January Camping

[mrwall1]

Ok, it is getting cold up here in Washington! I am getting road fever, how far would I need to go south around the middle of January to find warm sunshine? maybe take the Kayaks.... Anyone have a favorite place or know of a good place to camp for a week down south?

[mkitchen]

WOW, that is a big order. Are you looking for spots that are warm and dry? Something to keep in mind is that winter nights are much longer, especially as far north as you are. That can make for some long times at the campfire. It helps to be able to play cards or a game or something. We tend to do a lot of Scrabble in or out of the TD in the winter.
Cold winter camping can be fun too if you are prepared for the cold. We used to camp in the snow and travel on XC skis when we were younger but not too sure if we would still enjoy the hardships now. Many folks do make the trek down to the southwest for a respite and if time allows, that would be a nice break. Anza Borrego, Joshua Tree and Death Valley all great winter spots. Further north, I just don't know.
We do wish you luck on your quest and would love to hear what solutions you come up with.
Mikey

[Redneck Teepee]

Death Valley is perfect winter camping, no direct route to get there as it is in the middle of nowhere with not much out there, Scotty's Castle is the biggest draw, campgrounds/spots are limited because of it's winter popularity, and you most certainly do not want to be there in the summer.

[mrwall1]

WOW, that is a big order. Are you looking for spots that are warm and dry? Something to keep in mind is that winter nights are much longer, especially as far north as you are. That can make for some long times at the campfire. It helps to be able to play cards or a game or something. We tend to do a lot of Scrabble in or out of the TD in the winter.
Cold winter camping can be fun too if you are prepared for the cold. We used to camp in the snow and travel on XC skis when we were younger but not too sure if we would still enjoy the hardships now. Many folks do make the trek down to the southwest for a respite and if time allows, that would be a nice break. Anza Borrego, Joshua Tree and Death Valley all great winter spots. Further north, I just don't know.
We do wish you luck on your quest and would love to hear what solutions you come up with.
Mikey

Yes I meant down south! not up here... thanks... I will look up those places, we have never camped in California or Arizona, so not sure what is available. or if it would be warm enough to camp in...

[mrwall1]

Death Valley is perfect winter camping, no direct route to get there as it is in the middle of nowhere with not much out there, Scotty's Castle is the biggest draw, campgrounds/spots are limited because of it's winter popularity, and you most certainly do not want to be there in the summer.

I have heard of Scotty's Castle I will look into that, the farthest south we have been in the Winter is Reno... and it got pretty cold there at night!

[steveonzakon]

The DW and I just got back from Thanksgiving at Valley of Fire just north of Las Vegas. The first night dropped to 27 deg, the rest of the trip was lows in the mid to upper 30's.
Daytime was great! Sunny and upper 60's.

Joshua Tree and other So Cal deserts tend to be in the same temp range.

If you want to do Kayaking, there is a lot of coastal camping in the San Diego area (Mission Bay comes to mind) and the winter temps are only a few degrees cooler than Summer temps.
Just North of San Diego, you have San Anofre' (sp) on the beach, San Mateo less than 30 minutes from the beach, and several other CG in that general vicinity.

[bc toys]

I was at lake mead in Nv for thanksgiving I set out with long sleeve shirt and camp fire at night 60's day time highs going to Az this weekend 70's for high 50's for low at nights Lower Cali is nice this time of year

[Vedette]

Interested in following this thread.......as we hope to do a South West TD "Snowbird" thing next winter, and are looking for ideas?????
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[markhusbands]

I love the Sonoran Desert around Tucson.

[bobhenry]

We just embrace the glory of winter and enjoy the snow!









Hell it's almost time to plan another one

[noseoil]

Tucson is finally getting to be nice now, but we don't have much water around for a kayak. Take a look at Patagonia State Park, south of Tucson, near Nogales. Also Parker Canyon has a lake as well. Plenty of nice areas without any water or lakes here for camping, but boats here not too common in our area.

Pretty cool this morning, 58f & cloudy at 5:00 AM, brrrrrrrr!

[cherokeegeorge]

Camping in malibu for new years, 2 weeks later camping in the mojave desert for 4 days . The up side of living in so cal. Year round camping. Don't mean to glote, well, maybe a little.

[Wolffarmer]

Death Valley is great this time of year. I have often camped at Texas Springs near the headquarters in January. But I have seen some mighty strong winds there. One of them was the last time I tent camped. Drove home and started my TD. Next year when the wind came up I just pointed the tongue into the wind and went to bed.

[mkitchen]

Death Valley is great this time of year. I have often camped at Texas Springs near the headquarters in January. But I have seen some mighty strong winds there. One of them was the last time I tent camped. Drove home and started my TD. Next year when the wind came up I just pointed the tongue into the wind and went to bed.

We will be spending the week of Christmas in Death Valley. Can't wait!
Mikey

[Wolffarmer]

Death Valley is great this time of year. I have often camped at Texas Springs near the headquarters in January. But I have seen some mighty strong winds there. One of them was the last time I tent camped. Drove home and started my TD. Next year when the wind came up I just pointed the tongue into the wind and went to bed.

We will be spending the week of Christmas in Death Valley. Can't wait!
Mikey

Lucky Duck.

Your first time there?