Ultimate Newbies Guide to Quartzsite
#rvlife #travel #quartzsite #arizona
2022-01-30
Every winter, Quartzsite, Arizona is flooded with hundreds of thousands of visitors. So much so that it has become known as the RV boondocking capital of the world. We had to go check it out for ourselves, and want to share some of the tips we learned along the way.
Camping at Quartzsite
There are a lot of paid and FREE camping options around Quartzsite. We wanted to be close to the big tent where the RV show takes place each year, so we chose to stay at the La Posa West LTVA site where we paid $40 USD for a 2-week stay. By staying here, we were within walking distance of the show and south of the highway to avoid the intense traffic around town.
Other BLM and LTVA camping options around Quartzsite are:
- La Posa North LTVA (south of I-10)
- La Posa South LTVA (south of I-10)
- Scaddan Wash BLM (south of I-10)
- Hi Jolly BLM (North of I-10)
- Plomosa Road BLM (North of I-10)
Getting Stuff in Quartzsite
Finding things in Quartzsite reminded us a lot of when we lived in the Caribbean. There aren’t any “one-stop-shop” places here, and we found ourselves going from store to store to find each item on our list. Kind of like a scavenger hunt. We could see that it was difficult for some stores to keep their shelves stocked as this town of 4,000 residents grows to an average of 750,000 in January each year.
Food
There are a lot of food truck and restaurant options around Quartzsite in the winter. We saw a lot of vendors with temporary spots for the season. These seemed pretty popular, especially Beer Belly’s Adult Daycare, but we also found them expensive.
Groceries are also harder to come by in Quartzsite. There are two small grocery stores, Coyote Fresh Foods and Roadrunner Market, that have a limited selection of items. We were still able to find most things we needed between the two, but certain specialty items may be more difficult. Our recommendation is to stock up before coming and top up on essentials as needed while there.
It is possible to receive mail in Quartzsite either by sending to a general post box at the post office, or by sending it to Quiet Times. We chose to have our package delivered to Quiet Times where they will receive and hold it for us until we pick it up. A small fee, determined by the size of the package, is charged at pickup. It is most important to make sure the address is exactly as they indicate it, otherwise it may not be delivered there. Shipping information can be found at their location.
Propane
We had no issue finding and getting propane refilled. There are several locations with this service. We chose to go to the RV Pit Stop, where they also have water fill and a dumping station. It cost us about $15 for a 20lb tank refill. Service is fast here and we would go back.
Water
Water was also not hard to come by in Quartzsite. While staying on the LTVA lands, our fee included the use of water, sani-station, and garbage disposal, so we didn’t have to buy extra. However, we did notice many drinking water fill stations for reasonable prices. The RV Pit Stop mentioned above had drinking water for about 25 cents/gallon.
Firewood
Firewood was also readily available by several vendors in Quartzsite, although we found it a bit pricey compared to what we would pay back home. We got our firewood from Woodstock Firewood on Kuehn St, off South Central Blvd for $10/box when you buy 3 boxes. Otherwise, it was $12/box.
Internet at Quartzsite
We suspect that when there are fewer people around, the mobile wifi signal would be perfect. However, as more and more people arrived our internet signal got worse and worse until it was unusable most of the time. This meant that we were no longer able to create posts, videos, or reviews and thus caused us to shorten our stay here long before we had originally planned. One morning, I ended up getting up at 5:30am just so that I could compose and send an email.
Social Scene at Quartzsite
Quartzsite has become the boondocking capital of the world for a reason. The large wide open public lands makes it easy for groups of people, no matter what size rig, to get together with ease. It’s no wonder so many groups have chosen this area for their rallies and annual get-togethers. With so many people congregating here each winter, there are a lot of opportunities to make new friends, catch up with old friends, and hang-out.
We would definitely recommend checking out Quartzsite (at least once). We’ve never seen so many RVer’s in one place before or a town so accommodating to them. We hope you will get the chance to check it out.
Until next time, keep on living the life you’ve imagined!
Mel, Jay & Benny