dan

Arizona is one of our potential destinations for our vacation this October, but no ocean access is certainly a drawback. Are there any beaches, waterparks, or other swimming spots here?

Karen

All hotels, motels and resorts have pools, most of them heated during the cold weather. There are water parks that will be closed by October, I'm sure, but we do have lakes, no beaches. You will find many, many things of interest and to do here.

Wayne

Dan, you don't normally find beaches in the desert, but check out places like...
- Lake Havasu City (where London Bridge is and lots of watercrafts)
- Lake Mohave (by Laughlin, NV casinos)
- Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona
- And, of course rafting on the Colorado River.

Meg

Dan most people do not come to Arizona for the beach. If you must have water the Colorado River has some good spots as already mentioned (Lake Havasu, Laughlin) - there is also Lake Powell which is great for houseboating (northern Arizona). While not in AZ if you plan on going to 'Vegas Lake Mead is huge -- plenty of water there! You can also go across the border into Mexico to the resort area of Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) - there are hotels and beaches there - it's oceanfront. It's about 240 miles southwest of Tucson. There are also lakes in the Superstitution Mountains to the east of Phoenix. All hotels pretty much have pools - the big resorts have fancy ones, water slides, etc.

Keely

I had inquired about Pointe Hilton's Tapatio Cliffs resort near Phoenix because they supposedly have lots of waterfalls and pools and the like so you're nort of surrounded by water. Of course, I would guess it's all chlorinated, but I was wondering how pleasant it actually was. Has anyone stayed there who can give feedback about this?

Keely

Dan, if you scroll down this forum to a message titled "Hotels: best summer value" (or something like that), it contains some posts that might interest you.