Stoner Phoenix
The vibe
Drive south out of downtown Phoenix on Central Avenue (or better, ride the light rail) and the city gets lower, wider and greener. Old citrus groves, horse properties, nurseries, irrigation ditches, and then that long dark ridge of South Mountain filling the whole southern sky.
South Mountain Village is the area along Central, 7th Street and 24th Street running down toward the mountain. It is one of the oldest parts of the city, with deep Black and Latino roots, family-run restaurants, and a rural streak that never fully left. Laveen sits to the west, past the Salt River bottom, where former dairy fields have turned into a wave of new subdivisions with mountain views.
It has a different rhythm than the north side. Slower. Prouder. Less interested in your opinion about it.
Who lives there
Multi-generation South Phoenix families who remember when this was all farmland. Horse people on big lots. First-time buyers in Laveen who wanted a new house and a mountain view without paying north side prices. Mountain bikers and hikers who live here specifically for the trail access. And a lot of folks who commute up the I-10 or the Loop 202 every morning and come home to a backyard where you can actually see the stars.
Backyards are big down here, and that is where the sesh happens. That is the legal answer anyway.
Best munchies
South Phoenix food is the real deal: taco stands, Mexican bakeries, mariscos spots, soul food, Sonoran hot dog carts, and family kitchens that have been feeding the same blocks for generations. Central Avenue and Baseline Road are the main drags. Drive (sober) or ride the rail down Central and you'll pass more good food than you can eat in a month.
The Farm at South Mountain
On 32nd Street just south of Southern, The Farm at South Mountain is a shady pecan grove with three restaurants: Morning Glory Café for breakfast, The Farm Kitchen for walk-up sandwiches and baked goods under the trees, and Quiessence for a fancy farm-to-table dinner in the old farmhouse. A late breakfast in the grove on a cool fall morning is one of the most relaxing things you can do in this city. Do it after a wake and bake at home, with somebody else driving.
Worth the trip north
South of downtown, on Mohave Street, the original Carolina's Mexican Food has been making flour tortillas and machaca burros for over half a century. It's on your way down Central, more or less, and it's a Phoenix institution for a reason.
Laveen
Laveen's food is mostly newer strip-mall spots and chains along 51st Avenue and Baseline, plus a handful of family taco shops and food trucks. Not a destination, but you won't starve. For the full citywide eating map, see our Phoenix munchies guide, and for after dark, our late-night food guide.
Things to do baked
Ride the light rail down Central. The South Central extension now runs from downtown all the way to Baseline Road, and it is the best way to get to this part of town without anybody driving. Sit by the window and watch the city change outside: murals, panaderías, palm-lined blocks, then the mountain getting closer and closer. Hop off, eat, ride back.
Spend a lazy morning at The Farm. Cruise the nurseries and old farm stands that still dot the area. Hit a taco crawl along Central. Things to do near South Mountain mostly come down to food, open sky and that big mountain, and that is not a complaint.
About Mystery Castle: the famous hand-built castle at the foot of the mountain has been closed to visitors for a few years, and new owners have talked about restoring it. Admire it from the street for now and check the news before you plan around it.
More ideas live on our things to do high in Phoenix page, and when you want the art and bar scene, it's a straight shot up the rail to Roosevelt Row.
Freeways: the I-10 runs along the east side, and the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway now wraps around the west and south side of the mountain through Laveen. Great for the sober driver. Not for you after a sesh.
Best mountain or sunset spot nearby
South Mountain Park is the big one. More than 16,000 acres, three mountain ranges, over 100 miles of trails, and one of the largest city-run parks in the country. Summit Road winds up to Dobbins Lookout, the highest public point in the park, where you get the whole Valley laid out like a circuit board, with the grid, downtown, Camelback, Piestewa and the airport all lit up at dusk.
You can hike up or have a sober friend drive you. Summit Road closes to cars on some Sunday mornings and one full Sunday a month, so check the city's schedule. The road also has tight turns and steep drop-offs, which is another reason the driver needs a clear head.
Dobbins Lookout at sunset is the single best view in Phoenix. Fight us.
The usual quick note (general info, not legal advice): South Mountain is a city preserve, and smoking anything is off limits in the park outside an enclosed vehicle. And no, you can't sesh in that car either. Save it for home. Our Phoenix mountains and sunset guide compares every peak, and where to sesh in Phoenix covers the legal stuff.
The good and the annoying
The good
The biggest city park around, right there. Real South Phoenix food. Big lots, big sky, horses. Light rail all the way to Baseline. Some of the best mountain views in town from your own street.
The annoying
Laveen grew faster than its grocery stores and restaurants did. Summer heat down here doesn't mess around, and the south side can feel a couple of degrees meaner. Fall weekends turn the South Mountain parking lots into a sea of snowbirds and mountain bikers. And people from Scottsdale still act like they need a passport to come south of the I-10.
Their loss. More tacos for us.
