Carefree Desert Gardens & Sundial

About

Carefree Desert Gardens is a four-acre garden on Easy Street in downtown Carefree, with self-guided paths and signs that name the plants. The collection includes a boojum tree from Mexico, a quiver tree from southern Africa and a crested saguaro. Admission is free, the gardens are open daily year-round, and parking around the town square is free too. There's also a small playground with a Gila monster slide and a scorpion-themed splash pad that usually runs April through October. The Carefree Sundial, built in 1959, sits at Sundial Plaza beside the gardens and measures 90 feet across, with an arm that rises 35 feet and points at the North Star. Architect Joe Wong and solar engineer John Yellott designed it.