McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
add photosMcCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, located in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona, is the most unique park of it's kind in the country. Take a ride on the Paradise and Pacific Railroad and antique carousel. Visit a variety of shops and museum or play in one of the spacious playgrounds, or just relax in the grass under a tree or in one of the park's picnic ramadas.
Train runs every 30 minutes during the weekdays and continuously on the weekends. Children under 3 ride free on the train.
12 Reviews for McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
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3 families found this helpful
"A little-kid bonanza!"
Upon reading other reviews on trekaroo about activities to enjoy in the Scottsdale area, I jotted this one down as a definite possibility. While I have older kids as well as a 6-year-old, we were all able to enjoy someting about the park to make the visit worthwhile.
One of the nicest things about this park is how clean and well-maintained it is. There is no trash and no overgrown sections. There is plenty of room for ball-tossing or a game that requires a bit of open space. For younger kids there is a large playground section as well as a mini western village set up that's perfect for pretend play. There are clean restrooms nearby and a snack bar as well. A carousel with music is also front and center and makes the visit here seem all that more spectacular. Tickets are available for purchase for the carousel, the train and the train museum for a very reasonable price. The train ride is so cute and worth a ride for everyone, especially on a nice day. We liked walking through the model railroad displays and my husband and 12-yr-old enjoyed a visit to the train museaum while my boys tossed a football or played on the playground. There were several birthday parties taking place here but in no way were they intrusive. They were on the outskirts of the park itself, which seemed to work nicely for everyone.
This is a great park for children and a nice place to take a break. There is a lot to do and I was impressed with the cleanliness. It lived up to the recommendations of others and if I am ever in the area again I woulld take my kids here for some outdoor fun!
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1 family found this helpful
"Wonderful park!"
I read the reviews here on Trekaroo and had to go see this park for myself when we were visiting Phoenix from California.
Despite the fact that I have three girls who don't really know anything about trains at all, they LOVED the park. We rode the main train and also the very small one that is open only on weekends. They even enjoyed the train museum, the model trains & the old full sized train on site.
Of course they did ride the carousel two times, but what little girls don't love a good horse ride to magical music??
I was mostly impressed by the cleanliness of this park; it truly felt like I was in Disneyland by the way the grounds and park is maintained. The costs associated with the rides and museums were also so reasonable.
$2 large train (2 tickets)
$1 Carousel (1 ticket)
$1 small train (weekends only- 1 ticket)
In addition to those prices, we bought a 12 pack of tickets for only $10 and they can be saved for future visits.
If I lived anywhere closer than a 7 hour drive to this park, I would go regularly!!
0 families found this helpful
"Trains, a carousel & playgrounds, oh my!"
We’ve been here twice. Lots to do, very reasonably priced & the kids love it. There’s a carousel for a dollar, and a little train to go around the park on for $2. First time it was raining, so we didn’t ride the train or play on the playgrounds, but it was still a fun time. In Jan 2011 the new model railroad building opened- we went to the park for my son’s 2nd birthday and he could’ve stayed in that building for hours! All the model trains are blocked off by plexiglass, so the kids can get close to them, but you don’t have to worry about them grabbing anything. The 2nd time we were here it was a nice day on the weekend, with tons of parties, but the park is spread out enough that it didn’t feel too crowded. The snack shops have standard fare (hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, soft-serve ice cream, hot chocolate), but the kids meals are really cute & come with prizes, in a ‘boxcar’. One of the shops has a train table for kids to play at & lots of train souvenirs & train party supplies. There is also a train museum on-site (which wasn’t really appreciated by my little kids), but they had Polar Express playing; there was also an old train to tour, showing how it used to be when it hosted a few of the Presidents on their campaigns about 80 years ago, which was cool to see. There are also 2 playgrounds, and tons of grass & picnic tables to have lunch or host a birthday party. We will be back here a lot!
0 families found this helpful
"So much fun!"
We went for my sons one year birthday with our 2 boys. The oldest is 2. They loved riding the train and waving o everyone we passed. The carousel was a hit as well. There are so many playgrounds to keep kids entertained as well. They decorate with fun decorations for Christmas as well. So fun and cheap for kids of all ages! We could spend hours here.
