Perfect for: Planners, designers and neat freaks with an appreciation for tidy aesthetics
Past & Present
As one of the Valley’s youngest cities, Fountain Hills celebrated its 30th year of town incorporation in 2019. Created as a 12,000-acre planned community by Disneyland designer Charles Wood Jr., Fountain Hills was settled in the 1860s by cattlemen before being purchased 100 years later by Robert McCulloch Properties. It’s McCulloch’s manicured vision that you see throughout Fountain Hills today.
One Day in Fountain Hills
First: Fountain selfies. For 15 minutes at the top of the hour from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., a towering plume of water rises from Fountain Park to a maximum of 560 feet – three times taller than Old Faithful – to spray and shimmer in the sunlight. experiencefountainhills.org
Next: Gem shopping at Sami Fine Jewelry. This family-owned store, a longtime staple of downtown, specializes in Arizona gems: peridot, garnet and amethyst mined from the Four Peaks. samifinejewelry.com
Then: Chocolate tasting at Chocofin Chocolatier. For nearly 20 years, these chocolate artisans have been whipping up barks, ganaches, toffee, caramels and bars. chocofin.com
Finally: Stargazing. Thanks to the screening effect of the McDowell Mountains, Fountain Hills earned official designation as an International Dark Sky Community
Get Your Bearings
The fountain Hills downtown is encompassed by four meandering streets west of the fountain.
Future Fountain Hills
Hardly a growth-minded city – projected to add only 2,000 residents over the next 30 years – Fountain Hills does have one notable development in the works: a new apartment community from local homebuilder Keystone, set for completion in July 2021 in the Avenue of the Fountains area.
2020 Population: 24,700
2050 Population: 26, 900 (est.)
source: MAG
