Ramada Inn Chilton Conference Center

RE: RE: Yuma, Arizona

by WhispersWest

If you are planning to visit the Grand Canyon, only the south rim will be open at that time of the year. It should be a bit less crowded at that time of year, as well.

If you can swing it, the Verde Canyon Railway tour, http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/index2.html, is awesome. It also puts you in close to Sedona, which I would think you would be more intrigued by than Yuma.

There are no railway tours in the Tucson area.

If you want wildlife, head for the Sonora Desert Museum, http://www.desertmuseum.org/.
You can also stop by the Saguaro National Park, http://www.saguaro.national-park.com/, either the West Visitor Center out there or the Saguaro East visitor center on Tucson's East side. I would not recommend Old Tucson Studios. It just isn't the same as it was before they rebuilt.

Nogales & Tombstone are both day trips which can be made from Tucson.

There is also Cochise Stronghold,http://www.cochisestronghold.com/, which is delightful for hiking at that time of the year, just an hour east of Tucson.

South of Tucson on the road to Sasabe is the Buenos Aires Wild Life Refuge, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/buenosaires/index.html.

In Tucson, on the North side, is Catalina State Park,http://www.pr.state.az.us/parks/parkhtml/catalina.html and of course, there is Mount Lemmon. I would normally recommend Sabino Canyon but the flood waters have done a lot of damage and it may not be reopened by then.

On Tucson's east end, besides Saguaro National Park East, there is Colossal Cave Mountain Park, http://www.colossalcave.com/, which is my personal favorite.

If you could reroute your trip to make Wickenburg one of your last stops, they host a fantastic Gathering Of Western Music & Cowboy Poetry Folk the first weekend in December. You will have just missed the Tombstone Music Festival and the Arizona Cowboy Symposium in Sonoita.

If you have any other questions, I would be happy to help. I am a Tucson native. I have spent a good deal of time learning Arizona's special places.

Catch Y'all On Down The Trail,

Bit Devine
Cowboy Craic