S'edav Va'aki Museum

Planes descend over one of the oldest places in Phoenix. S'edav Va'aki Museum, called Pueblo Grande Museum until it changed its name in 2023, sits on a village settled around AD 500 and lived in for more than 1,000 years by the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People, known to archaeologists as the Hohokam. They built one of the largest and most sophisticated canal systems of the pre-European Americas. After about AD 1400 the population declined and people moved to smaller villages. The Akimel O'odham, their descendants, still live in the Phoenix area.

This National Historic Landmark has belonged to the city since 1929, and it is the largest preserved archaeological site within Phoenix, and the only publicly accessible ancestral village site in the city. A 2/3-mile outdoor trail runs past the platform mound (the va'aki of the name), a ballcourt, ancient irrigation canals, full-size replica houses and a demonstration garden of crops grown here. Allow about 90 minutes, and follow the site etiquette guide on the museum's page. The indoor galleries change, so ask what is showing.

Regular hours (September to June) are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday; it's closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In July and August it opens 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday only. The mound trail closes at 4 p.m., or at twilight on Thursdays. The museum also closes on seven national holidays. Adults pay $13, seniors $10, and students and children 6 to 17 pay $6, with discounted admission on Thursday evenings.

Parking is free, and the site can be reached by light rail and Sky Train. The site is ADA accessible with wheelchairs available, and it has picnic areas and free indoor Wi-Fi. The museum store's hours vary, so call (602) 495-0901 if that matters to you. It's at the corner of 44th and Washington streets, close enough to the airport to fit in before a flight.