ROAD TRIPS

Winter fun: 8 best ways to enjoy Arizona's version of 'cold' weather

Here's a season's worth of festivals, explorations and fun.

Roger Naylor

Special for The Republic

Ask any snowbird and they’ll tell you Arizona is a great place to spend the winter. Mild temperatures and abundant sunshine across the low deserts are reasons enough to go exploring. And if you yearn to ski or sled or just want a reason to wear the mittens you got for Christmas, we keep plenty of snow and frosty days in the mountains. Winter fun in Arizona can mean just about anything. Go see for yourself. Here are some great winter escapes to get you started.

Scare yourself silly

Halloween comes early when you ride the Ghost Trolley Tours of Historic Yuma. Hop aboard and roll through Yuma’s downtown. Along the way you’ll be regaled with tales of murder and mayhem from Yuma’s rowdy past. You’ll also make a nighttime visit to the spooky Pioneer Cemetery, which is guaranteed to bring out the goosebumps.

At the end of the tour, Yuma ghost hunter Dennis Quesenberry sets up his detecting equipment in the Sanguinetti House Museum to check for visitors from the other side. Tours last about two hours and cost $30 per person. Make reservations in advance. Tour dates are Jan. 26, Feb. 9, Feb. 23, March 9, March 23, April 6 and April 27.

Details: 928-782-1842, www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/museums/yuma.

Hit the slopes on a Tuesday

Maybe you’re itching to visit Arizona Snowbowl in Flagstaff but aren’t eager to face the crowds. Time to take a vacation day or, if those are in short supply, break out your best fake cough and call in sick. Just come down with your mystery ailment on a Tuesday because that’s when Snowbowl runs a 2-for-1 deal. Buy one full-day full-price lift ticket and get a second one free. This deal is only available online and must be purchased 48 hours in advance. Of course, now that you have a second lift ticket, you’ll need a ski partner. Just decide which of your friends has the best fake cough.

Details:www.arizonasnowbowl.com.

Hound some rocks

Quartzsite keeps the tradition of frontier boomtowns alive — except that its boom/bust cycles are a seasonal loop. For much of the year the ramshackle little outpost exists as a few businesses strung along Interstate 10. Then every winter a horde of snowbirds descends — slowly, with turn signals ablaze.

For three months the surrounding desert resembles a network of RV dealerships and Quartzsite sprouts hundreds of food trucks, kiosks and vendor stalls. This sun-baked corner of the desert becomes one of the world’s largest open-air flea markets. It’s been a rockhound’s paradise for decades with gem shows, arts and crafts festivals and swap meets attracting additional day-trippers to the town.

The QIA Pow Wow, now in its 51st year, is Arizona’s oldest gem and mineral show featuring over 520 vendor spaces. It takes place Jan. 18-22.

Details: Quartzsite is off Interstate 10 about 130 miles west of Phoenix. 928-927-6325, www.qiaarizona.org.

Go underground

Kartchner Caverns lie hidden beneath the rough hills of the Whetstone Mountains near Sierra Vista. A bristling forest of stalactites, stalagmites, columns and crystals fills the soaring rooms. Pencil-thin soda straws dangle from the ceiling, including one of the longest in the world at 21 feet, 3 inches.

Cave tours last about an hour and a half and different formations are featured on each. The Rotunda/Throne Room Tour is offered all year. The Big Room Tour is offered between mid-October and mid-April when the resident bats have left for the winter. Tours cover a half-mile and cost $23, $13 for ages 7-13. Make reservations well in advance because tours usually sell out.

Details: Information, 520-586-4100; reservations, 520-586-2283; azstateparks.com/parks/kaca.

Go underground again

Intriguing museums are scattered across Arizona but none is quite as haunting as the one just south of Tucson where visitors climb into a silo to examine a Titan II missile on its launch pad.

The Titan Missile Museum is the only U.S nuclear-missile silo open to the public. Hourlong guided tours are offered daily, showing off the missile complex, launch center, 3-ton blast doors and a close look at the largest nuke ever made in the United States. A simulated launch is conducted. The missile is unarmed so you don’t have to worry about your rambunctious youngster bumping a button and accidentally starting World War III.

Details: 1580 W. Duval Mine Road, Sahuarita. $6-$8. 520-625-7736, www.titanmissilemuseum.org.

Tap your toes in the sand

If there’s a better winter festival name than Bluegrass on the Beach, it’s hard to imagine what it could be. The event takes place March 3-5 at Lake Havasu State Park, where that high lonesome sound shakes the fronds of palm trees and skips across the water.

This is the ninth season for the festival, which brings a mix of big-name bands and energetic newcomers alike. There are jam sessions (tune up your banjo), workshops, arts and crafts, beer, food and a kid zone. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets. And remember, as enticing as the song makes it seem, roll in your sweet baby’s arms on the beach could result in sand in uncomfortable places.

Tickets cost $10-$25 per day. Three-day tickets are available, as are packages that include camping.

Details: 209-480-4693, www.bluegrassonthebeach.com.

Eat a middle-of-nowhere burger

The Nellie E Saloon, better known as the Desert Bar, is a far-flung outpost outside of Parker. It can only be reached via a 5-mile rough dirt road. The Nellie E occupies the site of an old mining camp, a terraced oasis spread across rocky hills that manages to look historic and post-apocalyptic at the same time.

Everything operates by solar power and the bar is open noon-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays only through April. Bands perform through the day and the burgers are tender slabs of beef charred from the grill and seasoned with a fine spice of remoteness. There are other food options but sitting in the middle of nowhere with a band cranking out road tunes from your youth, that calls for a burger.

Details:www.thedesertbar.com.

Watch the past unfold

On April 15, 1862, the westernmost battle of the Civil War was fought on the rocky slopes of a volcanic spire 50 miles northwest of Tucson. The skirmish involved just two dozen men yet lasted a good part of the afternoon and resulted in a high percentage of casualties — three dead, three wounded, three captured.

The first re-enactment of the Battle of Picacho Pass took place in the mid-1980s and has evolved into an annual event, drawing thousands of spectators and hundreds of Civil War reenactors to Picacho Peak State Park. The roster of battles has expanded as well. The New Mexico battles of Val Verde and Glorieta Pass, considered the most significant Civil War conflict in the Southwest, are now included.

This year the three re-enactments take place March 18-19. Besides the battles, there will be living-history demonstrations and displays. Activities take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Admission is $10 per car of four people, $3 for each additional person. The park is 75 miles south of central Phoenix off Interstate 10.

Details: 520-466-3183, azstateparks.com/Parks/PIPE.

Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com. Or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RogerNaylorinAZ or Twitter @AZRogerNaylor.

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