The Internet's Top 10 Things To Do in Gilbert… and What I'd Actually Tell You

Okay, so the video was the short version. This is where I actually go through it.

The internet put together its top 10 list of things to do in Gilbert, and look, it's not a bad list. But it's a list made by people ranking things, not people living here. There's a difference. A few of these I'd send any visitor to in a heartbeat. A few I'd quietly steer you away from. One is ranked completely wrong for what it's trying to be. And there's a spot they left off entirely that's honestly become my favorite thing about Gilbert lately.

So here's the whole thing, the way I'd actually tell a friend who was coming to town.

First, the three I'd skip

I want to be fair here. "Skip" doesn't mean bad. It means if you've got limited time, I wouldn't spend it here. Just my opinion, and if any of these connect to your life differently, ignore me.

HD South (the history museum). It's genuinely nice, and if you're a history person or you actually want to understand where Gilbert came from, go. That part's cool. But most visitors don't care about a town's roots the way locals do, and that's okay. Unless that's your thing, it's not what I'd build an afternoon around.

The Gilbert Temple. It's beautiful, no argument. The grounds at golden hour, the Christmas lights, worth a look. But that's kind of the thing. It's a look. A quick glance and you've gotten what there is to get, unless it connects to your life in some other way. I wouldn't go out of my way for it as a destination.

Gilbert Regional Park. Here's my honest caveat. If you've got kids, and it's not the middle of an Arizona summer, it's great. The mountain playground, the splash pad, the lake, kids love it. But if you don't have kids with you, or it's May through September and you're going to melt out there, it's not the one.

The one they ranked wrong

SanTan Village. They've got it sitting up in the top 10 like it's a Gilbert experience. It's a mall. It's getting better, some upgraded shopping, better restaurants moving in, and I do think it's heading somewhere. But right now? It's still a thing you could do in basically any city in the country. When someone visits Gilbert, I want to show them what makes Gilbert Gilbert, not the same stores they have back home. Give it a couple years and this might actually earn its spot. Not yet.

Now the order I'd actually put them in

The list had Riparian Preserve at number one and downtown at number two. I'd flip a lot of this around.

Downtown Gilbert is number one, no contest. Postino, Joe's BBQ, the water tower, the whole walkable stretch. This is the heartbeat. If someone gave me one stop to explain Gilbert, it's here.

Agritopia and the Epicenter area is my number two. The Coffee Shop, Joe's Farm Grill, Barnone, all sitting on a working farm. There's nothing generic about it. It feels like a place that could only exist here.

Riparian Preserve is a solid top five, but I'd put it around three. It's genuinely great, the trails, the birds, the water. Just not the single best thing about living here the way the internet decided it was.

From there, the observatory is a fun one (free, open a couple nights a week, and yeah, you can actually see Jupiter), Hale Theatre earns its spot (live theater, 4.9 stars from a couple thousand people is no joke), and the farmers market is wonderful if you like getting up and moving on a Saturday morning.

Quick heads up on that market, because this trips people up. The original Gilbert Farmers Market moved. After about 15 years downtown, it relocated to Chandler-Gilbert Community College, five miles south, back in late 2025. There's also a newer, smaller one that runs downtown now. So if you're chasing the big 150-vendor one, that's the college campus these days, not the water tower.

And here's what they left off completely

This is the part I actually care about.

My favorite thing about Gilbert these days isn't on anybody's top 10. It's the small local stuff. The boutique markets that pop up throughout the year, Made With Love, Peppermint Lane, all of those. That's where the town actually feels like a community instead of a list of attractions.

A few more that never make these lists but should:

If you're here around the holidays, the lights and the whole vibe around Agritopia are worth planning your evening around.

If you want a genuinely good meal with an atmosphere to match, go to Buck & Rider.

And Verde Station does outdoor events and movie nights out on the lawn that are honestly just fun. Bring a blanket, sit outside, that kind of night.

Here's what I've noticed about myself lately. The big attractions, Topgolf, Main Event, PopStroke coming soon, they just don't move me the way they used to. They're fine. But they're the stuff you can do anywhere. What makes Gilbert Gilbert is the local, seasonal, small-business side of it. That's the version of this town I'd actually want to show you.

If you're new here or thinking about it

Honestly, this is the whole reason I make these. When people move to Gilbert, they usually find the malls and the chains on their own. What takes longer is figuring out the stuff that actually makes a place feel like home, which pockets, which weekends, which little markets, what's worth your time in July versus January.

That's the part that's genuinely hard to figure out from the outside, especially if you're looking at Gilbert from another state. If that's you, and you're trying to get a real feel for the town before you ever pick a house, that's exactly the kind of conversation I like having. Reach out anytime.

These are my honest opinions as someone who lives here, not gospel. If your favorite Gilbert spot didn't make my cut, I want to hear about it.