Camping - Arizona in Winter?

Just wondering what kind of temps I could expect over the Christmas period for camping?

Say highs and lows for day and night temps? And what about camping in the high areas, would that be cold?

Many thanks

where are you looking at camping? we've got everything from like 800' to 12,000'. during winter, without a heater, you're gonna want to stay as low as possible. i've camped at around 9,000' in december, but had a 55 gal. wood burning stove in the tent. a very large squad sized tent. blizzard hit and ruined a bunch of hunters hunts, but we had plenty of food and fuel to last almost a month.
you'll probably still want some kind of heater even down low, as it gets frosty sometimes.

Cold temps and about 10' of snow, or was it nice temps for riding and cold at night, no snow until you start climbing. Then another storm comes in and strands your bike and everyone riding with you for a week. Then you have get a bad ass wheel drive vehicle and pull a sled behind to pack out the bikes. This sounds very familiar. :eek1

You might want to consider moving on a little farther west. NV or CA exactly where depends on your equipment(how prepared are you going to be for cold weather)

what about Chirichua the park. Is that 50's F at night, 40's? And what is the riding like in that area?

What about Organ Pipe?

thanks

Chirachaua Park won't be as cold as the higher elevations, but can dip down to 30's & 40's at night. As for Organ Pipe, while warmer, I would not camp there because it is not only on the Mexican Border, but in the path of drug smugglers & illegals crossing the border.

To be honest with you, you may very well see low temps in the low-to-mid 40's all the way out to the pacific coast of SoCal in December. Late December and through March are generally pretty unpredictable. While we don't generally see low temps above 55 in southern California, daytime temps can be all over the scale. With the exception of last December, we've even gotten quite a bit of rain in December the last few years. Just a heads-up.

The Chiricahua's will probably down in the 20's at night and 50-60 during the day. Organ Pipe will probably be low 40's at night and 60s during the day. Its all about the elevation that time of year. For reference, Phoenix is 1200' and nice in the winter, while Flagstaff is 7000' and cold as hell.

for the info.

I think I'll try for a quick trip to Mexico at Christmas if I have time. I'd prefer warmer temps if I can get them.

Leaving Tuesday for Tucson and I'll leave the bike there until I pick it up at Christmas. Looking forward to Arizona.

Good times!

That is some funny shit now that it is all over. We were on Bloody Basin that day and looking to the west where you guys were we knew that the storm was going to dump up there. We were trying to get to the trucks before we got dumped on.

I was working on an archeological dig at Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate in late December and early January this last winter break. We camped in Fairbank, about 10 west of Tombstone. Nights were in the 20s and got as low as the high teens but it was in the high 60s low 70s during the day. I used a hammock with a sleeping bag, eggcrate pad, and emergency blanket while dressed in layers and slept just fine.

We've camped at Organ Pipe with no problems; this was a few years ago (2007), maybe it's worse now?

Yeah it is definitely worse now. I was down there about a year ago and there was all kinds of debris attributed to desperate border crossings. That and have read in the news over the last few months of encounters in the area with illegals. A shame to as it is a nice park and would love to camp there.

PM me if you need ANYTHING while in Tucson. I can also help with an accurate current border situation and ride suggestions. Weather will be very dependent on what system is moving through at the time. I would have a warm plan and a cold plan, then make a decision just prior to arrival.

Don't forget for Mexico you'll need a passport or passport card to return.

John


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Even Phoenix can have near freezing temps at night in December. Temps swing 30 degrees or more a day so if the daytime high is near 65 plan for 35 at night. On the other hand it can be near 90 degrees on Christmas.