seeking temps in 60's & 70's anywhere in arizona (Phoenix: how much, hotel)

[TentDog]

I realize the places that may come to others minds will vary by season, perhaps even by month. Then there's the diurnal variation between day and night, which tends to be wide in desert regions.

If weather in the 60-79 degree range was your sole criteria for selection, where (in Arizona) and when (season, month(s), and day/night) comes to mind?

I'm hoping to put the answers together into an itinerary that allows me to see as much of the state as possible (over a year) while avoiding, as much as possible, temperatures above 80 and below 60.

[Finger Laker]

Above 80 is going to happen in most of the summer throughout the state ... Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon rims may be the best bet, but it's not uncommon for the temps to be in the 80s at the peak of the day in the summer ..... to get just under 80 you'd be at late spring/early fall

This time of year and early spring is good for places like prescott/jerome and some of the mid level elevations

The winter months (say november-february) will be good for places like phoenix, tucson, havasu, yuma, etc

As you can see for Tucson the average high is between 64-74 from Nov-Feb
Average Weather for Tucson, AZ - Temperature and Precipitation

Here are the average for the Grand Canyon - again, you can see your ranges fall on either of the summer peaks
Monthly Weather Averages and Records for Grand Canyon, AZ

You can plug in different cities to get the results - there are a few different regions in the state that will all be fairly similar

[TentDog]

Thanks for your reply, Finger Laker. It seems that elevation is a big key to finding what I'm after. Let me add a bit more context to my original post in case it proves helpful...

I'm posting from my cell phone. It's the only device at my disposal for getting online right now. This severely limits my online research resourcefulness due to the 1-finger style typing mode, the screen size, and the graphs, etc., that will display in a timely or proper fashion.

The other factor significantly bearing on all this is that I'm currently car-bound and on a relatively modest income. That means that the majority of my nights will be spent in a tent & sleeping bag, or even the car itself; few, if any, hotel stays to offset frigid night Temp's and brutal daytime heat.

Finally, iI'm travelling with a much-loved pet (@25 lb. dog), which limits how much time I can avail myself of more convenient online access options, e.g., 'net-shrfing from a library; can't be leaving a pet in a car, etc.

Hope this additional information helps clarify my original post. Thanks again!

[fennec2009]

Eastern Arizona (Springerville/Greer/Alpine) between June and August never gets much above 80 during the day. It can get pretty cold at night though, as you've recognized the temperature differential between day and night is large pretty much anywhere in AZ. Flagstaff and the North Rim are also good choices during the summer.

April/May and September/October would be a good time for Payson/Pine or Prescott.

Yuma from November to about Feb/March

[locolobo13]

Are you looking for a place where the lows are not less than 60 and the highs not higher than 80? I don't think there is any such place. At least in AZ. Currently the lows in Phx are in the 50-65 range depending on specific locations, and the highs in the mid 80s.

Eastern AZ will have highs in the 60-70s, but the lows are near freezing currently. I'm not sure what you are looking for but in AZ you can choose your poison, very chilly or very warm.

Are you car bound and looking for employment? Or are you on vacation? If you're looking for employment I would suggest Phoenix or Tucson as they have the most job openings. If you're on vacation, then I would ask how cold can you take it? This is a great time to go camping in the desert. Although the mornings will be chilly out of the cities.

[TentDog]

Originally Posted by fennec2009

Eastern Arizona (Springerville/Greer/Alpine) between June and August never gets much above 80 during the day. It can get pretty cold at night though, as you've recognized the temperature differential between day and night is large pretty much anywhere in AZ. Flagstaff and the North Rim are also good choices during the summer.

April/May and September/October would be a good time for Payson/Pine or Prescott.

Yuma from November to about Feb/March

Thanks for mentioning those areas, fennec!

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Are you looking for a place where the lows are not less than 60 and the highs not higher than 80? I don't think there is any such place. At least in AZ.

