The “desert south-west” is one of our favorite places to spend the winter months. Arizona, in particular, has so many camping options (most of which are free). This January we’re spending our time in the Quartzsite area – situated on I-10 near the California border.

If you’re up for a true boondocking experience – and have all the essentials – we’d recommend a visit to Quartzsite.

Here’s the breakdown:

Location: Dome Rock Road, Quartzsite, Arizona

GPS: 33.6411104,-114.2979239

Date/Temp: We pulled into Quartzsite in early January and the weather has been cooler than we anticipated. Lows have been in the 40s and highs in the 60s.

Amenities: The campsite offers no amenities. It’s true dry-camping, so make sure you bring water, food, and power! The city offers a free trash facility on the north end of town, but we’ve noticed many people dumping trash (small bags) at gas stations and fast food chains. There are many places, about 5 miles away, to dump and refill your tanks.

Wifi/Cell: The WeBoost cell booster worked wonders for our AT&T service. At our site we received one bar of 4G LTE… boosted, we received the full 5 bars. Unfortunately, our T-Mobile service was useless. The town does have a T-Mobile tower that projects a strong signal, but minimal data was being transferred. We made a few trips to the Starbucks in Blythe when we had to upload large files.

Noise: When we first arrived to our site on Dome Rock Road, it was empty & quiet. However, the reason for us camping at this location was to be part of the Xscapers convergence. By the time we got settled in, 67 rigs joined the group! It wasn’t exactly quiet, but it was the type of noise we enjoy! 🙂

Grocery/Errands: We’d recommend completing all your errands before coming to Quartzsite. There are minimal grocery options in town, and everything is overpriced. During our stay we made a few trips into Blythe (15 miles) to shop at the Smart & Final and use their Post Office.

Dog Friendly: The campground is dog friendly, but beware of the desert terrain. River loves having so much space to play!

Entertainment: Community is our favorite part of the “Quartzsite Experience”. The main source of entertainment for us is being able to hang out with a large group of like-minded RVers. The RV & Gem Show is also a fun day trip!

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