Arizona winter has ended and, before the dreaded heat of the summer comes the perfect weather of spring. With spring break coming up, there are affordable yet entertaining activities to do during the weeks off from school.

To enjoy Arizona’s spring time weather, spending the day at the lake is a free activity to enjoy with friends and family. About 40 minutes away from Perry, Saguaro lake is the closest lake. There you can rent boats from hourly rates of $25 to $90, or kayaks/canoes with range from $15 to $25 hourly and swim for free at designated areas.

Hiking can be a great group activity over spring break for nature lovers. Camelback mountain gives the options of the Echo Canyon trail and Cholla trail, both being difficult and recommended for experienced hikers. Camelback is about a 40 minute drive and the parking lot will fill up quick since these are popular trails. That being said, the best time to hike is on weekdays.

Another option for hiking is South Mountain, which offers many hikes fit for everyone’s different hiking abilities, being 40 minutes away with free parking and San Tan Mountain Regional Park, which is about a 30 minute drive, with $6.00 parking per vehicle.

Spring training baseball games are great for sport fans to enjoy with friends or family. Travel will vary depending on what stadium you go to, Sloan Park is about 22 minutes away in Mesa, and Tempe Diablo Stadium and Salt River Fields are both about a 30 minutes drive. The most affordable seats are the weekday lawn seats, ranging from $10 to $15 depending on when you purchase them and which stadium you attend.

March 11-13 the Ostrich Festival is taking place at Tumbleweed park in Chandler. Admission is $11.54 and for younger siblings ages 5-12 admission is $8.38; this does not include prices for the rides, parking or food. Discounts can be found for groups; for instance, Fry’s food store offers ride and family discounts To the festival at Tumbleweed, it is about a 10 minute drive.

For the food fanatics, Downtown Gilbert has a selection of different styled restaurants for even the pickiest of eaters, and even offering ‘Food Truck Friday’ every friday. Prices differ between each restaurant and food truck and it takes about 17 minutes to get there. For the Arizona western vibe, San Tan Flats has great food ranging from $5 to $25, as well as outdoor seating with fire pits at each table great for s’mores.

There are also fun and free things to do right at home. Gather a group of friends or your family to do water balloon fights, messy Twister, flag football, capture the flag, 007, or a game night. These ideas cost little to no money to set up.

With the wide array of activities Arizona has to offer, boredom will not be an issue this spring break.