Quartzsite, Arizona, is a bustling center of recreation vehicle camping. One of the largest RV camping areas in the nation, Quartzsite has a broad variety of settings appealing to snowbirds, overnight campers and desert rats. Interspersed with RV parks, individual parcels rented or sold for RV camping or sites where you camp on your own on public land, Quartzsite lets RVers set up camp with easy proximity to Phoenix, Palm Springs, Lake Havasu and Indian casinos.
Gems and Minerals
One of North America's largest and its longest running gem and mineral shows fills the months of January and February in Quartzsite. Hundreds of dealers and traders from around the world nestle into the desert to sell, buy and barter the valuable rocks and crystals.
Thousands of people make the pilgrimage to Quartzsite to wander the booths. The "gem season" runs from November to March, with 11 other gem and mineral shows filling the bill when the main show closes.
Recreation and Rockhounds
All that's missing is the mule when modern prospectors take pick, hammer and shovel into the public lands of western Arizona in search of gems and minerals. This is a major attraction for RV camping in Quartzsite.
Its appealing proximity to the cooling Colorado River and Lake Havasu, golf in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Palm Springs, and Indian casino gaming helps fill the area. The biggest advantage is the economics, RV camping in Quartzsite costs less than metropolitan sites and can also be free.
Free RV Camping
Public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management surrounds Quartzsite, with many parcels literally touching the city limits. The BLM does not charge for camping, but it requires common sense and clean campsite courtesy.
The area is generally flat or slightly rolling and crisscrossed with public roads. Unless otherwise posted, the BLM allows camping anywhere an RV can be setup in a safe location, off a road and more than 150 feet from stream beds or arroyos. Campers are responsible for packing out trash and waste and hauling in water.
RV Camping in Quartzsite
Any level, open land is likely one of the 38 recreation vehicle parks in Quartzsite. Without amenity requirements, most of the RV parks offer basic services to the camping pads.
Most of the parks do not have a paved parking area for RVs. All have dump stations, but only a few have waste water hookups. Most offer few in-park features and serve essentially as an economical place to bed down the RV.
Full Service RV Parks
Settling in for a long stay, full-service hookups are nice features. Several RV parks in the Quartzsite area boast amenities making for a full-service RV park. River sites, about 17 miles west of the town include boating and fishing. Other sites in town have swimming pools, clubhouses and organized activities for RV campers.
