Quartzsite 2025

[ScubaRx]

In another thread, the topic of a winter trip to Quartzsite came up. Since it was a thread hijack there, I've started this one here. Sometime in January next, we'll leave for Q. As usual, we'll be camped out at Dome Rock about 4 miles west of town. This is BLM and is free. There are zero facilities except what you bring with you so you will be totally boondocking. Solar is obviously necessary, without it you will have to have a generator. There is water and dumping available in town. There will be a fiberglass rally (of such) that usually occurs the first week or so of February. Calling this a rally is quite a stretch as there are no organizers or agenda. There will be a mix of all different brands of FG trailers. We've made many friends through the years while attending. January 18th-26th will feature the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show. Death Valley NP is an easy drive and that time of the year is the PERFECT time to go. Joshua Tree NP is also close enough to drop in there. Both NP's have free camping and there is never a crowd that time of year. If this type of atmosphere floats your boat, Vegas is north of there as is Hoover dam. Lake Havasu City sports the London Bridge having been disassembled in London, shipped across the pond and reassembled there. Since there was no river for it to cross, they diverted the Colorado River to restore it as a functioning bridge across water.

This will be a lazy time with plenty of opportunities to do nothing, sitting around talking to old friends and making new ones. I've started a list of folks who said they would be there. Join us, won't you?

Quartzsite 2025 roster:

1 - Steve and Tali Landrum Hull #050 Tupelo, MS (scubarx)

2 - Art and Diane FLYNN Hull #226 Placitas, NM (maxburner)

3 - Lance Smeltekop Hull #898 Nederland,CO and Traverse City, MI (mountainman198)

4 - Richard De Villiers Hull #1368 Guelph, Ontario (rich.dev)

5 - John and Wendy Register - Hull #996  Full Timers (johnwen)

6 - John and Chris Dokos - Hull #113, Prescott, AZ (jd1923)

7 - Robert and Ying Eckerle - Hull #1218, Perdido Beach, AL (Tideline77)

Edited October 30 by ScubaRx

[rich.dev]

@ScubaRx Count us in, we will be in the area (Quartzite, Yuma, Imperial dam, Lake Havasu) arriving mid to end November staying until end March (ish). 

[johnwen]

Steve, we plan to be there if things go well :)

[jd1923]

We would drive down for the week (2 1/2 hour drive), given the dates many of you would be there are dates I'm not teaching class. My timing for 2024 was off but got our Los Algodones dental visit in. I won't have my 2025 schedule for a while. Hope to see you there!

I wrote this on the other thread, but worth repeating here. Buckskin Mountain State Park | Arizona (azstateparks.com) is a great spot on the Colorado River. Good campsites, calm river sounds and excellent bird watching. Not free of course.

White Tank Mountain, Maricopa County Regional Park is a good stop on the way to the Q: Maricopa County Parks & Recreation | Maricopa County Parks & Recreation The Maricopa parks are often booked up during winter 6 months in advance. Sometimes a few days here and there free up and some of their parks have overflow/boondocking sites for $15/night.

Edited August 29 by jd1923

[Tideline77]

We are planning to come also. 
since we are two green  gourds with our first ever Camper trailer ,we will be following this thread

it will be our first long trip in new to us hull 1218

Robert and Ying 

Perdido Beach, AlaBama

Edited October 15 by Tideline77

[Mike and Carol]

19 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

We are planning to come also. 
since we are two green  gourds with our first ever Camper trailer ,we will be following this thread

Quartzsite is a good place to try your hand at dry camping.  It was our first real boondocking experience back in Jan 2017.  It’s easy enough to go into town if you need to dump or refill water.  Winter weather in Q can be quite pleasant if you’re coming from colder areas.  It’s been fun to meet other Oliver owners there over the years but it has also been a nice stop over all by ourselves for trips to/from California.  Plus, the price is right.  Joshua Tree NP isn’t far from Q and is worth a visit as is Death Valley NP.   Mike

[Tideline77]

We are also hoping to roam other areas in Arizona and camp among the saguaro cactus 

 

Will appreciate tips and pointers very much

 

[MAX Burner]

23 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

We are planning to come also. 
since we are two green  gourds with our first ever Camper trailer ,we will be following this thread

it will be our first long trip in new to us hull 1218

Robert and Ying 

Perdido Beach, AlaBama

Small world, Robert - we used to live on the Intercoastal Waterway near Big Lagoon State Park just across from Perdido Beach...  Looking forward to meeting y'all at the Q next year!

Cheers!

[Tideline77]

47 minutes ago, MAX Burner said:

Small world, Robert - we used to live on the Intercoastal Waterway near Big Lagoon State Park just across from Perdido Beach...  Looking forward to meeting y'all at the Q next year!

Cheers!

It is a small world !

I was on Innerarity until 2010 , across from the east end of Ono Island in Oaks by the Sea !

[jd1923]

6 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

We are also hoping to roam other areas in Arizona and camp among the saguaro cactus 

Will appreciate tips and pointers very much

Perhaps start your own post, to get more Oliver member feedback!

To me Yavapai County to Coconino County to the north are the best of Arizona, and our family has ridden 100s of roads and dirt trails up here. We found this part of the world in the early 90s and bought our home in 2005. (Yeah, the White Mountains, central eastern AZ may even be better for camping!)

The saguaro cactus is the iconic cactus of the Sonoran Desert. That would be the total 1/3 of SW AZ. Every time we leave the Phoenix Valley to drive home to Prescott, at 2-3K elevation, we drive past thousands! They flourish at this elevation! Picture is near Black Canyon City, an hour north of Phoenix off I-17 at near 3,000 FT elevation.

Start by looking here, Tucson parks have 1000s of them:  https://www.nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/maps.htm

From what I’ve read @Mike and Carol has a lot of experience from Tucson to Bisbee and on this forum there is a wealth of postings on camping trips in the SW. South of Tucson to Nogales, and literally 200 miles east or west along the border, has not been safe over last 3 years. DON’T go there until .gov fixes this, be safe. Quartzite to Yuma and the AZ/CA border there is all good.

Edited October 17 by jd1923

[Cocoon]

Ruth Meilstrup 

2018 LE2, Hull 316

I’m planning to be there starting with the Big Tent RV show, through the Dome Rock Rally. 

[rich.dev]

We are here, La Posa South!😊

 

Edited Tuesday at 04:21 AM by rich.dev

[jd1923]

38 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

We are here, La Posa South!😊

Wow, the season is just starting! Are you really going to hang there for 2-3 months? (I do understand you are escaping the winter of the great north.)

Highs in Prescott will be in the 60s this week, lows close to freezing. Quartzsite forecast is highs in the mid 70s, lows in the mid 40s. It's a bit colder than usual now after being abnormally high many times since summer. Hoping some 80s temps for you soon which should be coming. Best wishes! 

[rich.dev]

11 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Wow, the season is just starting! Are you really going to hang there for 2-3 months?

We will probably swing by Imperial Dam for a month or so before coming back to Dome Rock for the rally in February, then Magnolia Beach before we start the trek back north to Nova Scotia along the east coast. But that’s the beauty of being a retire with time on your hands, take it day by day!😊