I'm pretty sure you're correct about that, locolobo. I'm not looking for places that are like that day and night, rather day OR night. So, for example, I might choose a place in that temperature range and camp overnight, then wake up the next morning and head for a place with the preferred daytime temps. At the end of the day, I return to a place with those nighttime temps and camp out. Next day, more of the same. I may repeatedly visit some places over multiple days if I really enjoy being there, then move on when I've had my fill. Does that help to make sense of what I'm thinking?

Originally Posted by locolobo13

Currently the lows in Phx are in the 50-65 range depending on specific locations, and the highs in the mid 80s.

Eastern AZ will have highs in the 60-70s, but the lows are near freezing currently. I'm not sure what you are looking for but in AZ you can choose your poison, very chilly or very warm.

Are you car bound and looking for employment? Or are you on vacation? If you're looking for employment I would suggest Phoenix or Tucson as they have the most job openings. If you're on vacation, then I would ask how cold can you take it? This is a great time to go camping in the desert. Although the mornings will be chilly out of the cities.

I will be doing this from a car (looking to get a van but haven't bought one just yet). As for my personal temp limits, I could dip into the 50's at night if it makes a big difference in the number of places I might visit. Similarly, I could deal with low-mid 80's if there was some cloud cover and/or shade. Thanks for your questions and the places you named. I hope my answers were helpful.

[Finger Laker]

Given your circumstances I would definitely skew towards higher highs and warmer lows

We get pretty good swings between the two out here - I remember the first time I went camping out near Sedona and it was in the mid-80s during the day - dropped to the low 40s at night and definitely wasn't prepared for it to be that cold (this was in the early spring)

For most places in the state if you want lows in the 50s you are looking at daytime highs in the 80s - the nice thing is that it's a dry climate, so while you may get a lot of sun you aren't going to have that humid sticky feeling and if you find shade it makes a world of difference

It may be difficult to be in one temperature zone - travel to another for the day and then back to the start to sleep ..... many places are clustered and it's at least 90 minutes (often more) to go from on to the other

In broad terms you'd have the following warmer low laying regions:

Phoenix metro
miami/globe
Tucson metro
yuma
Lake Havasu/Kingman/Bullhead City

The following tend to be warm, but noticeably different than places like phoenix:
Benson/Sierra Vista/Douglas/Bisbee/Tombstone/Patagonia/Sonoita

You start to get cooler with:
Payson and the Rim Country
Prescott/Jerome/Sedona and bleed that to Flagstaff/Williams

The following will generally be on the cooler side, snow isn't uncommon,etc:
Starting with Flagstaff going into the Grand Canyon and all of Northern AZ
White Mountains

Around Tucson there are "sky islands" where you can fairly quickly gain elevation and lose temperature - not sure how reasonable it would be to stay there though - it sounds like you want the warmest temp to sleep and the coolest temp to explore ..... so you would want to sleep low and explore high

[GSXRScott]

I'm guessing you're interested in current tempertures? Mountain communities are still in the 70's and 80's during the day but can dip into the low 40's at night. Down in the desert it's still hot, mid 90's in the day, upper 60's at night.

Prescott is about as perfect as it gets right now, 80's in the day/upper 60's at night. It has lots of camping in the surrounding Bradshaw Mountains.

[TentDog]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

Given your circumstances I would definitely skew towards higher highs and warmer lows

We get pretty good swings between the two out here

<< snipped excellent temp zone list >>

it sounds like you want the warmest temp to sleep and the coolest temp to explore ..... so you would want to sleep low and explore high

Thank you, Finger Laker, for that very helpful summary & the several lists of zones and sample place names! I'm not sure whether my original intention is doable after considering the helpful answers in this thread but I have a good base of knowledge now to begin a working draft. Thank you to everyone who replied!

[fennec2009]

I think it is easier to deal with colder temps while sleeping than it is to deal with heat during the day. Layering and curling up in a blanket and sleeping bag is much more enjoyable than sweating in the sun, so the huge swings in temperatures don't bother me when I'm camping. I just wear 2 layers of tops and bottoms plus a fleece jacket or heavy sweatshirt. Plus, if you trade a higher daytime temp for a warmer night, you will wake up at like 6 am and the tent will already be unbearably hot. The one thing I hate most when camping >