pet-friendly rooms. Tru by Hilton is noted for smaller rooms, so consider it if you're traveling light.

If you'd rather stay closer to the airport, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Phoenix East - Gilbert is about 2½ miles (4 km) from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, with free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, free parking, a fitness center, and an outdoor pool. Across the San Tan Village cluster, check-in generally falls in the mid-afternoon and check-out around late morning to noon, though times vary by property, so confirm when you book.

Food & drink

Downtown Gilbert, along Gilbert Road, is where you'll find the densest cluster of places to eat and drink. For an eclectic international menu and a strong wine list, try Romeo's Euro Café in Heritage Court, where the entrance sits at the rear of the building. Breakfast is a local institution at the Farmhouse Restaurant, which serves fresh breakfasts daily and seats guests first-come, first-served. Liberty Market, on the corner of Gilbert Road and Page Avenue, covers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Joe's Real Barbeque, on the opposite corner, serves barbecue indoors and out and can handle parties of almost any size. Oregano's Pizza Bistro offers pizza and other Italian dishes, while Flancer's turns out sandwiches and pizza and sells its bread to take home. Lulu's Taco Shop is a good bet for Mexican, including breakfast burritos.

Away from the downtown core, Joe's Farm Grill serves American food using vegetables grown on the farm, with outdoor seating under the property's cottonwood trees. Waldo's BBQ specializes in ribs and is known for its wall decor, and Some Burros! is a family-owned spot with generous portions. Phoenicia Grill covers Greek and Mediterranean food, Yao Chinese Cuisine has an extensive Chinese menu, J K Chinese Gourmet is tucked into a smaller shopping center, and Thai Chili 2 Go uses authentic ingredients. For drinks, Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row is a country bar with American cuisine and nightlife, Fox Cigar Bar pairs beer, whiskey and cigars, and The White Rabbit is a speakeasy that requires a password to enter.

What to see and do

For outdoor time, head to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, where walking paths wind through a series of ponds and several hundred kinds of birds pass through each year; bring your camera, and note that the park also holds an observatory plus dinosaur and archeology find areas, with year-round fishing at Water Ranch Lake by permit. Gilbert Regional Park offers a splash pad, a tall playground with climbing, slides and a zip-line, and first-come sports courts for basketball, pickleball, sand volleyball and tennis. Discovery District Park pairs amusement rides and a mini-railroad with picnic tables and grills, a skate park, basketball and tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, softball fields and stocked fishing lakes. Cosmo Dog Park, named for Gilbert's first police dog, has a lake for dogs plus separate areas for active and timid animals, and is lighted for night use. Downtown, the Water Tower Plaza and Park is a small park with a splash pad and the historic Adobe Pump House, originally Gilbert's first jail. For indoor and seasonal outings, the Gilbert Historical Museum displays exhibits on the town's founding and growth. The Hale Centre Theatre stages theatre-in-the-round, with a season of plays, musicals and children's theatre, and group rates available. On Saturdays, the Gilbert Farmers Market brings locally grown produce from nearby farms together with many local Arizona food producers, with more vendors in fall and spring than in summer.

Three days in Gilbert

Day one: Start in Downtown Gilbert, where Gilbert Road meets Elliot and Guadalupe Roads. The Gilbert Heritage District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its centre is the Gilbert City Council area, so you can walk the historic core on foot. Note the Arizona Eastern Railway line, which shaped the town, and the Eastern and Consolidated Canals that carried water here. This is Maricopa County, Arizona, and the town grew as the Hay Capital of the World.

Day two: Use Gilbert as your base for the wider valley. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is the main gateway, served by US carriers including Southwest Airlines and American Airlines; Mesa Gateway Airport, closer by, is served by Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines. From Gilbert you can reach Mesa, Chandler, Queen Creek and Chandler Heights. If you want a longer day out, the route toward Florence and Roosevelt Dam lies to the east.

Day three: Return to the historic centre and take it slowly. The Heritage District is the heart of Gilbert, and the story of the place runs through the railway, the canals and the hay trade that gave the town its name. William and Bobby are part of the local record you will meet in the district. Finish with a walk along Gilbert Road before heading back toward Phoenix or Mesa Gateway Airport.

About this place