Why Quartzsite?

Some people I speak to wonder, what’s so special about Quartzsite, Arizona? Well, it’s a different place, I’ll grant you that. A small town of less than 5,000 residents, but that number can grow exponentially to well over a million each year in January.

Why, you ask? First of all those additional folks are RVers mostly. Right now you can see Class A motor homes, huge fifth-wheels, van conversions like mine, people living in their cars and everything in between, motoring in and around this little town. One word brings many folks in…free. The area around Quartzsite has thousands of acres of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. You can camp free on most BLM land for up to 14 days at no charge. Now be aware that there are NO amenities like toilets, trash removal, paved roads, water, electricity…nothing except beautiful desert cacti, mountain vistas, outstanding sunrises and sets, and all the privacy you can imagine…for free.

Then, usually during January, Quartzsite offers rock and gem shows, RV shows, huge flea markets, a gold mining show and more. Even this year in the midst of a pandemic, most of these activities are taking place, although on a more limited size with the usual restrictions we’ve all become familiar with. Also, the number of campers and attendees are limited in large part because our Canadian neighbors that are usually present in droves, cannot come this year since the U.S. border is closed to them.

If you would like to know more, a Quartzsite part-time resident produces excellent videos, promoting and showing off all the town has to offer. On YouTube, go to RVerTV and search for anything on Quartzsite. Russ does an outstanding VLOG much better than I could ever hope to do. For instance, check out this overview from last September: https://youtu.be/mhMJsen99nw.

Finally, it’s easy to love Quartzsite in the winter due to the weather. Today, January 14th, we’ll be close to 80 degrees with a spectacular blue sky…as usual. What’s not to love?