By Sal & Rebecca, The Tin Can Travelers – We use affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we may receive a small compensation at no cost to you.
Quartzsite, AZ is a popular destination for RVers. It’s located at the junction of I-10 and US-95, approximately 125 miles west of Phoenix, AZ. The town enjoys mild weather and plenty of sunshine during the winter months. For this reason, and the abundance of open land, Quartzsite, AZ is a premier location for RVers and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. In 1983, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) established the La Posa Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVAs) to accommodate the ever growing population of campers boondocking in Quartzsite, AZ.
Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA)
The LTVAs (maps and additional information) are located just outside the Quartzsite, AZ city limits and are perfect for boondocking. The fee for staying in the LTVA from September 15th to April 15th depends on the type of permit you purchase. The long term permit ($180) is valid for the entire season or any portion of it. The short term permit ($40) is only valid for 14 consecutive days during the season. Long and short term permits can be purchased online at Recreation.gov or in person at the field offices located at the entrance of the LTVAs. Permit stickers with expiration dates are provided after payment/check-in and must be displayed on the tow vehicle and RV.
The La Posa LTVAs are split into four sections (North, South, West and Tyson Wash). They offer gravel pads for parking RVs and plenty of room to stretch out. Most campsites have rock fire pits and are easily accessible from the roads within the LTVA. Dumpsters and pit toilets are also provided.
The use of the sanitation dump (gray/black water) and refill (fresh water) station is included in the permit fee, but your permit sticker must be visible and valid in order to use it. Located directly next to these stations is another trash receptacle. All of this makes LTVAs a convenient boondocking option while visiting Quartzsite, AZ.
Free Camping
Free camping is available on BLM areas outside the LTVAs for up to 14 days in any 28 day period. After 14 days, the camper must move to a new location at least 25 miles outside their original campsite. Campers using these areas from September 15th to April 15th may not use the LTVA sanitation dumps without purchasing a short or long term permit. The alternative is to use the paid dump stations in town.
Grocery
The town of Quartzsite, AZ offers two grocery stores (Roadrunner Market and Coyote Fresh Foods) with a limited selection of canned/dry goods, produce, dairy and meats. Roadrunner had the largest and freshest selection of many staple items. Coyote Fresh Foods has a butcher, which the other does not, and has a descent selection of meat to choose from. Also located within 30 miles of Quartzsite is Walmart and Safeway in Parker, AZ, and Albertsons in Blythe, CA.
(Roadruner Market)
(Coyote Fresh Foods)
Propane
While boondocking in Quartzsite, AZ you can use quite a bit of propane. Quartzsite has several propane filling stations conveniently located throughout the city. At the time of this post, the cost of propane was $2.30 per gallon. The RV Pitstop offers a convenient pull-through fill station with several attendants waiting to assist. Also, several of the gas stations and RV parks offer propane filling services.
Laundromat
While boondocking in the dusty desert of Quartzsite, AZ, dirty clothes will build up. To help meet the demand, Quartzsite, AZ has two laundromats to chose from: the larger Main Street Laundromat and smaller Palm Plaza Laundromat. The Main Street Laundromat has ample parking and several washers (varying in load size capacity) and dryers. It has two change machines and an ATM on site. The price per machine at the time of the post was: single load $2, double load $3.50, triple load $4.50 and 4 load washer $6. The dryers were $.25 for 6 mins and dried our clothes quickly. The Main Street Laundromat also had a lot of laundry carts available, making it super easy to move clothes from washer to dryer.
Showers
You don’t have to go without a shower just because you’re dry camping in Quartzsite, AZ. The town has serval options to choose from including the Main Street Laundromat, Quartzsite Beauty Salon and travel truck stops (Flying J and Loves). Showers at the Main Street Laundromat cost $9 (for 20 minutes). It’s a little pricy but convenient if you’re doing laundry, too. The shower rooms are clean and spacious.
The Quartzsite, AZ post office accepts general delivery mail that can be picked up Monday-Friday, 12pm-1pm. All mail is held for 15 days and an ID is required for pickup. The address used for general delivery is: 1st line (First and Last name), 2nd line (“General Deliver”), 3rd line (“Quartzsite, AZ 85346-9999”). Additional mail services (copy, fax, package, shipping) are also available at Quiet Times.
Restaurants
The restaurant scene in Quartzsite, AZ is limited, but for a good pizza check out Silly Al’s. Be prepared for an extended wait for a table or even take out, though. They seem to be very busy all the time! That’s probably a good sign.
Taco Mio was good as well. We especially liked their guacamole. They have outside dining and they’re reasonably priced, and the service was good as well.
