Fall/Winter destinations in SouthWest

I lived just south of Mammoth Lakes for twenty years. They are a ski area and as such can get a lot of snow. I have seen white out conditions there more than once. The Owens Valley may get an occasional snowstorm but it melts in a few days. Anywhere from Bishop to Lone pine is nice. From Lone Pine Death valley would be a day trip in the toad.

Central AZ (Verde Valley area)in the Fall/Winter can be very nice if you like cool without much snow. About 3500' elevation.

50 miles north you are at 7000' in Flagstaff. 90 miles south you are in Phoenix. Head west 45 mile and you are in Prescott at about 5200'.

There is plenty of thing to see and do in the area.

Central AZ is great especially if you like western history. With a toad you can visit major cities and border towns like Bisbee Naco, and Douglas. Visit Yuma, Tucson, and Tombstone and the Sugraro Nat'l Park. If you have not been to Quartzsite in January (Sr Citizens Mating Season) for the RV Show

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll add a little more background just to help narrow down (or eliminate) ideas. :D

Met my wife in Phoenix, married in Sedona, and lived in Prescott and Show Low and we currently have family that we visit at least once a year who live in Prescott and Paulde. The "problem" is we never really camped or RV'd around these places nor have we traveled to Utah.

We love trees and unique yet beautiful places, so I think Sedona is also on the list.

We've never been to Canyon de Chelly and I don't know if there's any place to camp nearby.

We're not so much interested in being "tourists" as we are in just enjoying the journey as well as the destination so where we park needs to be part of the allure. :) That's also why we're not even sure we want to mess with a toad as it would really only be to get supplies and such, but if we plan ahead then we can just stock up between destinations.

Been a while since I've actually thought about planning a trip anywhere that didn't have a specific destination, I forgot how enjoyable just planning the trip was. :D

We'll likely keep things north of Phoenix and as much out of the plain desert as much as possible. We've made the drive out I-10 too many times to count, time for something different.

As far as SoCal/NV goes, we've made the drive up 395 at least a couple of times so that's why it's on the list. Lots of cool little towns along the way and it's a very pretty drive. One winter while towing a TT we did end up having to take the long way around Mammoth to get to Carson City and Bishop itself tends to be right below the heavy snow line so we'd at least be close to snow if we wanted to play in it.

Wife has yet to visit Yosemite and it's been ages since I've been, that's also not a super far drive.

Then there's always Hwy 1 up the coast to Big Sur, etc.

Lots of options for sure. I also have no real idea about what kind of RV parks and campgrounds are along the way or at each destination. Dry camping is an option as well but we'd prefer hookups.

Hooray fall! :)

You say you haven't travelled to Utah. Even though some of the NP's are what I would call desert, there are still trees there. If you go by October, you can hit Bryce Canyon NP which has quite a few trees on the rim, but at over 7000', it gets snow during the winter. Zion NP has Cottonwood trees all along the river up the canyon, yet great sandstone domes that in some ways remind me of the domes of Yosemite. At 4000', Zion is accessible for much of the winter w/o snow. As far as a toad in these two parks, if you get there by mid October (early November for Zion), the NPS runs free shuttles through the parks so you can leave your rig at the CG and go.

And while you say you don't want to be in the desert, the area around Moab, while a desert (Great Basin type), is distinctly different than the Sonoran Desert of southern AZ and the Mohave Desert of southern CA. In many ways we prefer Canyonlands to the Grand Canyon. And the arches at Arches NP are quite a unique display. At 4000', Moab is also more temperate, although in the middle of last winter, an inversion set in that gave Moab much colder temps than we were having here in the mountains of CO. Once in a while, we'll take our last camping trip of the season to Dead Horse Point SP in Utah during the early part of Thanksgiving week. Not crowded, generally clear blue sky, and of course the wonderful red rocks.

For Canyon de Chelly there is a campground right at the ranger's station. No hookups though. You can easily book a canyon tour from the headquarters located within walking distance to the campground. If you like horses, the horseback tour is nice. There's also a 4x4 tour. The Canyon is a neat place and probably 3 days would be enough time for a tour, a hike (limited trails) and driving around the perimeter.

Sitting in an RV with the heat on because its frigid outside isn't fun either!!

Grand Canyon is beautiful in the winter and far lower crowds. The west canyon roads that are closed to all but tour buses in the summer months are open to passenger vehicles in the winter. That said, I would not want to take a trailer to the canyon in the winter. It can get downright frigid with significant snow fall and icy road conditions. Same for Flagstaff and Williams. We RV to these areas in the late spring or early fall.

In the winter time we take our trailer to southern AZ around Bensen, Bisbee, Sierra Vista, Tombstone etc. Plenty to do and see in this region and the weather is fantastic!!

We also head to California and visit the coastal areas as well as wine country in the winter.

I'm not particularly concerned about the cold, we travel to northern AZ during the holidays anyway and the coach seems to be pretty well insulated, plus there are 4 heat sources (2 furnaces, two heat strips on the A/C units). Last year we took the kids on the "Polar Express" out of Williams and are thinking about staying at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park and taking a train ride to the canyon, or maybe just driving the wife's car up there. We shall see. :)

Sedona is a bit more pleasant during that time of year. Part of the time would be spent visiting family in Prescott/Paulden, so if the weather isn't looking all that great then it's not like the trip is ruined.

Before the RV we had a TT that we took to Carson City to spend some time in the snow, we took 2 weeks to travel from SoCal up to Redmond, WA for Christmas (That was fun, hit a snowstorm on the way back just outside of Portland. Hooray for 4WD while towing a 31' trailer), so we're no strangers to the cold and traveling in it. :D

I have no desire to chain up the RV, so as long as the roads are clear then away we go.

It's looking like we'll be heading to Yosemite for Thanksgiving, too. I hear the Thanksgiving dinner at the lodge is awesome.

So, that's our preliminary plan right now. Yosemite for Thanksgiving, then Williams/Grand Canyon/Sedona/Prescott for Christmas.

Yahooligan wrote:
staying at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park and taking a train ride to the canyon.

I have no desire to chain up the RV, so as long as the roads are clear then away we go.

The GC Railway RV park is quite nice. Its rather new so trees are small and scarce. They have a shuttle to take you to the hotel where you can use the pool (indoor) and other amenities.

Snow is the main reason why I haven't taken our trailer to Williams, Grand Canyon etc in the winter. I would not want to tow on those roads when they are iced. Since I'm not retired, I can't just stay put until the weather and roads clear. Vacation schedules are a pain!! lol But if you can do so its a great time of year to visit those areas. GC is beautiful in the winter and crowds are low.