Suggestions of where to visit this Christmas ๐ŸŽ„/ Winter โ„๏ธ

edited October 2023 in General

I live in the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona and while it's nice during the winter with average highs in the mid-70's, I would like to go visit somewhere that is more like winter.

Normally I'd head up the mountains here or go to Northern Arizona near the Grand Canyon. But this year I'm looking at going somewhere new. So far my thought are:

1) Park City, Utah
2) Jackson Hole. Wyoming
3) Pacific Northwest outside Seattle. Olympic National Park or Mount Rainier National Park

Any other suggestions? Those are all either drivable for me or easily accessible via a quick flight.

Comments

  • Wolf Creek ski area and Pagosa Springs in Southwestern Colorado. A little bit more of a drive, but some great skiing and not too crowded or overly touristy.

  • Banff (Canada, not Scotland). Or Anchorage.

    Or Whistler, North of Vancouver.

    Although tbh I doubt you can actually do better than Rainier.

  • @SonoranSunsets You did it! Great job on getting a new profile name. :) :) :)

    @SunsetSnuggles Back to the โ€œone and onlyโ€. :)

  • Seattle and the PNW is going to be rainy in the winter, not snowy. Sure youโ€™ll get snow in mountains but Mt. Hood does have year round skiing so technically thereโ€™s always going to be winter-like conditions on Mt. Hood.

    Yellowstone is pretty in the winter.
    If the Northern Lights is interesting to you and you donโ€™t might extreme cold Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, Alaska has an edge of the world charm to it. Itโ€™s way north of the arctic circle.

  • Depends what you are interested in doing? Skiing? (You covered those bases) Shopping for Christmas stuff? (Frankenmuth, MI) Ice fishing or snowmobiling? (Northern Minnesota or Wisconsin)

  • Any where in Wisconsin.

  • If you're wanting "christmasy", Colonial Williamsburg and/or Mt. Vernon. They do vintage Christmas like no other and are beautiful all fall/winter. My first year out east coming from California, I was amazed to see a "real" Autumn when I did a trip to Mt. Vernon. Pictures barely do justice.

  • @SonoranSunsets / the duplicate @Sunset_Snuggles

    I responded to your PM regarding Jackson, but when I hit send, it told me you deleted your account.

    I know you're still lurking, so I'll just leave you the response, here...

    Yes, I do live in the Jackson, Wyoming area, year-round.

    Yes, the mountain passes are very dangerous, though the way you would come up is less so. You will still want a four-wheel drive, heavy snow clothes/boots, and extra food and water in case you go off the road and get stuck.

    My best tip is that you download the Wyoming 511 app, as there can be an obscene amount of road closures during winter due to snow, ice, and wind, and the app will be invaluable, in that regard. Sometimes I-80 is shut down for days at a time, and believe me when I tell you that not every town in Wyoming has a hotel. Also, be very careful about filling up on gas, as there are huge stretches of Wyoming without gas stations, and it is certainly possible to run out, if people are not careful. ๐Ÿ˜†

    The Elk Refuge is beautiful in the snow, and you can take a horse-drawn sleigh right past the herd. Of course there is skiing and snowboarding right in Jackson, as well as phenomenal snowmobiling, in all the surrounding mountains. You can even snowmobile directly into Yellowstone, to see the wolves. ๐Ÿบ

    ~ Sunset Snuggles

    ๐Ÿฆ„ Enthusiast ๐Ÿž Travel Fiend ๐Ÿ˜ Animal Lover

  • Sometimes we get snow earlier in the NW, but prime time isn't until January-March ๐Ÿ˜€

    There are seasonal things to do in the NW and if you're a fan of skiing/winter activities, there will be plenty to find in our mountains.

    โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ

  • This is a totally biased opinion, but I would suggest Chicago. As for why? I have no idea what could make it stand out during the winter among other places, but I'd sure love for more cuddlers to come to the area. ๐Ÿ˜ I mean there's things to see all over the city.
    Actually now that I think about it, the area where I live have a LOT of lights and decorations around the houses. It almost seems like a competition among the houses and I always see people driving around slowly to view the lights and take pictures. Sometimes I have to find alternate routes to avoid getting stuck.

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