Attractions in Southern Arizona During Fall and Winter

Tombstone, of course, is the best known historic town in southeast Arizona, thanks to the famous Oct. 26, 1881 shootout at the OK Corral between Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, and their friend, Doc Holliday, and members of the Clanton McLaury gang. 

In its heyday, Tombstone was a silver mining town. Its legacy includes several historic buildings, among them its Victorian-style courthouse, now a museum, which was built in 1882, and the notorious Bird Cage Theater, built in 1881, which served as a dance hall, gambling parlor and house of prostitution.

RVers who venture 23 miles down the winding State Route 80 to the historic copper mining town of Bisbee will find even more historic architecture, including the beautiful Copper Queen Hotel, which dates back to 1902; the Copper Queen Hospital, built in 1880; the Phelps Dodge mining company headquarters, built in 1886, and the Bisbee Central School, built in the Italian Renaissance style in 1905 and 1906. Most of Bisbee’s historic downtown area was built before the end of the 1930s.

Campgrounds in the greater Tombstone area that can be used as base camps for exploring Tombstone and Bisbee include:

— Butterfield RV Resort & Observatory in Benson.

— Tombstone RV Park & Campground in Tombstone.

Other historic sites in southeast Arizona include

the Cochise Stronghold, a remote location in the Dragoon Mountains where the famed Chiricahua Apache Chief Cochise and about 1,000 of his followers fought against U.S. forces for many years during the late 1800s. A master strategist, Cochise was never defeated in battle. He died peacefully on the Chiricahua reservation in 1874 and was buried in a secret location.

         Many RVers who visit the Cochise Stronghold also enjoy the hiking trails in Chiricahua National Monument, about 45 miles to the East. Other nearby sites of interest include the Fort Bowie National Historic Site, which protects remnants of the U.S. Army outpost that served as a staging point for American forces in the late 1800s as they searched for the famed Apache chief, Geronimo. Geronimo was eventually captured, and his tribe was exiled to Florida.

         Campgrounds that can be used as base camps for exploring Cochise Stronghold, Chiricahua National Monument, and Fort Bowie include the Willcox / Cochise KOA in Willcox.

         The city of Willcox, for its part, has an annual event Jan. 13-15, 2023 called “Wings over Willcox,” which features numerous seminars, educational displays and tours for birding enthusiasts and nature photographers. The annual event highlights the sandhill cranes, hawks, owls, eagles and roughly 500 other species of birds that make their temporary or permanent home in Willcox area. The greater Willcox area is the winter home for roughly 20,000 sandhill cranes, which grow to about four feet in length and have a wingspan of seven feet. The largest numbers of sandhill cranes can be seen about an hour’s drive south of Willcox at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area.

Festivals Celebrate Arizona’s Hispanic and Native American Heritage

Significant cultural events taking place this fall include the annual All Souls Procession in Tucson, which takes place Nov. 6 in celebration of the Mexican Día de los Muertos. The procession, which honors the memory of family members and friends who have died, starts at sunset at 6th Avenue and 6th Street and includes parade-style floats as well as people walking who are dressed in a variety of costumes.

On the first weekend of December, Tumacácori Historical Park will host a two-day festival called the Fiesta de Tumacácori, which features Mexican folkloric dancers from southern Arizona and northern Mexico as well as native dances of the O’odham people, who inhabit the Santa Cruz Valley. Ethnic foods as well as arts and crafts will also be available for sale at the event, which was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival is held next to the historic Spanish Mission of San José de Tumacácori at Tumacácori Historical Park, which is about 45 miles south of Tucson.

Nearby campgrounds include:

— Rincon Country West RV Resort in Tucson.

— Tucson / Lazy Days KOA Resort in Tucson.

— Voyager RV Resort in Tucson.

The greater Tucson area, of course, also has its share of historical sites and museums, including the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley. The museum is the only site in the country that preserves a formerly operational Titan II missile site for public viewing. Other sites of interest in the greater Tucson area include the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park, which protects the iconic cacti that are native to the Sonora Desert in northern Mexico and southern Arizona.

Few scenes are more emblematic of southern Arizona and of the Southwest than its saguaro cactus, especially at sunrise or sunset or when the sun’s golden rays illuminate them against the clouds. It’s the kind of scenic beauty, in fact, that keeps RVers coming back to southern Arizona year after year.

One thing’s for sure about southern Arizona, there are so many fun things to do, see, and experience. Regardless of the time of year, you will fall in love with this unique part of the country.