Papago Park is notable for its many distinctive geological formations and its wide variety of typical desert plants, including the giant saguaro cactus.

The park also features the Desert Botanical Garden, the Phoenix Zoo, the Arizona Heritage Center, picnic areas, several small lakes, hiking trails, bicycle paths, a fire museum, as well as Hunt's Tomb, the pyramidal tomb of Arizona's first governor, George W. P. Hunt.

Tempe Papago Park includes baseball and softball fields, picnic ramadas, a small lake and other features.

[citation needed] [4] The distinctive red sandstone geological formations of Papago Park were formed some 6–15 million years ago.

[5] It was divided amongst the state of Arizona, the city of Tempe and the Water Users Association, later known as the Salt River Project.

[5] Following the onset of the Great Depression, Governor Hunt commissioned a bass fish hatchery to be established in Papago Park during 1932.

The hatchery was built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, and became successful, stocking largemouth bass and other fish for Arizona's waterways.

In February 2021, Joel Brotherton was fatally injured when he fell 30-40 feet while hiking Papago Park's Hole-in-the-Wall trail.