Kiwanis Lake covers 13 acres, which puts it among the larger waters in the Phoenix-area Community Fishing Program, yet the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) lists its maximum depth at only 8 feet. With no deep basin to retreat into, stocked fish tend to roam the whole lake instead of settling into one hole.
The lake is the centerpiece of 125-acre Kiwanis Park in south Tempe. According to the city, Tempe bought the land in 1972 with a 50 percent grant from the federal Bureau of Recreation after a 1969 open-space study, and named the park for the Kiwanis Club, which donated money to develop it. AZGFD records Kiwanis as joining the Community Fishing Program in 1984, which makes it one of the longest-running waters in the program.
Two things set Kiwanis apart. The park stays open until midnight, later than the 10 or 10:30 p.m. closings at Mesa and Chandler park lakes, and Tempe allows permitted canoes and kayaks, while many community waters ban boats entirely. Stocking follows the low-desert rotation of catfish in fall, trout in winter, catfish in spring and a summer pause.
Lake notes updated October 6, 2026No recent official weeks are listed for Kiwanis Lake right now. AZGFD may still add this water in a later schedule.
No stocking activity found for this period.
Kiwanis Park sits at Mill Avenue and All America Way in south Tempe; AZGFD lists the fishing address as 5500 S. Mill Ave. The Kiwanis Recreation Center, at 6111 S. All America Way, houses what Tempe describes as the only indoor wave pool in the Valley. City-listed park amenities include restrooms, grills, ramadas, picnic tables, lighting, a playground and a splash playground, and AZGFD lists seasonal paddleboat rentals.
To bring your own boat, Tempe permits only canoes and kayaks on Kiwanis Park Lake, each with a Kiwanis Park Lake boat permit bought online or at a Tempe recreation center. AZGFD adds that gas and electric motors are prohibited, boats may be on the water only between sunrise and sunset, and proper flotation devices must be aboard.
Channel catfish return after the summer break, usually on roughly two-week intervals. A shallow lake cools quickly once nights turn mild, and evenings are typically the most productive time to soak catfish bait.
Rainbow trout of 10 to 13 inches are the main event. With no deep refuge, trout spread across the lake, and shallow water that warms a few degrees on a sunny afternoon can set up a late-day bite.
Catfish stockings resume, and AZGFD stocks bluegill once each spring. Once the water tops 68 degrees, AZGFD advises keeping the trout you catch rather than releasing stressed fish.
There are no community-water stockings in the hottest months. Holdover catfish, sunfish and the occasional crappie or tilapia carry the fishing, and the midnight closing makes cooler after-dark sessions possible.
AZGFD designates Kiwanis as a Community Lake, so the higher tier of daily limits applies: 4 catfish, 4 trout, 2 bass (13-inch minimum), 10 sunfish and 1 white amur (30-inch minimum), with statewide limits for other species. Once you reach the limit for a species you must stop fishing for it, and daily limits run midnight to midnight. Anyone 10 or older needs a valid Arizona fishing or combination hunt and fish license; children under 10 may fish without one. Confirm current rules with AZGFD before your trip.
Yes. Tempe allows canoes and kayaks on Kiwanis Park Lake with a city boat permit. Motors are not allowed, and boating is limited to sunrise through sunset.
Park hours are 6 a.m. to midnight, so bank anglers can fish well after dark. Boats, however, must be off the water by sunset.
AZGFD sorts community waters into Lakes, which are generally over 3 acres, and Ponds. At 13 acres, Kiwanis is a Lake, and Lakes carry daily limits twice those of Ponds.
Dates are AZGFD stocking weeks, not guaranteed plant days. How this data is sourced