Find the Sunshine Winter 2013

[dhally]

We've had a freezing fog here for what seems like weeks and we need to see the sun! My cousin recently moved to Phoenix AZ so that sounds like a good destination. Our plan is to put in a couple long driving days with a stop in Utah to ski, then spend 2 or 3 days in the sunshine.

So does anybody have any suggestions for camp areas that will be warm and sunny? Or interesting places to explore that are mainly paved?

[salivan]

Sedona is really nice. Great for mountain biking, hiking or art ... pretty much got it all. There are a lot of Forest Service campgrounds in the area, but the Rancho Sedona RV Park, right on Oak Creek near town is Excellent!

Happy Trails.

[BroncoHauler]

Sedona is very beautiful, but make sure to bring your yoga mat and cleansing crystals. It's a unique place.

Herb

[TwoVans]

And, if you are looking for warm and sunny, be aware that Sedona gets snow this time of year...

[dhally]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

Sedona is very beautiful, but make sure to bring your yoga mat and cleansing crystals. It's a unique place.

Herb

NOt too interested in those but theraputic massage can be good...

[Viejo]

The area around Sedona is indeed very beautiful but the town itself is just an upscale tourist trap. Blocks of shoulder to shoulder gift shops selling identical selections of overpriced faux Indian nicknacks and southwest themed motel art.

This sort of summed up the whole experience for me... a sidewalk sandwich board promoting "Earth Wisdom Jeep Tours". Ya right.

My recommendation for Sedona would be Get gas, Get groceries and Get out of town.

On a positive note, we enjoyed a couple of nice days of off road camping along the Salt River where it enters Roosevelt Reservoir. That should be warmer than Sedona and even if it's not hot, the hillside full of Saguaro cactus will make it seem so. This is near the junction of Hwys 188 and 288 between Payson and Globe.

We also had a couple of nice warm days at Burro Creek campground on Hwy 93, south of Kingman.

Good luck on your solar quest.

[dhally]

I've been looking at the Apache Trail and Lake Roosevelt. It sounds like nice scenery with some side trips/hikes available. Shouldn't be too crowded this time of year. Could be sunny and in the 70's during the day.

[Pritikin]

As always with winter travel it'll be hit-or-miss. When we went through that area a few weeks ago we got snow and cold. There was sun though.

We camped in Manzanita campground on oak creek just north of Sedona. We would have been at the Grand Canyon that night except the entrance from E Rim Drive was closed due to snow and ice. So if you drop in from UT on 89 be prepared to be flexible. (And if the weather is nice just stay in the Moab area anyway).

I agree with the notes about Sedona. Some nice hikes around there but the town itself was barely enough to be worth stopping for coffee. (Unless you like shopping in tourist places, in which case it'd a great town and well worth the visit).

We had to go a bit south of Tuscon before we got warm. If we'd gotten warm sooner we'd have stopped sooner.

[loren85022]

Colo Riv around Lk Havasu nice in Jan. many places along Verde River. East of Phx is the Superstition mtns. All interesting. All can get near freezing even when day temps in 70° range.

[dhally]

Originally Posted by loren85022

Colo Riv around Lk Havasu nice in Jan. many places along Verde River. East of Phx is the Superstition mtns. All interesting. All can get near freezing even when day temps in 70° range.

Freezing at night is no problem. We just want to see the sun! The Superstitions look pretty rugged we may try that.