Heading South (CA,AZ) 1st time Dec-Mar; planning tips pls?

[Dave&Julia]

Greetings, all, from brand new Escapee members!  We recently found our 1st motorhome, and after a couple of shakedown trips, are preparing to head south.  We want to leave our route and itinerary somewhat flexible to take in sites we learn about on the way, but are wondering if we should make reservations for the peak winter period?  At this time we're thinking of meandering (from Oregon) south through CA during Dec, then on to explore southern AZ Jan-Mar.  

We plan to try assorted camping styles, from RV resorts to campgrounds to boondocking.  We are especially on the lookout for places to stay that provide access to areas suitable for walking/hiking with dogs, given that we will be starting out without a toad.   We'll check out the Boondocking forum separately, and have been researching places using RV Trip Wizard/RVReviews, but any tips on planning or favorite RV parks would be most welcome!    If we want to stay in an RV park Jan-Mar in southern AZ, should we reserve now?

Thanks in advance! 

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are happy that you have joined us. 

There is currently a thread running about the need for reservations as you travel and you may want to look it over.  

8 minutes ago, Dave&Julia said:

If we want to stay in an RV park Jan-Mar in southern AZ, should we reserve now?

If you wish to sit still and not move for the time and to have a choice of park, I would definitely make your reservations now. The more popular parks do fill their monthly spaces and sometimes quite early. If you want to just roam about and not sit for longer than a week, then you probably can do OK without them. 

[dennisvr]

We enjoy Lake Havasu AZ.  There's always something going on.  January is the balloon festival, February is 4 days of fireworks.  Every Thursday they line up classic cars on Main street for blocks.  If you are into off road racing, the first of February is the Parker 425 race in Parker AZ about 30 miles south of Lake Havasu and a lot of Boondocking down there.
We boondock at a BLM site about 5 miles north of Lake Havasu  (Lone Tree).   There are other BLM sites north and south of town, but this one we like the best.  Have fun.  I hope to be down there the first of January.

[colddog15]

We are generally a fly by the seat of your pants types of RVers.   We tend to plan our next day path today at the place we are camped.   Either that night or sometime around 12ish/lunch time we start to think about were we'll be stopping.   Over the years its got a little more tricky but it still works for us.   

The path you take from OR to AZ can be very interesting in of itself.    Oregon as you may be aware in the winter can be full of surprises from rain to snow to ice.   Our 'standard' route from to Portland to the Arizona area is I-5 to  the Timber Valley SKP  in  Sutherlin Or. then to the Olive Pit  in Corning CA.  then to Walmat in Bakersfield, Ca.   Here is were we generally hit warmer weather.   At this point there is two or three different paths to AZ.   There can be snow in one or the other pass - Tejon Pass (I-5) or Tehachapi pass (CA - 58).   

If there is ice or snow on I-5 in Oregon you can head to the coast and take 1 to 101 down to San Fransisco.   Between you and me we just wait out the snow/ice.   All the other routes ie I-84 can take you deep into snow in Utah.  

 

Highway 395 is a great alternative to I-5 but it will be covered in snow and ice and very very cold.

[Barbaraok]

Jan through March is the height of snowbird season in Arizona.  We spent the first few years trying out different sections of Arizona, usually 1-2 weeks in each spot, before settling on Mesa, Arizona.  I would advise getting some reservations lined up now.   December isn’t bad, but the other months can be difficult.   

Don’t forget that January is Big Tent Show in Quartzite and the BLM areas are great for boondocking.  Plus everyone needs to do “Q” at least once!

Our route down (when not stopping in Wine Country) would be Timber Valley (Sutherlin, Or) to Red Bluff the first day, the down to Patterson, CA the next (Kit Fox Park, Passport America), then on to Bakersfield (usually the PPA park), then over the Tehachapi on US 58,  then on to Palm Springs (Thousands Trails), then on to Arizona.

OR, after you go over the pass you could go on I-40 heading east to Needles and the .Lake Havasu/Kingman area to start your exploration of Arizona.  

[Dave&Julia]

Wow, 4 great responses in just 2 hours!  Thank you all for your great input!  I feel welcome already!  >:}

[dirtyboots]

I've had a little different experience while in AZ.  2 years ago in November I didn't call an RV park in AZ (Wickenburg) until I was 2-3 days out...just to see if they had space for a while.  Really, I didn't have any idea how this all works, was totally new to RVing.  I was able to get 3 months at that park, they were full for February which is normal for Wickenburg as that's their BIG month.  Mid January I called another park and only had to move 13 miles to the Escapees park in Congress for  February and part of March.  Mid-March I meandered down Hwy. 60 and had no trouble finding a spot for a week.  Then headed back north and again, never had trouble finding a place.  This winter I hope to get set-up for boondocking  not so much for winter but for my spring/summer/fall travels.

As far as not being able to get into a park, I did have that happen this fall up near Reno...big storm was going to hit and after calling 3 parks that were all full, decided to stay where I was for a few days (they had room).  Seems people were not moving, waiting for weather to stabilize. 

Enjoy the adventure!