That's the coldest part of the year for Arizona, too, so I would recommend a campground in the lower elevations for the warmest camping. This would generally be the SW part of the state from about Phoenix. Lake Pleasant is just NW of Phoenix about 30 miles or so and you should enjoy some pretty warm sunny days and cool nights. Barrett Lake is NE of Phoenix, again about 30 miles, and has more primitive facilities. The extreme SW of the state at Yuma enjoys the warmest weather this time of the year, but you will have to compete for campsites with all the snowbirds that make their annual migration to this part of the state. It also gets VERY windy.

One place I have found very nice in that area is the wildlife refuge north of Yuma. There are 2 or 3 that are along the river north to Blythe,CA. On the West side of the river, it is VERY popular with RVers and you will find neighbors wall to wall. There are a few lakes that are formed off of the river which increase the available camping areas. If you get a vehicle with high clearance, you may find some good camping spots around to the far side of these small lakes.

My favorite spots are on the east side of the river and for the life of me I cannot remember how to get there. I remember a boat launch, and a few camping areas that were lightly used. If there are fisher-people in your group, you will especially like it here.

I hope this helps you with your Arizona camping trip planning. Have fun!

hi ninamarie,
sounds like you have gear for some colder weather camping. if you are up to doing some cold weather camping, and if you have not been to the grand canyon, you should at least try to get there. you can only visit the south rim this time of year because they close the road to the north rim until May due to snowy road conditions that they sometimes get up there this time of year. i know you want to get away from people, but it is worth dealing with the crowds for the view.

many of the national forest camp grounds in the higher elevations are closed this time of year, so like chuckwagonjack said, you may want to stick to the southern part of the state. you could go to organ pipe national monument, but avoid the established camp ground (it is cramped, and run down looking). there is a primative camp (4 sites) that is first come first serve that is much nicer and very quiet. here is a link for it:

http://www.nps.gov/orpi/planyourvisit/camping.htm

also, in the southeast corner of arizona, you might like to visit chiricahua national monument. i believe their campground is open year around. the chiricahua mountains are quite, not a lot of people go there (one of my favorite areas of the state). here is a link for the chircahua nat monument:
http://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm

hope you have fun on your trip. also, just to let you know, they are predicting another el nino for us and that means january and febuary could be our wet months. so be prepared for some rain and maybe some snowy storms when you visit.

Thanks so much for the tips. Coincidentally, I just received a guide to camping in Arizona, so I can check out your recommendations against the maps. I'll save that as a treat for Christmas Day!
We have a winter tent - very snug and warm, once it is closed and we have often used it for sleeping out on winter nights here. We also have a summer tent - larger, heavier, and more open, but very nice for sleeping under the stars from spring to fall here.
I've always wanted to visit Arizona to see the cactus, and the desert when it blooms, but our busy season begins in March. We usually manage to sneak away canoeing and camping for a week in summer here, and drive as far north in Ontario as we can comfortably manage.

your welcome. if you have anymore questions about where to go in AZ after you start looking at your map, feel free to email me and i might be able to give you some info. since you are coming from ontario, the temps here will probably feel pretty nice in january. :)

ninamarie, how was your trip? where did you end up going to?

hi ninamarie,
We just spent our first winter in Arizona and were very grateful we were in a nice, warm 5th wheel... and even then it was VERY cold and increcibly windy. I can't imagine doing that in a tent. Friends of ours, in the exact same type of unit, took off for places in Texas because it was too cold in Arizona. You should monitor the temperatures in various places, during the winter, and try to guage your destination based on weather patterns (although this year was a bust because folks in Arizona claimed it hadn't been "this cold since 1986"... so go figure.