South Mountain Park and Preserve
No admission feeOne of the largest municipal parks in the country, laced with more than 50 miles of desert trails.

Photo: Lockley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
A stone home in the South Mountain foothills, built by a father for his daughter and later opened for guided tours.
Phoenix, AZ
Mystery Castle is a native stone house in the foothills of South Mountain Park in Phoenix. Boyce Luther Gully began building it for his daughter Mary Lou during the 1930s, after moving west from Seattle. The house has many rooms, fireplaces, and decorative nooks, and was furnished with southwestern antiques. Boyce died in 1945 before his family could join him. Mary Lou later moved in, gave guided tours for many years, and died in 2010. A foundation now maintains the property. The official site says the castle is currently closed to visitors while preservation work proceeds.
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