Looking for a Winter Getaway? It’s Always Sunny In Yuma, Arizona

Situated at the confluence of the Colorado and Gila rivers, Yuma County boasts fertile soil and the temperate climate typical of the southwestern United States. Translation: Every season is the growing season here. The area’s agricultural industry supplies 90 percent of the lettuce consumed nationwide from November through February, and accounts for more than a third of the state’s annual agricultural earnings. “Odds are you’ll enjoy good weather,” says Dustin Moore Mylius, of the Yuma Visitors Bureau. “We hold the record for the sunniest place on earth.”

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The annual Yuma Lettuce Days festival (February 27 and 28) celebrates the county’s signature crop with tasting stations, a farmers market, and the ultimate salad bar. Also worth a visit: the 28-acre Yuma Conservation Garden, home to numerous native plants and an impressive collection of antique farm machinery.

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Participants in Field to Feast events harvest ingredients from the University of Arizona’s farm and hand them over to culinary students from Arizona Western College, who craft the multicourse meal. If you’d rather order off the menu, we recommend tortilla soup from The Garden Café & Spice Co., mustard-crusted halibut at River City Grill, and Prison Hill Brewing Company‘s fried avocado wedges.

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Built in 1938, the Adobe House Bed & Breakfast deftly sidesteps every B&B stereotype, delivering privacy (each of the property’s four rooms has its own exterior entrance), luxury (swimming pool plus hot tub), and a gratis happy hour on top of the usual morning spread (from $195 per night).

Celebrate the county’s star crop at the annual Yuma Lettuce Days festival. Courtesy of University of Arizona