So you’re looking to play some beach volleyball in Tucson?
Fantastic! Let me help you out 🙂
Whether you’re looking for pick up games or to join a league, there are plenty of places to play outdoor beach volleyball or sand volleyball. I also learned how to play beach volleyball here and have played at different sand courts in Tucson.
I’m recommending 3 here because these are the places I would tell you to go to; however, there are more than 3 places you can play beach volleyball at. I’ve included my personal opinion as well as league/competition information for each of these places. I’ll include the places I’ve omitted at the end of this blog.
Top 3 places to play sand volleyball in Tucson
Before I mention these places, I will note – the sand in all these places are not beach sand. It’s not fine grain sand that you can easily sink in. It won’t hurt playing in the sand. It’s just not actual beach sand.
All right…let’s hop in!
1. Sports Park Tucson
Sports Park is on the north side of town – it’s super close to the I-10 freeway. The park itself has 4 sand volleyball courts.
I chose Sports Park as my number 1 place to play beach volleyball in Tucson for several reasons:
- There are sand leagues every day of the week and the competition range is huge. If you’re looking for a beginner/social league, they have those. If you’re looking for more intermediate to advanced, they have those as well.
- They hold competitions. The format can range from 2v2 to 4v4 (coed, mens/womens, reverse coed, etc…)
- It’s a huge park so they have decent (and free) parking. The park has two concession stands for food and drinks. It also has good lighting if you play at night.
- The sand is decent most of the time. When I say decent, I mean it’s mostly soft and firm. I would feel comfortable diving for balls. If the staff forget to till the sand, then the sand does get pretty hard and clumpy, but that doesn’t happen often.
- I’ve met some great people and made good friends playing at Sports Park.
There are some downsides with playing here:
- You have to pay a small $2 fee to get in. Even if you play in a league or competition, they still make you pay the fee. A bit annoying but $2 doesn’t break the budget.
- The park is next to a wastewater treatment plant so it can smell a bit weird if it’s a really windy day. The smell isn’t overly bad and I don’t recall smelling the bad odors too often.
- They rarely open the courts up for pick up games.
Beach volleyball leagues and competitions
Sports Park holds a volleyball league each day of the week. They also hold some competitions.
I’ve played in the men’s doubles league on Tuesday and coed doubles league on Sundays. They sometimes change the league format but not often. For example, they used to host coed doubles on Sundays for a couple of years. Now (as I am writing this blog post), they are playing reverse coed doubles on Sundays.
They don’t hold competitions consistently. It’ll get too hot during the summer or too cold during the winter for people to want to come out and play. Nonetheless, the competitions do fill up for the most part when they host them. I’ve played in some of them myself!
Overall, if you’re trying to get into the beach volleyball community in Tucson, I’d highly recommend playing at Sports Park.
2. Tucson Racquet Club
Tucson Racquet Club is on the north east side of town. It’s got 3 sand volleyball courts. The picture above shows 2 of them; there’s one more behind the camera.
Out of all the places I mention in this list, I think Tucson Racquet Club has the best sand for beach volleyball. The sand is reasonably soft; I feel comfortable diving in it. The sand is on the firmer side so you’re not sinking in when you’re running around.
There is a small canopy where you sit and set your stuff under so you don’t get cooked by the sun.
The main downside is that it’s not free. Unless you have a membership, you have to pay a daily pass to get access to the volleyball courts. At the time of writing this post, I have been paying $15 to use the courts; the $15 also covers other amenities at the club.
Beach volleyball leagues and competitions
If you are looking to play in a league, there is a 4’s league that happens on Wednesdays and Thursday nights. You can go to their website for more information on their beach volleyball leagues.
You can also play pick up here as well. I’ve played pick up several times out here. There’s no reservation necessary unless you’re looking to do something private like hosting a tournament or volleyball clinic.
I also play in some of the tournaments that are hosted here. One of my friends holds tournaments here 3-4 times a year (I write about one here). I know the person who runs the volleyball clinic here also holds tournaments throughout the year. The formats vary from coed doubles to 3v3.
3. De Anza park
De Anza Park is located in central Tucson. It’s less than 5 minutes away from downtown. It’s got 4 sand volleyball courts.
If you’re looking for free beach volleyball in Tucson, De Anza is your place to go. This is where I first learned how to play beach volleyball. It’s a very popular spot for pick up and leagues.
There are nets provided but you have to bring your own lines.
There is plenty of street parking.
Some downsides with playing here:
- The sand quality isn’t the best because it’s easy to generate a lot of sand dust, which makes it a little hard to breathe when playing. The sand isn’t that deep either. There are some hard spots (as in you can feel the concrete or whatever foundation is underneath the sand) on the court.
- There are homeless people that wander around the park. They don’t bother you but it can be a little uncomfortable if they get too close to the fence that surrounds the court. You don’t want them to run off with your stuff. Speaking of fence…
- There is a fence that surrounds the sand volleyball courts but it’s pretty short on two of the sides. It’s easy for balls to bounce over. It’s highly advised to wear shoes to go grab the balls because I’ve had super small prickly plants stab me when walking across the grass to get the balls.
- There’s no bathroom. Well there is a building for bathrooms but it’s often closed. You can go across the street to the motel restaurant or the Popeyes.
- The nets are not well maintained. You can’t adjust the net height, so you have to hope that the net is high or low enough for you to play.
Beach volleyball leagues and competitions
I’ve played in 2 leagues at De Anza. Waka volleyball plays 6v6 on Wednesdays nights and Innit plays 4v4 on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I played a lot of pick up games with friends here on Saturdays and Sundays as well.
There are competitions held at De Anza, but it’s not held by the same organizer or group.
Other courts not mentioned
Here are 3 other places you can check out for playing outdoor beach volleyball in Tucson.
1. Udall Park
I’ve played pick up here about 5 or 6 times (it’s far from where I live). It’s on the north east side of Tucson. There are 2 sand courts.
Compared to the spots mentioned above, the sand quality is the worst. The sand isn’t deep so it’s pretty easy to hit a hard spot. Also the sand is quite grainy. It doesn’t hurt to play on the sand, but it isn’t the most comfortable to play on either.
There’s not much parking near the volleyball courts. So if those parking spots get filled, then you’ll have to park further away.
It’s free to play on these courts.
A part of me remembers that you have to bring your own nets and lines to play (when I was playing pick up there a couple of years ago), but that could have changed (if the park administration has put up their own nets).
Beach volleyball leagues and competitions
If you’re looking for a league to play in on Mondays, check out Digg’It AZ.
I haven’t played or know of any competitions that are held at these courts.
2. University of Arizona
I have not played at the university before.
According to the campus recreation website, there are 4 available courts (2 at the Student Rec Center and 2 at the Park Student Union). All of them look to be free unless you want to reserve them, in which case, you’d have to pay. Since I’ve never played at the college campus courts before, I won’t speak on their sand quality.
3. Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is located on the far east side of town. I’ve never played at this park because like Udall, it’s pretty far from where I live. It’s got 4 sand volleyball courts. I don’t know if it’s free. Since I’ve never played at this park, I won’t speak on their sand quality.
