Maricopa County Parks and Recreation: Creatures of the Night

Come experience the desert in a new light, darkness! Bring a flashlight (and UV light if you have one) and we’ll see the desert in a new way. Scorpions glow, mice and spiders scurry from plant to plant, unseen birds and bats shuffle and flutter above. The desert is a completely different world in the dark and can be so very exciting! Let’s have a look, shall we? This will be a roughly 2-mile out and back on an easy rated trail, scaled up slightly because of the dark. It is likely we will encounter scorpions and tarantula as well as see some other animals at a distance. Other examples may include rattlesnakes, javelina, bats, poorwill, nightjars, tortoise, centipede, mountain lion or bobcat, possibly even owls

MEETING LOCATION: Covered Picnic Area

Precise Meeting Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4yDZURDD1Pqjbq747

Limit 10 participants. To register, please call the Nature Center at (602) 506-2930 ext. 7 with your name, phone number and number of people attending. If you find you cannot attend a program after you have registered, please call the Nature Center ASAP so we may contact those on the waiting list. Registration for this program will close on 09/28/26.

PLEASE NOTE: Outdoor summer programs may be canceled on short notice due to severe weather, including extreme heat events. The Maricopa County Parks website (www.maricopa.gov/parks) is the most accurate resource for verifying the program’s current status. Please check the program listing online before coming to the park.

Ages 6+