Mill Ave spills into Tempe Town Lake, a 2-mile-long recreational pond created by reclaiming the long-dry Salt River in the 1990s. Have a picnic at Tempe Beach Park and watch kids letting off steam at the waterfalls, rock slides and shallow pools of the ingenious Splash Playground. Free outdoor concerts and festivals bring crowds to the park on weekends.
There's no swimming in the lake, but you can rent boats.