Arizona trip

[Ryan]

Hi everyone!  I’m a dual, quad, and single line kiter from Surrey, BC, Canada.  Been flying for about 20 years and enjoy the west coast beaches the best!   I try to get to Cannon Beach in Oregon or Ocean Shores in Washington whenever I can. 

Wondering if anyone can help me?...  I’m going to be in Phoenix, Yuma, and Tucson over the next two weeks.  Can anyone recommend some flying areas in those places?  Much appreciated

Ryan Hill

[makatakam]

Hi, Ryan, and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, there are no ocean beaches in Arizona.  The devil made me do it.

Hang in there. There's a few flyers from down that way and I'm sure they'll chime in.

[Ryan]

Thanks a heap!!😜

[DonFibonacci]

In the Phoenix area, the best places I've found so far are Scottsdale Sports Complex and the fields in and around Riverview Park in Mesa.  Sometimes you can find decent wind at Chaparral Park.  Caveat - I live on the east side, and haven't really explored elsewhere.

The sports fields around Salt River Fields are great, but I've gotten conflicting information on whether they allow kites or not.  Some staffers will kick you off the fields, while others will enjoy watching you fly.  There are no posted signs stating one way or the other that I've seen.

In general, the wind here is really hit or miss, and it's hardly ever smooth.  Right now we've gone nearly three weeks without any wind worth mentioning, other than maybe a couple of hours during my workdays (of course).

Anyone else have any other good places?  I could use some new suggestions as well!

[Ryan]

Thanks for the advice!  I’ll check those places out when I get there on Tuesday.  Hopefully I’ll be flying around Yuma tomorrow.  There were some nice breezes today!   That’s why I travel with an assortment of no wind, to higher wind kites!!

[DonFibonacci]

I would think Yuma would have more reliable wind than the Phoenix area.  You should check out the Algodones Dunes while you're there - nice wide-open space, plus it might make for some stunning kite pictures.  If you fly there, please let me know how it turns out!

The dunes are probably best known for representing Tatooine in Return of the Jedi during the Sarlacc Pit scene.