Where in Arizona

[Alabama_Jim]

Thinking about a 2016 spring or early summer trip to Arizona. Would love to hear from those familar with the area. What attractions are a must see (espeically nature and history), and what full hookup campgrounds are reccomended. Seeing wildlife is always a plus. Any ideas would be appreciated. We would like to find a central location to set-up and then explore up to 150 miles around.

[rekoj71]

Arizona is Huge so are we talking 150 mile radius or diameter. That said it has lots of options. If you go in mid spring you could do anything in the whole state. The North, as in near Flagstaff will still be pretty cool for most of the day, and South will be comfortable. If you wait until summer you may want to consider the North as the daytime temps won't be pushing 100 like in the South.
If you base camped near Flagstaff you could see the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Several Indian ruins are also in the area and hiking is everywhere.
If you base camped near Tucson, the best stuff was just mentioned above but with a 150 mile radius you could even get to Tombstone and Bisbee.
I lived in Mesa (suburb of Phoenix) and other than going to the many lakes the central area has for water preserves I wouldn't recommend it for a camping destination as much as I would recommend Flagstaff or Tucson, but I would probably recommend either one but based on the weather. Flagstaff in the summer or Tucson in the spring.

[2gypsies1]

Arizona is wonderful! However, I would not recommend making a base camp to tour in all directions of 150 miles. Instead, move from area to area and you'll enjoy it more. That's entirely too much driving time and fuel to travel that far daily. You wouldn't have any time to sitesee. Moving is not a big deal.

Secondly, elevations at 5,000' and lower starts getting hot in April. The higher elevation areas - above 5,000' - to zero in on from April on would be Flagstaff area and Payson, Show Low, Pinetop, Greer areas. Even Grand Canyon is hot from May on... The hot areas are certainly doable but not much fun. Plus, it's harder to keep the RV cool.

Arizona is all about elevation so choose your places based on it.

[dbbls]

Lots to see and do in Tucson, Pima Air museum, Titian missile silo, open pit copper mine, Sabino canyon, the Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park, Biosphere, in Coolidge the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, and Kartchner Cavern and Tombstone are not far.

[DougE]

All the state and national parks - too many to list. Tombstone, Bisbee, mining towns, etc.

[2oldman]

The Great, I mean Grand Canyon comes to mind.