Arizona for the Winter

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Barnibus

Active member
Joined
Sep 9, 2019
Posts
44
Location
On the road.
We have decided we are done with Winter, and are looking at going to Arizona for a while.
Would love some recommendations for where to find decent camping/RV Parking in Arizona.

The Mrs. wants to go to Sedona. I was thinking maybe Yuma or Tucson.
We like bicycling, and hiking, and don't currently plan to have a car. We have bikes, and may look at getting a couple of motor scooters to get around.

Anyone have any recommendations.
 
We do quite a bit of RVing/camping in Arizona, and we've camped in all the places you mentioned, so here are my thoughts... Sedona is a pretty place... kind of an artsy-fartsy tourist place, but pretty nonetheless. Yuma is popular with snowbirds but not considered very scenic. If you enjoy boondocking, there are some great free BLM sites north of Yuma. While not as big as Phoenix, Tucson has more to offer than Yuma, but it's higher and occasionally gets a little snow. I like the Tucson area. Most of Arizona can really cook your bacon in the summer, but it's beautiful in the cooler months, and there are still a lot of wide open places.

Kev
 
Sedona can get cold in the winter. I recommend Casa Grande, AZ for the winter and I am in Fiesta Grande and love it. Walking distance to Kroger (Frys) and Walmart. Lots of restaurants and shops close as well. Many activities for residents. If your bored were I winter it is your own fault something going on all the time
There are 3 other nice parks in Casa Grande as well
Casa Grande is between Phoenix and Tucson at the Junction of I 10 and I 8
 
We lived in Arizona prior to selling our home in Phoenix and going full-time and have been to the places you mentioned, with that here is my thoughts.  Sedona is a tale of two places.  The town of Sedona is touristy, but has many art galleries and some very good restaurants.  The other side of Sedona is the Red Rocks in and surrounding area which truly a beautiful place and magnificent place.  You mentioned wanting to escape winter, so you should know Sedona can get cold and have light snow from time to time.  Tucson has a lot to offer and the surrounding area is beautiful.  Both Sedona & Tucson have a lot of bicycling options so either would be good  destinations for you in that regard.  Yuma is a popular location for many RV'ers in the winter and if you like to boondock there are many, many places around and near Yuma and frankly the only reason we have gone to the Yuma area as we like to boondock, otherwise I am happy to see Yuma in my rear view mirror. 
 
Lake Havasu City, In the winter it a major destination fur Snowbirds for several reasons.

The low elevation makes for nice winters.

There is all kinds of shopping available, Walmart, several supermarkets, Harbor Freight, Tractor supply, and most any other kind of store.

We are right on the Colorado River where it widens into a nice lake.

There are several RV parks that range from basic to all the amenities and there is boondocking on both the north and south of town.

The town is full of old hot rods and there are RVs parked at many of the houses.

 
Barnibus said:
We have decided we are done with Winter, and are looking at going to Arizona for a while.
Would love some recommendations for where to find decent camping/RV Parking in Arizona.

The Mrs. wants to go to Sedona. I was thinking maybe Yuma or Tucson.
We like bicycling, and hiking, and don't currently plan to have a car. We have bikes, and may look at getting a couple of motor scooters to get around.

Anyone have any recommendations.

Are you wanting to go this winter?  I?m thinking you better find a spot and reserve it.  I have no RV experience in AZ but...

Wife and I dug our camper out of the snow last April and went to a nice RV park in Mesquite, NV.  When we asked about seasonal rates for this coming winter I was advised to get on their list that day.  Glad I did since the park finalized their occupancy list for this coming winter during the first week in May.  They have my deposit for 5 months, beginning Nov. 1st.  We?ll pick a good weather window and pull the camper south end of October after the traditional October boondock. 

We won?t be full time, but will have a great runaway from the cold and have year round use of the camper.

FWIW, we have friends who spend the winter in AZ.  One bought a house in Lake Havasu and the other makes reservations a year in advance at an RV Park in Casa Grande.
 
Sedona and the Verde Valley does get chilly in the winter. January's lows will be in the 30s with an occasional dip into the 20s and a rare dusting of snow.

But there are plenty of RV parks. Two new campgrounds here in Camp Verde just opened. One, Verde Ranch RV Resort, with 400+ sites and the other opened 100 sites in their first phase. Two others are: Distance Drums RV Resort which has 157 sites. Verde River RV Resort which has 125 sites.
 
Az has a real affinity for winter visitors, especially those in RV's.  The choices are kinda overwhelming.  We spent two winters there and by a quirk, ended up at the "Happy Trails" RV Park near Surprise, Az just NW of Phx.  Golf, Pickle-ball, bicycling, swimming, jeeping, all kinds of interest groups, proximity to shopping galore, services galore... lots of folks use a golf cart to get around, or walk, or bike.  Not for everyone though.  We've spent short times in Yuma, Lake Havasu, Tucson, etc.  Each has advantages and disadvantages.  One drawback for PHX, for instance, is traffic-- try not to get caught during "rush hours" and watch out for the huge dust storms.

Remember, there are other states as well... Nevada, California, Utah, NM, Tx, etc.  There are "warm" places in each of these states.

 
Utclmjmpr said:
Last winter, Prescott had a ton of snow and cold,, Quartzsite had great weather and Yuma even better.>>>Dan

Right, Dan, the higher elevations get colder weather and snow.  Like Cedar City,  Flagstaff, Taos...
 
Lake Havasue has some great restaurants.  Especially Juicy?s!  We always go there when we?re on the lake.
 
8Muddypaws said:
Lake Havasue has some great restaurants.  Especially Juicy?s!  We always go there when we?re on the lake.

We like that little burger/fish and chips place right under the bridge.  We enjoy sitting in the outside seating and watching people.
Then, of course, there's the Desert Bar.  Not much of a beer selection, but the Garlic Fries were pretty good.
 
Our first full winter in Arizona we tried several places. Family in Phoenix so it was a jumping off spot. We loved Tucson, great mountain views, large but not over whelming and lots of activities. Yuma had a great Rv park, not much else to interest us. Plus our allergies we on overtime. The Laughlin/Bullhead City was nice. We stayed at the Avi KOA, very quiet. Walk to casino, restaurants and movie theatre. You might make reservations at several locations instead of one for the winter! If you like baseball Phoenix is a good place to spend a couple weeks at spring training games. Have fun and let us know what you decide!
 
Check out Benson, believe it has a Walmart also not to far from Tucson.  All 8 Muddy Paws cares about is towns with good restaurants.
 
grooving grandpa said:
Check out Benson, believe it has a Walmart also not to far from Tucson.  All 8 Muddy Paws cares about is towns with good restaurants.

I resemble that remark!  But it’s not all I care about, just near the top of my list.
 
Back
Top Bottom