New guy and a question about when to travel to the SW this Spring

[Patrick Piper]

Hello All:  New to Van dwelling/sleeping.  We have a Dodge Grand Caravan and I am currently outfitting it to sleep the two of us for some trial outings/sleeping overnight before making the trip.  We plan to travel from Wisconsin to a few Arizona areas this Spring.  From Yuma to the Grand Canyon.  Our departure and time of arrival to enjoy the sights can be anytime from near the end of March through mid-May.   Realistically, we plan to overnight in the van part of the time and motel-it the other times.  So we are just dipping our toes in for now.  I know weather can change along with the temps.  My question is this:  what 2 or 3 week time slot should we shoot for to visit this area with our trip plans in mind.  

Thanks,  

Pat

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Pat to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. highdesertranger

 

[Wabbit]

Hi Patrick Piper and welcome. Yuma in May is getting hot. I would go late March. Best of luck!

 

[owl]

I live in Az in the winter and travel the west in the summer. Az has a wide range of weather, it can be in the 90's in the south and snowing at the GC the same day. I would suggest visiting the southern part of the state in late April and moving north as the temps dictate. You can get long term temp forecasts online, as I'm sure you know, for the areas you want to visit. Hope this was helpful.

 

[maki2]

The Website for the National Park at the Grand Canyon would be a good place to begin. They should have data on the temperatures and the best times to visit. Plus such places often have closure and opening dates if it is in an area that is impacted by things such as freezing temperatures and snow. So begin there.

 

[MrNoodly]

Nomads start pulling out of the Yuma area in spring because of the heat. Though it has been cooler than usual this winter, the forecast is for high 70s and low 80s by the end of next week. There are still blizzard alerts in northern Arizona.

Flagstaff and the south rim of Grand Canyon are about 7,000 feet. It takes a while for the snow to melt, and when it does, it gets really muddy, making boondocking difficult and messy. It's dry for a while, then the summer monsoons come and turn everything to mud again.

 

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

What part of Wisconsin?  We're hoping to travel next fall to Green Bay area and also theck out the lakes and mountains (our adventure starts about this June but that's going to be SW and California south both coast and inland before the winter AZ)

Think about a KOA membership.  You can get a cabin instead of a motel and your stuff is right outside with less worry about it than some of those city motel parking lots.  That's what we did when we moved and needed a break from camping in the van.

And welcome.

 

[Patrick Piper]

Neenah/Menasha/Oshkosh Area. 45 minutes from Green Bay. KOA membership might be a good idea. Thanks,

Pat

 

[GypsyJan]

I think the KOA cabins have bare bunks and you have to provide the sleeping pad and bedding and you use the communal bathhouse with the other campers. Also, I am not sure if all the cabins are climate-controlled.Check out their website for details. For a few dollars more, a motel room offers more amenities. Ask for a ground floor room so you can park in front of it.

 

[Patrick Piper]

Thanks to all that replied.