Southern Arizona summers: find the cool spots

If you think it’s hot in Arizona in the summer, you haven’t traveled the state much. Here are three ideas for things to do and places to go in southern Arizona to get cool.

Go underground. The average temperature inside Kartchner Caverns is about 70 degrees. Insulated by layers of earth, caves are naturally cooler. While you’re cooling off, you’ll get to explore one of the world’s top 10 living caves. Throne Room tours show amazing stalactites and stalagmites that took thousands of years to form. See these wondrous formations on touts that last about an hour. Info: Kartchner Caverns State Park website

How cool is this?! Kartchner Caverns State Park® Photo by Noelle Wilson ©Arizona State Parks

Get high. No, we’re not pushing drugs. Get high in elevation. Cochise County elevations start at around 3,000 feet, and many of the peaks top out above 7,000 feet. That translates to crisp summer air. Mountain ranges include the Dragoons between Benson and Willcox, Mules where Bisbee sits, Whetstones where Kartchner Caverns is located, Chiricahuas, between Douglas and Willcox, the Huachucas in Sierra Vista, Dos Cabezas near Willcox and more. You’ll find lots of recreational opportunities like hiking and camping in Cochise County’s mountains!

Low-temperature golf at value prices. Sitting at elevations of 3,500-4,600 feet, these courses offer a respite from urban courses. Visitors can tackle the “Rattler,” a 757-yard, par-6 hole—just one of the interesting golf experiences at Cochise County’s seven public courses located in Benson, Bisbee, Douglas, Sierra Vista, Sunsites and Willcox. For more info, check the Cochise County Tourism Council’s golf listing.

You can find out more by contacting any of the Cochise County Visitors Centers: Benson Bisbee, Douglas, Sierra Vista, Tombstone and Willcox.

Dos Cabezas in Cochise County

Dos Cabezas Photo (c) Luanne Mattson

I was in Willcox in Cochise County for a meeting today and took this photo  of the Dos Cabezas Mountains. “Dos Cabezas” means two heads in Spanish, which makes sense when you look at it. See the two heads?

The snow was left over from last week’s storm, and there was rain coming down in Willcox this morning. There will probably be more snow after this weather system passes through. That precipitation is good news for the farmers and wine growers in the region. Willcox is fertile ground where a lot of grapes are grown that eventually are made into Arizona wine. More on that on a later post.

Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday: Geronimo Surrender Monument

Famous Apache, Geronimo, surrendered near here. Photo (c) Luanne Mattson