Suggestions Please for first Snow Birding to Arizona

There are many places.
Call me.

It will be hard to find a 'resort with amenities' in a rural area. The resorts are pretty well located in the major cities.

I don't know if you're familiar with Arizona's elevations or not but basically for warmth in winter you'll want to look at the following areas:

One is the greater Phoenix area over to Apache Junction.

There's also the Colorado River area from Yuma to Lake Havasu City. Havasu can get very windy and cold compared to Yuma. Yuma is the warmest spot in winter.

You don't want to go any further north or east.

Then there's south of Phoenix. Some stay at Casa Grande but we find it very dusty. You wouldn't have the cultural activities as you would in the Phoenix area and it's too far to day trip. If you're a hiker, the Apache Junction area is where you'd want to be, not directly in Phoenix.

Tucson is another popular area and the Voyager RV park is the place to go for the 'resort' feeling. It has every type of activity, pickleball, tennis, craft classes, woodworking, etc. Tucson also has excellent hiking and cultural things. It's a much smaller, laid-back kind of town compared to Phoenix. It's not a 'glitzy' town but we enjoy it.

About 30 miles south of Tucson in Amado is DeAnza RV. It is in a rural area but shopping is close in Green Valley (WalMart, groceries, restaurants). DeAnza's sites are fairly close to each other. They do have an indoor pool and some activities.

For another more rural area some choose Benson which is 50 miles east of Tucson - still manageable for day trips into Tucson. It's a little higher elevation so it does get cooler, especially at night but usually warms up by 10am. Probably the best parks would be Cochise Terrace or Butterfield. Both have 'some' activities.

We've wintered at the Benson Saguaro Escapees RV Park. On their web site you'll find a coupon for $50 for a one-week stay for non-members. If you want to stay longer you'd have to join Escapees (a great organization) and I believe the cost is $30/year now which includes a terrific bi-monthly magazine written by RVers with very little advertising. The park is extremely friendly and the sites are built on a terraced hillside for views. The sites are very large and landscaped by the site owners. The site you'd be placed on is one that the owner is not using during that time period. Each site is different. There are many basic activities in the nice clubhouse including concerts, shows, movies and meals are also served. If you'd happen to be there in December there are fantastic programs for the holidays and a festive Christmas Day dinner. Here's the web site:

http://skpsaguaro.org/special-offers.html

For a first-time season to Arizona, personally I wouldn't commit yourself to one park for your whole stay. What if you didn't like it or the area? Try out different areas by the month and then you'll know where to zero in on during future visits.

Three months in one place is a long time for your first trip to the southwest. If you think you won't get "hitch itch" check out Sands RV & Golf Resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA. I know it isn't Az. but it is an all inclusive park and our neighbors from Green Bay love it. As a matter of fact we have lots of snowbirders from Wisc. From here you can explore Salton Sea and Fountain of Youth RV park, the Slabs and Slab City, El Centro, then down to Yuma, up to Quartsite, Parker, Lake Havasu, Bull Head City and other places that have the type of place you are seeking.

rkassl wrote:
This finally could be the first winter we try to escape to the warmth of Arizona for the winter. I have never done this before that is booking a place for 3-4 months in one area. Can some of you experienced Snow Birds suggest a few places to check out? We would be looking for more of a resort type property with the usual amenities. When you folks go down to Arizona do you normally stay at one place for the duration or do you move around? I would like to stay more rural if possible rather than being in a busy urban area. If anyone can help us with some suggestions to begin to explore I would greatly appreciate it.

Happy Camping!

1. Sit down with your family and and discuss what ideally they want at an RV park. Monthly cost, size of RV sites, what kind of amenities, pool, work out room, golf course, restaurant on site, pickle ball and tennis courts, rural areas or closer to cities etc etc. You have to decide if you want RV parks with a lot of amenities and activities or do you want an RV park with a min. of amenities/activities where sites are pretty close together.
2. Now start looking in your Good Sam book and/or go on internet Good Sam for RV parks in the general area you want. Downtown Phoenix area, south of Phoenix, Suprize area which is west of downtown about 25 miles, Buckey south of Surprize by 10 miles but more rural. The further you stay away from the downtown phoenix, the cheaper the prices will be and the less traffic congestion you have to deal with. Ariz. I-10 and I-17 are generally real clusters, especially in the morning and late afternoons..
3. Staying 3 months will generally get you the best price. Some of the higher priced RV parks will only rent you a site for a min. of 3 months. You need to make reservations at many of the RV parks by March. Oct. through March are peak times of the year to snow bird. Ariz. has many "snow Birders" from back east and Canada during these months. From April to Sept you can expect some tempetures in the 100's or higher.

Snow Birding in Ariz. Personally I would not pick Yuma, windy, dusty and not much of a town for activities.

djgarcia wrote:
Snow Birding in Ariz. Personally I would not pick Yuma, windy, dusty and not much of a town for activities.

We found this to NOT be true 98% of the winter. Sure you have a few windy, dusty days, but that is true of any place in AZ and southern CA. There are TONS of activities in the Yuma area, for those that look for them. There is excellent shopping and restaurants, you are close to Mexico for dental and shopping.

We like the Dome Valley area, just east of the Yuma foothills and the park and town we are in have all the amenities you want, for about ½ the prices in Yuma for a comparable park.

PM me if you want more info about our park and area.

MaverickBBD wrote:
If you think you won't get "hitch itch" check out Sands RV & Golf Resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA. I know it isn't Az. but it is an all inclusive park and our neighbors from Green Bay love it. As a matter of fact we have lots of snowbirders from Wisc. From here you can explore Salton Sea and Fountain of Youth RV park, the Slabs and Slab City, El Centro, then down to Yuma, up to Quartsite, Parker, Lake Havasu, Bull Head City and other places that have the type of place you are seeking.

I certainly wouldn't recommend Salton Sea, Fountain of Youth, Slab City, El Centro as places to seek out - especially for a first-time visitor. :) There are much prettier places!

Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort in Casa Grande ,AZ. Check it out.

Well what do you like to do? There are a lot of things to think about when looking for a place for the winter. We spent the first winter trying all of the different parts of the state, Benson, Tucson, Casa Grande, Yuma, Quartzite, Havasu, Mesa, Gold Canyon. Sometimes a week, sometimes two, but in general we gave ourselves the opportunity to look around and see what the whole area had to offer. We then started doing longer stays in a couple of areas and eventually landed on Mesa.

We spent several years doing 2-3 month stints, gradually lengthened, and now have a Park Model in Mesa where we spend 6 months and the other 6 months in the motorhome traveling. We love the access to all of the arts centers, concerts, museums (love the Musical Instrument Museum in Northern Phoenix), loads of restuarants, shopping, close to the Superstitions for hiking, geocaching, close to Sedona for day trips, plus SPRING TRAINING during the month of March when all of the Cactus League teams are in the valley. We have also have now found physicians that understand our summer travel and work well with us.

Barb

I wouldn't lock in a venue sight unseen. Best bet is to select a few destinations and stay for a few days to get a feel for the place compared to your needs and feelings, more important, how is the place and your neighbours? While some places get busy in the winter, we've never had a problem moving around in Arizona, New Mexico or California (with the possible exception of March break week(s)).

It took us almost 3 years to find a place we fell in love with and we now go back there for 3 months each winter (but we still spend 2 months enjoying other campgrounds getting to and from our "destination")

By the way, that destination is Borrego Springs California, about 3 hours north west of Yuma Arizona, a community of about 3,500 people. Only downside is really good shopping is about an hour away in Palm Springs or Brawley but the location is worth the downside.