Mesa travel guide

Mesa, United States

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Mesa

Introduction

Mesa sits in Maricopa County in Arizona, within the East Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area. It borders Tempe to the west, the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community to the north, Chandler and Gilbert to the south along with Queen Creek, and Apache Junction to the east.

As the most populous city in the East Valley, Mesa is one of the largest cities in Arizona and in the United States, and it is notable for being the most populous city in the country that is not a county seat.

Before you go

Mesa was founded by Latter-day Saint pioneers and remains a hub for Latter-day Saints in the Phoenix metro area, with one of the church's oldest temples located in the city. It's a sprawling "bedroom community" with diverse neighbourhoods — some areas have experienced urban blight, while others contain elaborate custom homes.

Before you arrive, it's worth knowing that Mesa has a fairly high crime rate compared to some other American cities, though most of it is property crime of more concern to residents than to visitors. For orientation and local information, stop by the Mesa Convention & Visitors Bureau Visitors Center on North Center Street, where you can pick up a visitors guide and publications covering the metro Phoenix area, along with local coupons. For news and event listings, the Arizona Republic is the city's main newspaper, the New Times is a strong source of independent coverage of events, music and food, and the freely distributed East Valley Tribune serves as the "voice of the East Valley" with reader-voted recommendations for food, drinks, entertainment and shopping.

Getting there

If you're arriving by air, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport lies west of Mesa and serves as the major hub for Arizona and the southwestern United States, with domestic and international flights. If you're prone to airsickness, aim for flights landing before noon or after sundown, especially in late spring and early summer, when high elevation, hot sun and spring winds combine to make afternoon arrivals bumpy. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, in southeast Mesa, offers flights to destinations around the United States, and Falcon Field sits just northeast of Mesa. From Sky Harbor, take the PHX Sky Train people-mover to the light rail station. By train, the Valley Metro Light Rail runs through Mesa along Main St, linking to Tempe and Downtown Phoenix, with its line beginning and ending at the Gilbert Rd/Main St Station, where a transit center connects to the 40 and 45 buses. Greyhound serves Mesa from Country Club Dr, and Valley Metro buses run multiple routes connecting Mesa with Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert. By car, US-60 (the Superstition Freeway) cuts through Mesa from the east, while SR-87 runs north-south through the city as Country Club Dr, linking Tonto National Forest and the Salt River-Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to Chandler and I-10. SR-101 divides Tempe from Mesa, and SR-202 loops around the northern and eastern edge of Mesa, running alongside the Salt River toward Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport west of SR-101. Several east-west roads, including Rio Salado, Apache Blvd/Main St, Broadway Rd and Southern Ave, also connect Tempe to Mesa.

Getting around

Mesa is laid out on a straightforward north–south, east–west grid, and the perpendicular intersection of Center Street and Main Street in the city center gives you a reliable reference point for finding your way. That grid shapes nearly every practical option for getting around, and it also connects Mesa to its neighbors Tempe, Chandler, and Gilbert.

If you are arriving by air, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport lies to the west and is the major hub for the region. To reach Mesa by public transport, take the PHX Sky Train people-mover to the light rail station at 44th St/Washington Station, then ride the Valley Metro Light Rail along Main Street into Mesa, terminating at Gilbert Rd/Main St. Mesa also has its own airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, in the southeast, served by Allegiant Air plus seasonal Sun Country service. Falcon Field sits northeast of Mesa, home to a flight school and a Boeing helicopter factory. Driving in from an easterly direction such as New Mexico, you will likely take US-60, the Superstition Freeway, which runs through Mesa. Other highways serving the city include SR-87, which runs north–south through Mesa as Country Club Drive; SR-101, which divides Tempe from Mesa; and SR-202, which loops around the northern and eastern edge of Mesa. Various east–west roads also connect Tempe to Mesa, including Rio Salado, Apache Blvd/Main St, Broadway Rd, and Southern Ave.

Where to stay

Mesa's lodging splits between golf-oriented resorts and practical hotels near the airport and freeways. Golden Hills Golf Club, formerly the Arizona Golf Resort, sits about half an hour from Phoenix and pairs a championship course with meeting facilities and onsite dining. Westgate Painted Mountain Country Club is likewise a golf resort, with family lodging, panoramic views, and an 18-hole, par 70 championship course. Near Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport, Four Points by Sheraton offers informal, clean rooms with desks, free wifi and parking, an outdoor pool, laundry services, and air conditioning, and the property is handicap-accessible.

Elsewhere in the city you'll find Courtyard Phoenix Mesa, DoubleTree by Hilton Phoenix Mesa, and SureStay Plus by Best Western Mesa Superstition Springs. For a stay under the stars, Usery Mountain Regional Park has campsites with water and electric hookups at every site, plus toilets and hot showers; check-in is at 1PM and check-out at noon, RVs up to 50 feet are welcome, and reservations can be made online.

