6 Best Ways to Spend Winter in the Southwest

Discover how the Southwest does the holidays. You’ll find an accommodating RV park ready to help you make your winter dreams come true.

Southern Arizona

Hike and Bike in Mesa

Located east of Phoenix, Mesa has more than 300 days of sunshine a year and scenic grandeur from every vantage point. It’s no wonder that recreational opportunities abound in these parts. Mesa connects with hundreds of miles of superb hiking, biking and horseback riding trails ranging in length and level of difficulty. Usery Mountain Regional Park is woven with over 29 miles of trails, including the 1.6-mile Wind Cave Trail that delivers breathtaking mountain views without the need for challenging elevation spikes. The more strenuous 7.1-mile Pass Mountain Trail satisfies hikers looking to feel the burn and escape the (relative) crowds. The small nature center at the park’s entrance has a clutch of exhibits devoted to flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert.

Yuma’s Ocean to Ocean Bridge. Getty Images

Go Fish Around Yuma

Yuma’s proximity to the Colorado River and several lakes makes it a great destination for boaters and water-loving adventurers. On the Arizona side of Imperial Dam, Martinez Lake gives visitors a chance to go kayaking, canoeing or fishing by boat. On a hot day, you can relax and enjoy a lazy ride down the Colorado River on an inner tube for as little as an hour, or as long as three hours, depending on where you launch. Largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass make their homes in many of the hidden lakes and water channels created when the dam was constructed. Drop a line in Squaw Lake or Ferguson Lake, or in the Colorado River channel.  Board a paddleboat sternwheeler for a chance to see the landscape slide by as you travel down the river.

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Southern California

Golf in Palm Springs

Located about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, Palm Springs has grown to become one of Southern California’s favorite desert playgrounds. five-star restaurants, upscale shopping and hiking are favorite pastimes, but few local diversions match the area’s golf offerings. Enjoy a cool desert morning at one of Palm Springs’ verdant golf courses, where seasonal rates and public accessibility invite players to tee off amid desert splendor year-round. Choose from 18 or 27 holes on courses designed by masters like John Fought and Gary Player.

Kayaking in the caves around Pismo Beach. SLO-CAL

Paddle a Kayak in Pismo

The coastal cliffs on the Pacific Ocean near San Luis Obispo County’s Pismo beach are riddled with caves and rock arches. And kayaks, with their maneuverability and nimble size, are perfect for subterranean exploration on the water. Join a tour to explore grottoes, kelp forests and arches and protected coves. Dinosaur Caves will dazzle you with soaring rock formations and currents surging between rock walls.

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Nevada

Put Pedal to the Metal in Pahrump

Ready to release your inner Speed Racer? About 60 miles west of Las Vegas, the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump allows would-be racers to put high-powered sports cars through their paces. The track is home to the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School, where motorists of all experience levels can get behind the wheel of a Corvette and learn about advanced cornering techniques, open-lapping and progressive car control exercises. Navigate banked curves and tight corners like a racing pro.

Chris Moran/TravelNevada

See the Strip in Vegas

Las Vegas has a vibe all its own. Take a daytime stroll down the main touristy thoroughfare known as The Strip and you’re likely to see all sorts of people, from partying college kids carrying to-go cups full of fruity, boozy concoctions to families taking in the sights. There are always plenty of costumed street performers, too, which makes it feel a bit like a grown-up Disneyland at times. When night falls, things tend to get a bit rowdier, but despite its seedy reputation, Vegas is a relatively safe place, with heavy surveillance and a lot of security, owing largely to the myriad casinos here.

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