Top 15 Things To Do in Gilbert, Arizona

Gilbert's sightseeing tours read like a small-town anthology: historic downtown storefronts, public art installations tucked between coffee shops, orchards and demonstration farms that recall the town's agricultural roots, and a surprising stretch of desert waterways and wildlife at the Riparian Preserve. This guide focuses on tours that put those layers in front of you—walking routes that trace the town's transformation, guided culinary and brewery crawls that map flavor to place, agritourism experiences that let you see where food is grown, and nature-focused outings that reveal the desert's quieter life. Most tours are short, friendly, and accessible, designed for travelers who want texture and context rather than an all-day exertion. Expect a mix of guided walking tours, small-group van or bike excursions, birding walks, and specialty experiences—ghost-story nights, public-art scavenger hunts, and farm-to-table tastings—that pair well with half-day explorations of nearby attractions like Mesa's cultural corridor or the Superstition Mountains beyond.

Gilbert's bike-tour scene unfurls across shimmering canals, park-lined paths, and the warm desert foothills that lead toward the San Tan Mountains. Expect flat, fast urban routes, quiet agricultural roads lined with mesquite, and optional climbs that connect you to rugged singletrack. This guide frames the best ways to pedal Gilbert—whether you want a gentle family-friendly loop, a gravel jaunt among citrus groves, or a sunrise e-bike tour that slips into the foothills before the heat builds.

Gilbert’s bike rental scene is built for ease: flat streets, long paved canals, family-friendly loops, and a surprising number of scenic detours through parks, orchards, and the lively downtown. Whether you want a casual cruiser for a waterfront loop, an e-bike to cover more ground in Arizona heat, or a gravel bike to explore low-traffic service roads, Gilbert is a practical staging ground for short rides and longer fitness loops that connect into the greater East Valley network.

Gilbert sits quietly in the suburban sweep east of Phoenix, but from the window of a small airplane the landscape transforms into a cinematic study of the Sonoran Desert. Airplane experiences here range from short scenic hops over jagged washes and urban mosaics to introductory flights that put first-time pilots at the controls. The region’s low elevation, broad desert basins, and proximity to several general aviation fields make it an accessible launching point for flightseeing, discovery flights, and pilot training. This guide focuses on the scene you’ll see from an airplane—vast desert shapes, the jagged line of the Superstition foothills to the east, the Salt River’s sinuous green ribbon, and the patchwork of irrigated fields that appear like oases—while giving you the practical logistics for booking, packing, and timing your airborne escape.

Gilbert sits well inland from any ocean, but surf culture here is alive in alternative forms: simulated waves, wake‑surf sessions on reservoirs, skill clinics, and road-trip launches to the Pacific. This guide collects the best ways to scratch the surf itch from the desert — whether you want a control-room perfect wave, a towboat’s wake, or a weekend pilgrimage to the coast. Read on for practical planning, seasonality, and the local approach to learning, cross‑training, and connecting desert life to saltwater travel.

Gilbert’s walking tours compress the Arizona experience—agricultural history, Sonoran Desert edges, lively Main Street culture, and intentional urban renewal—into short, highly walkable routes. Whether you’re tracing cotton and hay economy markers, following public art and murals through the Heritage District, or circling the ponds and bird habitat of the Riparian Preserve, these walks balance storytelling with accessible terrain and a comfortable sense of place.

Gilbert sits inland from the low desert waterways that define much of central Arizona’s outdoor life, but it’s a practical launchpad for boat rentals that let you trade suburbia for sunlit canyons, saguaro-studded shorelines, and slow, shimmering river meanders. From pontoon days on Saguaro and Canyon Lakes to stand-up paddleboard mornings on Tempe Town Lake or guided Salt River float trips, boat rental experiences near Gilbert range from quiet birding cruises to full-day on-water explorations. This guide focuses on planning, seasonal realities, launch logistics, and the kinds of watercraft that make sense for families, anglers, and people chasing Arizona light and geology from the water.

Gilbert's city tours trade desert cacti clichés for a quieter kind of Southwest: reclaimed farmlands, a thriving small-town main street, and a mosaic of public art, eats, and green infrastructure. These walks and guided experiences take you from the shaded benches of the Heritage District to the engineered wetlands of the Riparian Preserve, mixing local history, food culture, and surprising outdoor moments just off Phoenix’s urban edge.

Kayaking around Gilbert is an exercise in contrasts: placid urban lakes and engineered waterways meet the wide-open Sonoran horizon and, a short drive away, the flowing drama of the Salt River and desert reservoirs. Whether you’re slipping a recreational kayak onto the reflective ponds at the Riparian Preserve, following the quiet ribbon of the Arizona Canal at dawn, or launching for a day trip on Saguaro Lake, this pocket of the East Valley offers accessible water time framed by cactus silhouettes, migrating birds, and wide Arizona skies.

Gilbert sits on the desert's edge, a pocket of suburban calm with quick access to a surprising marine world: broad reservoirs, narrow canyon lakes, and the Salt River's ribbon of water that carves shade into the Sonoran Basin. Boat tours operating from nearby marinas and river launch points translate that contrast into one clear promise—desert light on moving water—where wildlife, geology, and human history unfold from a seat close to the surface.

Gilbert is a surprising low‑slung gateway to flatwater paddling in the Sonoran Desert. Within town are placid urban ponds and sheltered canals; within an easy drive are river runs and reservoir basins that make this a practical base for SUP trips that balance accessible learning with opportunities for scenic day trips.

Gilbert sits quietly on the flat floor of the Sonoran Desert, the kind of place where the sky takes center stage. From sunrise balloon envelopes drifting over rippling creosote and cottonwood-lined riverbeds to low-and-slow helicopter sweeps of the Salt River and distant Superstition peaks, air activities around Gilbert turn ordinary desert travel into an aerial story. This guide focuses on the experiences that lift you above the East Valley—what they feel like, how to plan them, and how to pair a flight with classic Arizona ground adventures.