There’s more to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area than just Phoenix. While here, I’ve been spending time in some neighboring cities too—I already explored Old Town Scottsdale, and earlier today, I adventured around Tempe and the Arizona State University campus.

I started on the northern side of the Salt River near the Tempe Town Lake marina and walked west on the Tempe Town Lake North Bank Path until I reached the Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge. From there, I was able to get some nice views of downtown Tempe.

This is also close to the Tempe Town Lake Dam.

I arrived on the southern side of Tempe Town Lake right by the Tempe Center for the Arts. Unfortunately, the park directly to the east of this performing arts theater was closed for construction, so I had to go around on Rio Salado Parkway instead of walking on the beach.

After continuing a bit on Rio Salado Parkway and passing its intersections with Ash Avenue and Mill Avenue, I started climbing up the Hayden Butte, often called “A” Mountain due to the large letter “A” on the southern face of the incline.

Once I reached the summit, I got nice sweeping views of Tempe with a little bit of Scottsdale to the north, Mesa to the east, and the downtown Phoenix skyline to the west.

I descended the mountain on the opposite side and ended up at the Tempe Transportation Center on Veterans Way and College Avenue.

From there, I walked a bit south and then west, passing the interestingly-shaped Tempe Municipal Building on the way to Mill Avenue.

After taking a look at some of the shops on Mill Avenue, I walked eastbound on University Drive until reaching the Arizona State University Bridge leading into the Palm Walk.

From there, I went deeper into the Arizona State University campus, looking at the different architecture of the buildings until sunset.

For dinner, I returned to Mill Avenue and went to Matsuri Izakaya. The atmosphere of the restaurant was colorful and interesting.

Unfortunately, the food quality was pretty mediocre. I ordered a salmon bowl; the portion size of the salmon relative to the rice was a bit disappointing, the salmon didn’t really have that strong of a salmon flavor, and the texture made it seem like the fish wasn’t as fresh as it could have been.

After dinner, I walked back to the Tempe Transportation Center, purchased a US$2.00 single-ride ticket for the light rail, and rode my way back to my hotel in downtown Phoenix.

I had a satisfying time in Tempe. The environment of the university campus was both nostalgic and inspiring, and I felt a level of motivation and energy in Tempe that I don’t always sense in non-college cities. Everything was decently clean, and although I didn’t have any direct interactions with strangers, most of them seemed like they were going about life with a positive attitude.

If I ever return to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area after this trip, I will most likely stay in Tempe. There was an unusually high number of hotels under the Marriott brand in Tempe, and even though it doesn’t seem to have too many dedicated attractions within the downtown and campus area, it seemed like a very nice and safe place to just go for a walk and get some fresh air during my free time.