0 families found this helpful
"This is my kids favorite park"
Every time we come to Arizona we try to visit the McCormick Railroad Park.Its is just so much fun. For a $1 the kids can ride the carousel and for $2 they can take a nice 1 mile trek around the park on the miniature train. There is also a railroad museum (which we have yet to visit) and snack bar on site. The playgrounds at this park are wonderful. There is a large play area that is mostly shaded and has play equipment for every age range. There is also another play area that looks like an adobe town complete with slide, jail,and stagecoach. Its very cute.The whole park is clean and nice and every child in the area seems to have a smile on their face.
1 family found this helpful
"We love it!"
We love going to this train park with our 4 year old daughter. We love to bring a picnic, ride the open train, go on the carousel and play in the playground. There is a lot of open grassy areas to have a picnic and ball balls. A lot of people bring kites. They do have some ramadas for rent. It is an inexpensive, fun way to spend the day. There is no charge for parking or to get in and you can bring your food. They do charge 1 and 2 dollars for the rides. They also have a snack bar is you'd rather buy your food there.
0 families found this helpful
"So much Fun!"
We loved this park. The most fun was defilitly train ride itself but we also loved the fact that it has many water features too. That is really important to us California coast people who practically melt in AZ in the summer. Having that said I was excited to hear that the prices were very reasonable to ride the train and we got on with in a few minutes of getting our tickets! we will be going back for sure.
3 families found this helpful
"Fun for the little ones"
We were surprised at how small this little park is. I was actually under the impression before I arrived that it was more of a museum. But, it's actually more of a park with trains throughout - some to look at and others to ride. We visited during the week, which was great because there were not a lot of people, but a few trains were closed for repairs and others only operate on weekends. But, we still could have spent hours. The train ride and carousel did not take long, but they were also reasonable enough cost wise to ride a few times. (The park is free itself. It's just a few dollars to ride the train and carousel). There is a wonderful playground for kids of all ages along with picnic tables and a snack bar. The grounds are good size for walking around and include a replica "old town." It was a great morning!
0 families found this helpful
"Train rides and Playgrounds"
This is one of our favorite parks. We love the inexpensive thrill of the train ride and carousel! My kids (2,4,6) all enjoy the playgrounds and I like that they have a variety of playgrounds close together so I can see all of them at the same time. We love to bring a picnic lunch and spend the day here. Also, the light display at Christmas time is worth the wait in the lines!
0 families found this helpful
"Cheap Fun"
The McCormick-Stillman Railroad park is fun for kids up to about 8 and is pretty cheap too. Parking and admission is free, kids under 3 ride on the train and carousel free with a paying adult. At just $2 and $1 respectively each, it's a bargain. Discounted ticket books are also available to share with multiple families. A snack-bar style restaurant is onsite but ample picnic areas and playgrounds are available to bring your own food. Parking is limited and can fill up when the weather is nice.
2 families found this helpful
"McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park"
This is a huge hit for visitors as well as natives in AZ. The train park provides a lot of options for children up to 8 or 9. You can enjoy riding on an open air train, tour a full sized train, ride a carousel, play in the stage coach or play in the playground. They also have a reasonably priced and pretty good food options at the snack bar.
Be sure to check out the summer schedule for the free concerts in the Park. This is a family friendly event where you can enjoy music, dance and picnic in the park. The concerts start in May and run through beginning of July on Sundays from 7:30-9pm.
1 family found this helpful
"Young kids will love this place"
This place is great for kids under 8. There's a fun train ride which during the holiday season is a festival of lights. The train goes all around the park which is a great way to start your visit to the park and see the lay of the land. From there, we went to the old west playground, which is great for kids eager for imaginary play. There's a stagecoach, jailhouse, general store, and more. If your kids are just looking for more traditional play equipment, there's another playground area closer to the entrance with all the requisite slides, swings and climbing structures. There's also a fun carousel and a great number of trains to visit and model trains to check out. Great for kids and a must-see for train lovers.
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