Best Winter Hikes

[BubbaJuice]

Looking for some recommendations on what are the favorite hikes to do during winter. I'm looking for something that's in Arizona although I'm open to honorable mentions if I'm ever in their area if they are out-of-state. Thanks in advance.

[big_load]

For me, anything in AZ without too much snow or deep water crossings is fun in December. Colder areas are good because there's more solitude. A lot of the ruins hikes in SE Utah along Butler Wash and Comb Ridge are good in December, too. It's a good time to see the Procession Panel, for example.

[chumley]

@BubbaJuice Do you mean summerlike hikes that happen to be in cooler seasons? Because there are plenty of winter hikes that are great, only they might involve traveling and/or sleeping in snow.

[BubbaJuice]

@chumley
Yes I did mean summerlike hikes, sorry for the confusion. Although, I would still be open to recommendations that do involve sleeping in the snow.

[SpiderLegs]

Winter is a good time to do the lower elevation desert peaks. Especially if you have to bushwhack off trail and don't want to worry about bumping into snakes. Ton of them around the Tucson area.

[chumley]

I do like the active feedback you get in a forum like this, but if you haven't ever used the powerful TrailDEX tool here on haz, it is really great at filtering down some options to look for. (And if you have used it, perhaps somebody reading this post later will get introduced to it).

For example, I've filtered hikes in the Tucson area down to numbered trails under 15 miles where hikers have indicated that January is an ideal month to hike it. I then sorted the list based on star ratings. See it here. You can revise the criteria to get more results tailored to exactly the parameters you are looking for.

As for personal recommendations, though it's not an easy trip from the Tucson area, the western Superstitions offer outstanding options in cooler months of the year. Virtually any hike you put together from Peralta or First Water Trailheads will be a winner.