Food & drink

Mesa's food scene runs from long-standing family operations to a dense cluster of regional Asian cooking. For Cajun fare, including po boys and, in season, Wednesday-night crawfish boils, head to Baby Kay's Cajun Kitchen. Matta's has been the Mexican restaurant on the east side of town since the 1950s, hosted by the Matta family, with strolling mariachis in the evening; Rosa's Mexican Grill is the original location of that family favorite, and its shrimp tacos earn particular praise. For fish and chips, Pete's Fish and Chips is family owned and operated, with its own special sauce in place of tartar, and it accepts cash only. Waldo's BBQ and Vito's Italian Pizza & Ristorante cover barbecue and Italian respectively, while Board & Batten serves Italian-inspired food with a full bar and a nice wine list. Organ Stop Pizza is an informal restaurant with a twist: it houses a massive Wurlitzer pipe organ, played each night by staff organists while you eat pizza and salad. Republica Empanada, in a midcentury building downtown, offers Latin American comfort food and a wide selection of empanadas. Sub sandwiches are a local staple at Ned's Krazy Sub and Steve's Krazy Sub, and Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill turns out homemade tortillas, huge burritos and taco salads with spicy avocado ranch dressing.

For a concentrated taste of the city's Asian cooking, the Mesa Asian District centers on the intersection of Dobson and Main, where restaurants focus on specific regional cuisines: Cantonese at Asian Cafe Express, Xi'an and Shaanxi noodles at Shaanxi Garden, dim sum at Mekong Restaurant, Vietnamese at Com Tam Thuan Kieu, Sichuanese at Original Cuisine, Korean at Stone Tofu House and Korean BBQ at Jin BBQ, ramen at Sizzling House, and Thai at Thai Spices. The district also holds two large Asian grocers, H-Mart and Mekong Supermarket. When you're ready to drink, downtown Mesa is the place to be: Oro Brewing Co sits along the growing strip on Main Street, handy for grabbing a sandwich nearby first, and Chupacabra Taproom is downtown's longest running taproom, serving many local beers and ciders with most seating outdoors under shade sails, heated in winter and lively late into the night on weekends. RT O'Sullivan's Bar and Grill is a good spot to watch the game, though it fills up, so arrive early.

What to see and do

Downtown Mesa holds most of the city's cultural draws. The Mesa Arts Center, a distinctively designed complex of theatres, galleries and public art spaces, anchors Main Street, while the Mesa Historical Museum splits its displays across two buildings, including an exhibit on the history of spring training baseball in Arizona. Nearby, the Arizona Museum of Natural History covers cultural and natural history of the American Southwest, and the i.d.e.a. Museum offers fine art aimed at young children. The Mesa Grande Cultural Park preserves Hohokam structures including a great mound and ball courts, and the Commemorative Air Force Museum at Falcon Field keeps restored World War II aircraft, among them the B-17 "Sentimental Journey." The Mesa Arizona Temple is a historic building whose gardens and sitting spaces are open to the public and are worth seeing illuminated at night; the adjacent visitors' center has interactive displays on the city's diverse history and a family research area. Outdoors, the Salt River east of Mesa is popular for floating in an inner tube, and Saguaro Lake can be seen by paddleboat cruise or on guided trail rides. The Park of the Canals combines evidence of ancient Hohokam canals with a desert botanical garden, while the Rose Garden at Mesa Community College and the arboretum on the same campus both display desert plantings. For hiking, pick up a map at the Tonto National Forest ranger office before heading into desert and mountain terrain. Baseball fans come for Cactus League spring training, with the Chicago Cubs playing at Hohokam Park, and the Arizona Fall League showcasing up-and-coming players. Other recurring events include the Mesa Music Festival, a downtown block party with live bands, the 2nd Friday Night Out art walk along Main Street, the Easter pageant on the temple's north lawn, and the temple's Christmas lights.

Festivals & events

Mesa's event calendar leans heavily on the holiday season, when the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights switch on each November and become the city's signature seasonal draw. Plan your visit around that window if you want to catch the display at its brightest. Beyond that single annual tradition, the source material offers little on recurring festivals or events, so it's worth checking local listings closer to your travel dates rather than building an itinerary around a fixed schedule.

Three days in Mesa

Day one: Start in Mesa itself, the largest city in Maricopa County and the heart of the East Valley. Begin downtown around Main St, where you can pick up orientation material at the Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitors Center on North Center Street. Use local press such as the Arizona Republic, New Times and the East Valley Tribune to check what is on. If you are arriving by air, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport connects to the Valley Metro Light Rail via the PHX Sky Train, and the Main St Station in Downtown Phoenix puts you on the line toward Mesa; Mesa Gateway Airport and Falcon Field serve the city from the east side.

Day two: Head west into Phoenix, the state capital and the anchor of the region, using the light rail along Main St as your spine. From Sky Harbor you can also reach the airport side of town by the PHX Sky Train. Keep your bearings by remembering that Mesa sits within Maricopa County, Arizona, in the United States, and that the surrounding East Valley communities - Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Apache Junction - are all close neighbours. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community lies between Mesa and Phoenix, so plan your route with that in mind.

Day three: Slow down and stay local. Explore the historic core of Mesa along Main St and Gilbert Rd, then branch out to the East Valley towns you have not yet seen. Before you go, note that the area's Latter-day Saints heritage and its American and Mexican influences shape the food and architecture you will pass. If you are flying out, allow time to reach Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Mesa Gateway Airport or Falcon Field, depending on your carrier.

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