SW U.S./Hawaii Travel


Feature Writer: Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey, Mike Gerrard

Welcome to the Southwest USA & Hawaii travel page, your window on Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California and the Hawaiian Islands.

Wander the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, Pacific coast, Arizona's and Utah's red rock deserts, Hawaii's rainforests and lava fields. Visit ski resorts, Native American sites, national parks such as Yosemite, Death Valley and Arches or sample the cuisine, culture and shopping in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix and Santa Fe.

Read about major attractions and quirky places off the beaten track. Check in for news on great hotels, spas, sports activities, events and the best restaurants and bars. E-mail with comments, questions or suggestions or post in the discussion forum.

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Palm tree, Green Valley, Arizona, Mike Gerrard
feature articles
Donna Dailey

New Yosemite National Park Guide

In: California Travel

Latest edition of Lonely Planet guide to Yosemite, Sequioa and Kings Canyon National Parks, with trips to Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and Gold Country too. more...

Summer in the City: San Diego

In: California Travel

In San Diego this summer head for Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park and Coronado for sunbathing, surfing, scenery, spectacular views & sport. more...

Grand Canyon Skywalk First Year

In: Arizona Travel

In an interview for Suite 101, Hualapai member Wilfred Whatoname looks at how the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West will benefit tribal life in remote northwestern Arizona. more...

Grand Canyon Skywalk One Year On

In: Arizona Travel

In an interview for Suite 101, Hualapai member Wilfred Whatoname explains what the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West has meant for the tribe in remote northwestern Arizona. more...

Grand Canyon National Park Guide

In: Arizona Travel

Latest edition of Lonely Planet guidebook to the Grand Canyon National Park also covers Kids & Pets, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Sedona, Route 66 and Grand Canyon Skywalk. more...

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feature blog
Donna Dailey

May 3, 2008

The Best Time to Visit Arizona

Flowering cacti, blossoming palo verde trees and nesting birds make springtime the best time to visit southern Arizona. And it's not too hot to enjoy it on a desert walk.


When is the best time to visit Arizona? Thousands of snowbirds flock here every winter, but they head back north in March, just when things start getting really good. Those who stick around know that springtime is the best time in southern Arizona.

In late March/early April, buds start appearing on the ocotillo and palo verde trees along the arroyo. House finches, cactus wrens and mourning doves disappear under our rafters with twigs in their beaks.

Now it's all come to lovely fruition. It's amazing to see the desert, so dry and brown for much of the year, bursting forth with color. Plants which are formidably untouchable due to their sharp spines suddenly bloom with bright, delicate flowers.

My favorite are the Santa Rita prickly pear cactuses. Their large pads turn deep purple in winter, a lovely background for their bright yellow spring flowers. Our barrel cactus is topped with a concentric ring of yellow buds and our teddy bear chollas have pink and yellow blossoms at the ends of their spindly arms.

The aloe vera plants are losing their pinkish winter coat as tall stems with pale orange flowers sprout from their center. The bright yellow leaves of the palo verde trees are stunning against the deep blue sky. Birds cling to the deep orange blossoms at the ends of the ocotillo. This week we even saw flowers on the massive arms of the saguaros.

Gambols quail are digging up our garden, looking for nesting sites. House finches serenade us with the sweetest songs, or scold us if we walk too near their nests. We spend hours in hidden wonder watching baby cactus wrens and mourning doves learning to fly.

Wildflowers are blooming all over the desert and mountains. Springtime is the best time to visit Arizona.

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