Kiwanis Park's Winter Moves Outside: A Rebuilt North End, a Closed Wave Pool, and Trout by December

The indoor wave pool at Kiwanis Park is about to close for most of November and December. The City of Tempe's aquatics page lists the Kiwanis Wave Pool as closed for a winter stretch that ends December 26.

Meanwhile, the north play area reopened in September after a full rebuild. The October movie nights are almost over, a lantern festival is coming in November, and trout stocking is scheduled for December. A new bike and pedestrian route meant to link the park to downtown Tempe is due to finish this fall. For anyone within a short drive or ride of Baseline and Mill, the park's late-fall season is an outdoor season, and most of it centers on the north side.

The wave pool calendar, and the date the city hasn't settled

The pool at Kiwanis Recreation Center, 6111 S. All-America Way, is a heated indoor wave pool with an indoor water slide and three-foot waves. The city already treats waves as a warm-weather feature. Wave season runs April through August, and calm-water and lap swim run January through October 31. According to the city, "Wave sessions have ended for the season."

The closure start date is the part to check. The lap swim and Fitness and Fun sections on the same page say "Pool Closed November 2-December 26." A few lines further down, the closures list says November 10 through December 26. That's about a week of swimming that may or may not happen. If you swim laps there in early November, call the pool at 480-350-5201 before you count on those days. The page also lists today, October 12, as a closure day.

Until then, the fall schedule is in effect through October 31:

• Lap swim: Monday 5 to 8 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday 7 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.; Saturday 8 to 11 a.m.; closed Sunday. The deep end has seven lanes.
• Fitness and Fun: calm open swimming in the 0- to 4-foot shallow area, Monday through Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m.
• Shallow water fitness: Monday and Wednesday 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 8 to 9 a.m., plus a Saturday 8:30 a.m. HIIT class.

The waves come back twice outside their usual season. The Monster Splash Bash runs Saturday, October 17, from 6 to 9 p.m. Winter Waves runs December 27 through 30, from 1 to 5 p.m., right after the pool reopens.

The north end is finally finished

The timing works out because the north end of the park is done. On its project page, the city says construction on the northern portion of Kiwanis Park "was completed in summer/fall 2026." The grand reopening of the north play area was held at an Arts in the Parks event on Wednesday, September 23.

The upgrade was more than new paint. The city lists:

• A total renovation and expansion of the playground, with all new equipment and accessible rubber surfacing
• A new large group ramada
• A climbable public art sculpture by artist Bobby Zokaites
• New shade structures, trees and landscaping
• A new restroom and concession building
• Improved accessible parking and ramps

During construction, the old playground, the three ramadas near it and the old restroom building were all closed, and portable toilets stood in for the restrooms. If you got used to working around that, the work is now over. The city hasn't published a title for the Zokaites sculpture.

The dog park sits next door on the same north side. It's open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and has four separate pods with their own entrances, including one for small dogs and one with agility equipment. It also has a hydrant water spray feature, two shade structures, accessible parking along Ash Avenue and a direct connection to the Western Canal path. The playground, ramada, dog park and canal path now sit together at the Baseline end of the park. The city paid for the playground work through its Capital Improvement Program, as part of a Parks Improvement Plan that puts more than $60 million back into Tempe parks over five years.

The outdoor calendar runs on as the pool closes

Here's how the indoor and outdoor schedules line up between now and New Year's. Most of the outdoor events cluster on the north side, around the north soccer field, the renovated play area and the lake.

The city's free Movies in the Park series plays Friday evenings in October. Movies start at dusk, around 6:30 p.m., and the Tempe Play Mobile runs activities beforehand. GOAT and HOPPERS have already screened, so two Fridays are left. The last one is the biggest. The Family BOO Bash on October 23 is free, with a 6:30 p.m. costume contest and parade before Toy Story 5 at 7:30. Nonprofit groups run concessions and carnival games for a fee, and Tempe Diablos Charities helps present the event.

The Water Lantern Festival runs November 6 through 8 at Kiwanis Park, with gates at 3 p.m. and lantern launches from 6 to 7 p.m. Tempe Tourism's event page for the festival still shows 2025 dates, so go by the organizer's 2026 listing. The festival falls right around the start of the pool closure, whichever date turns out to be right.

December belongs to the lake

The lake keeps going after the outdoor events end. On its Community Fishing Program schedule, revised September 30, 2026, Arizona Game and Fish marks Kiwanis Lake for trout stocking in the weeks of December 7 to 11 and December 28 to January 1. The agency calls those dates tentative, so check closer to time.

The first stocking week falls entirely within the pool closure. The second overlaps Winter Waves. That means the park has something in the water all season, outdoors in early December and indoors again after the 26th.

Pedal boats are also running. Boat Rentals of America's Kiwanis Lake page lists the service as "Now Open," with hours from noon to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends. The page isn't dated, so call ahead before planning a weekend around it. During the playground construction, the city kept lake access, the north field and the dog park open.

A new way in from the north

A finished north end matters more when it's easy to reach without a car, and that's the last piece arriving this fall. The city's Kyrene, Roosevelt, Farmer Bike/Ped Improvements Project runs between University Drive and Baseline Road. Plans include a two-way separated cycle track, buffered bike lanes, new sidewalks, ADA ramps, wayfinding signs and a new pedestrian signal at the Western Canal and Baseline Road. The city says the finished route will provide "a low-stress, multi-modal route linking Kiwanis Park, Clark Park and Downtown Tempe."

The project isn't finished yet. The September 18 update had crews building a new multi-use path at Dwight Park and installing streetlights and sidewalks at Kyrene and Baseline. Starting September 21, crews were also scheduled to work along the west side of Roosevelt Street from Broadway Road to 13th Street, replacing sidewalks and installing speed tables and ADA ramps. Work hours run 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., with concrete pours starting at 4 a.m. Expect intermittent lane, alley, sidewalk and crosswalk restrictions. The city says the project won't reduce travel lanes or affect on-street parking in front of homes, but it does say timelines are subject to change. Questions go to the project hotline at 480-210-0354.

The Western Canal connection ties it all together. The dog park already connects to the Western Canal path, and the new signal at the canal and Baseline sits right where that path meets the north edge of the park. If you already ride into downtown for the Mill Avenue restaurant scene or Tempe Town Lake, the trip in the other direction is about to get easier.

Food before or after

For a picnic dinner on movie night, Tempe Tourism lists Someburros among the takeout options near Kiwanis Park. The Baseline Road location is at 101 E. Baseline Road, and Phoenix New Times describes the chain as a family-owned local business started by the Vasquez family in 1986.

For a morning at the dog park or on the lake, south Tempe got a new breakfast spot this year. Mouth by Southwest reported that French Toast Cafe opened its second location on August 25 at 1245 W. Elliot Road, on the southwest corner of Elliot and Hardy, in the former Kyoto Bowl space. It serves breakfast, brunch and lunch.

Park upgrades like the new north end, the dog park and the bike route are part of daily life near Kiwanis, and they're part of what buyers ask about when homes in this part of Tempe come up. If you live near the park and want to know how its improvements figure into your home's value, Celina Acosta Real Estate Group can put together a free home valuation in English or Spanish.