We're headed to San Diego, AZ, and NM for 4 weeks in Jan-Feb. We would love to do a loop through AZ & NM, hitting Tucson, Gila Cliff Dwellings, White Sands, Dog Canyon in Oliver Lee Memorial SP, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Canyon deChelley, Sedona, and Phoenix then head back to San Diego.

Question. Is 40 from Albuquerque to Flagstaff ok in February?

Any other comments on the itinerary would be appreciated! We will be visiting family in San Diego, Phoenix, and Tucson and would like to include some hiking in parks and some tourist/art museum stuff.

I-40 will probably be fine, but be sure to check the weather reports.

Do you have children coming along on this trip?

We have a lot of nice museums in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, though Santa Fe has better art museums. Is there anything in particular that interests you?

Lee Ann

I think you take a chance on the weather anytime you travel in winter. I really feel sorry for all the folks traveling lately in Eastern U. S. that were stuck in airports all over the E because of the weather.

But I 40 is just about as far S that you can get unless you get on I 10 and you should be fine. You will probably meet some weather resistance in N AZ and N NM. If February is when you prefer being gone then go. Just be cautious and take some emergency supplies such as flash lights, food and water. Use good common sense, keep up with the weather and stop for the night if it gets bad. Good luck.

Tucson is really nice in February and you'll be spoiled for great hiking. http://arizona.sierraclub.org/trail_guide/

Thanks for all the feedback!

This trip will be 2 adults only. So we're looking for good hiking opportunities (no cliffhangers - one of us has some balance problems), interesting art museums, and some good food. Any suggestions?

40 is about the only game in town getting from PHX to ABQ and Santa Fe. Just drove that route roundtrip last week. Flagstaff can be snowy and really need to be a bit flexible so that if the weather is bad, you can sit put for a day or 2.

Going via 10 will add a lot of time to the trip, but would work if there was severe weather.

40 does close from time to time when it snows, so watch weather reports.

I need to do a Phoenix trip report, but I will highly recommend the Musical Instruments Museum [The "MIM"] and The Phoenix Art Museum. Both were great. The MIM was amazing and we spent 5 hours there, could have spent the entire day there.

Not sure about White Sands in Feb??

http://www.themim.org/

http://www.phxart.org/

DebitNM - thanks for your suggestions for Phoenix!
What is your ?? about White Sands in February? We were planning to head to White Sands one day, do the sunset ranger tour, and return the next day to do the 3 hour Lake Lucero tour. Good idea? or is time better spent someplace else?