If you’re an RVer or camper and thinking about visiting Quartzsite, AZ, know you can do so without having to rough it too much. While the town lacks some bigger-city conveniences, boondocking in Quartzsite, AZ is made very simple. The LTVAs provide plenty of dispersed dry-camping, while also providing garbage collection areas, sanitation dumps and potable water fill stations. The frequency in which you have to break camp to utilize these amenities, however, depends on how skilled you are at boondocking.
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Great pictures and very nice precise description.
love Quartzsite! particularly this time of year, tho by now have missed the huge RV show they hold yearly. also love the rock vendors and that big one that has ALL the gorgeous geedunks and findings you could ask for. and did you get to the bookstore? with the naked bookstore owner? (well, except for the little thing his wife crochets for him.) i was one of his author vendors for two-three years there. one year, boondocking, a ranger banged on our door and advised us to move as they were expecting flash floods thru that particular area. gulp–but never happened.
This was our first time in Quartzsite since full-timing almost 3 years ago. The RV show wasn’t as big as planned, since many of the dealerships and manufactures had supply shortages. We enjoyed looking at all the cool rocks at the vendor stalls and buildings. A naked bookstore owner? We’re glad we missed that shop. 😉
Hey you two!
Man we missed you at Quartzite. We made a trip down for the show and if we had known would have loved to meet up. Oh well! Next time.
We aren’t on social media anymore and remembered you have the blog.
Glad to see you made it through Amazon season and enjoying some time off.
Rob will be ramping up here on the lake soon.
Are you going to be back at Mammoth this spring?
Take care and see ya when our paths cross again.
Hope y’all are doing well and we also wished we could have met up in Quartzsite. We’ll be back in Mammoth this season and hope you’ll stop by if in the area. Take care.
Hi, I thought your article was well written and very information. I appreciate how even though place was not your cup of tea, you didn’t resort to needless banging. I’ve just subscribed to your blog and look forward to reading more of your experiences. I plan to do Quartizite this January and this information helps me with planning. I’m new to RV’ing and will go full time in the next month or two. I’ve just purchased my first RV. It’s used but new to me and in great condition. I’m spending the necessary time now making the needed repairs and replacing those parts that are prone to fail given the age. I’d much rather spend my time doing the maint in my driveway as opposed to having to do it on the roadside or worse. Anyway, thank you for the information, I look forward to reading more. Peace and Happy Trails to you and yours., Jim
Congratulations on the purchase of your first RV. This new journey you are about to embark on is truly fascinating and challenging all at the same time. We’re happy we can be part of your journey. The key to success is research and planning. If you have any questions along the way, please contact us. Thanks again for the read.
Thanks for the article will be very helpful. In Quartzsite now for first time. I am car camping but set up will with 1000 solar generator, 200 watts panels, top of the line tent, and electric frig. My grandparents lived here half time for some 20 years years until they passed 15 years ago. Lovely people. This trip has a special meaning to me because of them
We’re glad you found the post helpful. It’s seems that you have all the important stuff covered with your camping setup. Rvers/campers are some of the friendliest and most helpful people, that’s why we love them so much. We’re glad you are visiting the place your grandparents spent so much time in. We’ll be there next month and maybe we could meet up. Take care and thanks for the read.
Love this information- very helpful as we plan our travels. You told me all the things I was wondering about.
We’re glad we could help. Safe and happy travels. 👍🏼
Thank you for this article. I’ve been wracking my brain and scouring the web trying to refresh my memory on the name of that location (Quartzsite) since becoming a full-time in January. If I may run a question by you, I’m curious, as fulltimers do you maintain a permanent residential address somewhere for registration purposes, insuring of your RV, drivers license renewals, etc., and if not, how does one get around that? I set myself up with a P.O. Box in my current location but all the things I mentioned seem to require proof of residency, or is at a mistaken impression on my part (even renting the P.O. Box rental required I.D. showing proof of residency, which my current drivers license was able to furnish, but short of getting my hands on some dirt and a street address, I’m clueless as to how get things renewed when things start expiring. Any insight from your experience would be much appreciated.
We’re glad you enjoyed the article, Quartzsite is an awesome place to stay during the winter months. We use MyRVmail for all our mail forwarding needs. They give us a physical address in Crestview, FL that can be used for everything from banking to vehicle registrations. You can use our affiliate link (https://myrvmail.com/ref/Thetincantravelers) to check it out and we would get credit if you sign up. We have used them for the last 3 years and can’t say enough about their service. Hope this helps…just let us know if you have anymore questions. Safe travels.
We are so very sorry it took us so long to answer. We use the mail service MyRVmail. With their service, we were able to get a Florida driver’s license and register to vote. With our DL and Voter registration card, we have been able to rent PO boxes all over the country. When signing up for your PO box, make sure the clerk knows that you are paying for the box, not requesting a free box. Also at locations where you may not be staying long, you can inquire about the General Mail delivery. Hope this helps and again we’re sorry it took so long to get you an answer. 🙏🏼😔