Parks, paths and open space in Surprise, season by season

November is when Surprise moves back outdoors. The grass at Community Park has been overseeded for winter, the sand volleyball courts are back from their fall maintenance, and the long evenings that were too hot to enjoy in August turn into the best part of the day. Here is a guide to the city's parks and paths, what each one is good for, and the rules the City asks everyone to follow.

Surprise Community Park: the lake loop

The city's best-known park sits on Bullard Avenue beside City Hall and Surprise Stadium. Its centerpiece is a five-acre urban fishing lake (a state fishing license is required for anyone 10 and older), and its shoreline is where the City routes its holiday stroll each December. Around the lake are 16 lighted pickleball courts, lighted basketball and sand volleyball courts, cornhole sets, a playground, ramadas with grills, a two-section dog park and the city's Veterans Memorial. Look for Bloom Where You're Planted, the 20-foot stainless-steel saguaro that the City installed in the park in 2023.

Two seasonal notes from the City: since October 5, the park's sprinklers have been running in the daytime while the winter grass takes hold, and this fall the sand volleyball courts closed for maintenance until November 9. Each December the lake loop becomes the route for Sparkling Surprise, the free holiday light display, which this year almost completely circles the water.

Neighborhood parks across the city

Surprise's parks are spread from the Original Town Site to the far west side, and each has a different personality.

• Asante Community Park on Vereda Solana Drive has a nine-basket disc golf course, two playgrounds, lighted fields and courts, and a lighted World War II Memorial.
• Dick McComb City Park on Westpark Boulevard is two parks in one: the east side has a fenced, lighted skate park, playgrounds and a splash pad, while the west side has softball fields, a dog park and a pond where remote-control boats are allowed (no swimming, wading or fishing). The middle of the park is a designated drone flying zone.
• Marley Park has a rose garden with seating, an amphitheater, a pavilion and a splash pad.
• Rescue Oasis Park on Perryville Road, next to Oasis Swim Center, has a playground, a splash pad, a basketball court and a sand volleyball court.
• Bicentennial Park on Nash Street stands on land the founder's daughter, Elizabeth Statler Wusich, and her husband donated to the town in 1975.

Splash pads run April 1 through October 31, so they are dry for the winter.

Courts, pools and fields

The Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex on Paradise Lane has 25 tennis courts, two indoor racquetball courts and a table tennis room, and it runs youth and adult tennis and pickleball programs through the season. For swimmers, Oasis Swim Center on Perryville Road has a heated competition pool. The Fields at Countryside on Greenway Road, named the 2025 Soccer Field of the Year in the schools and parks category by the Sports Field Managers Association, keeps its playground open to the public.

Trails, today and tomorrow

Surprise is better known for parks than for long trails, and the City is working on that. In late 2025 it began updating its Parks & Recreation Master Plan, which includes a long-term vision for more than 3,500 acres the City recently acquired around McMicken Dam: new trails, wildlife corridors, quiet recreation areas and conservation land. Residents shared ideas through a survey and community meetings this past winter; the plan's progress is posted at SurpriseParksMasterPlan.com.

For real desert hiking now, the nearest big trail system is just past the city's southwest edge in Waddell: White Tank Mountain Regional Park, run by Maricopa County. At nearly 30,000 acres it is the county's largest regional park, with a nature center. On the way, The Boyer Bakery's drive-thru on Cotton Lane serves coffee and pastries.

Rules and safety

The City's park rules are short: leash dogs and cats on six feet or less and clean up after them, keep glass out of parks, ride wheeled toys only on walkways and paths, and don't feed wildlife. Golf, archery and remote-control aircraft are not allowed in parks except where posted, such as the drone zone at Dick McComb. Gatherings of more than 20 people, portable entertainment, commercial sales and drinking alcohol (beer only) need a permit. Report broken equipment or unsafe conditions to Parks & Recreation.

Even in winter, the City's heat advice applies on a warm afternoon: drink water before you feel thirsty, wear light clothing and a wide-brimmed hat, and never leave children or pets in a parked car. From May through September, the libraries and resource center double as free cooling and hydration stops.

For park maps, amenities and closures, check the City's Parks & Facilities page, which posts notices such as irrigation schedules and court closures at the top.