Winter vanlife recommendations in Arizona / New Mexico

Hi Friends!

I might end up moving into my van full time this winter, and would love to hear your recommendations for places to live and climb from around November --> May? I also like to backcountry ski so it would be cool to have somewhere to go every now and then to do that. 

Additionally I work remotely (for myself so it's flexible) and have two dogs, so somewhere that is conducive to those two requirements as well.

I know there's some skiing near Flagstaff - I've heard of people heading to Prescott for the winter. Any other recommendations you have would be awesome! 

Defiantly check out the White Mountains around Pinetop and Greer. Beautiful in the winter and even has a ski resort called Sunrise. Usually a lot less crowded than Flagstaff. Tons of National Forest to camp at. You can go down onto the "Blue" as they call it and could not see anyone for weeks if you wanted. Some good climbing up a little canyon in Greer. Some of my favorite areas are around the Big Lake area. Little town of Eagar and Springerville is only 20-30 mins away for grocery runs or whatnot. 

Amazing, thank you Cami! 

I've been in a van south of Tucson in recent winters. The dragoons is a very popular climbing area with camping. A lot of the Coronado nf is easy camping.

Hey I live in pinetop, if anyone local wants to climb I’m definitely down. Not enough climbers here

I would recommend Tucson. You would have easy access to Mt Lemmon, Farmhouse, Dry Canyon, and if you drive about an hour you could go to Cochise Stronghold, which is near the town of Benson.

Cool definitely want to check out Cochise, heard it’s got some real hard climbs!

I’ve lived in a van in Flagstaff through the winter, and the snow can be brutal but it’s so easy to go down the hill to Sedona to escape the cold! Not to mention, Sedona has incredible climbing if you like trad sandstone multi-pitches and long, hard approaches. There are also several amazing basalt crags in the area, and it’s only a few hours from Cochise which I believe some others have mentioned.. easy access to forest road camping as well. Flag is just the BEST

Yeah that’s what I’ve heard, I actually just moved to flag

How much do you actually care about skiing?  There's nowhere in Arizona that comes close to the skiing in northern NM, especially when you consider how much easier it is to access the San Juans, as well. In terms of climbing, almost all areas in Taos, White Rock, and farther south have southern exposed routes that are pleasant on most winter days.

Lots of free dispersed camping south of the village of oak creek in Sedona! A good spot to post up with the vicinity to town.