They say you cannot shovel sunshine and that’s why so many people love Arizona. Yet on rare occasion we do get snow.
Northern Arizona, Around Flagstaff got record amounts of snow. Totaling just shy of 36 inches, or three feet in a day.
Some of that white stuff also made it’s way down near Tucson. I couldn’t resist the rare occasion to see snow in Southern, Arizona. We all piled up in my Truck and headed up into the mountains.
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Most people rush up Catalina State Highway. This road wanders into the Calatalina Mountains to the quite town of Summer Haven. Weather permitting you can continue the drive to the summit of Mount Lemmon, the highest peak in the Catalina Mountains.
Catalina State Highway is all paved and easily accessible, even by car. The traffic is always congested though there are frequent accidents when it snows. We instead headed into the Santa Rita mountains to checkout the aftermath of this snowstorm.
I drove out onto Highway 62, Box Canyon Road. This mountain pass takes you high up above Box canyon and over to Sonoita Valley connecting with scenic Highway 83. It is a very popular jeep trail but honestly, in good weather, and even on this day, we saw cars on the road.
Sunshine or snow I highly recommend checking out Highway 62. Give yourself 3 hours and a bag lunch. There is plenty of traffic on the road should you have any trouble but cellular will not work deep in the canyon. I recommend the loop from the Green Valley Area over to Sonoita Valley, down through Patagonia and back up to Green Valley.
It’s some of the most scenic driving Arizona has to offer in any weather.