Quartzsite

Quartzsite is a former mining town in La Paz County, Arizona. In 2020, it hosted a permanent population of 2,400 people, but during the balmy winters from December to February the population explodes to well over 100,000 as RV campers descend in droves. The town is also well known for gem shows, which draw over a million visitors yearly.



Understand
Quartzsite of 1850 and Quartzsite of today are the same: Quartzsite is a crossroads.



Climate
Quartzsite is located on the La Posa Plain, an arid desert region that receives little average precipitation. Winter temperatures can be mild while summer temperatures can be hot.

Get in
I-10 and Hwy 95 are the main thoroughfares into and through town.

By car
Interstate 10 (I-10)/Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Fwy passes through Quartzite in an east/west direction. It is the main stopping area when traveling from Phoenix and before crossing into California. Quartzite is accessed from Exits 11 and 31 with Exit 17 and 19 specifically into town.
 * Business_Loop_10.svg Main St serves as local road access from Exit 17 of I-10, through downtown Quartzite to Riggles Ave where it connects back to I-10 at Mile 19. The old US Routes 60 & 70 that used to go (concurrently) through town as Main St before the freeway was built.

& Central Blvd divides the town in directional quadrants at its intersection with Main. Central divides east from west and Main divides north from south. Going north on US-95, it goes concurrently on I-10 to Blythe, CA (at Exit 242) and through the eastside of Blythe on Intake Blvd towards Needles at I-40. Going north on Central Blvd the road becomes AZ-95 towards Parker and to the south as US-95 towards Yuma.

begins/ends at Mile/Exit 31 of I-10 which is another east on I-10. It goes northeasterly towards Wickenburg and than into Phoenix through Peoria and Glendale concurrent with US 93 (from Wickenburg). US 60 and 70 (which ran concurrent) used to continue west from here toward Los Angeles on the present I-10. US 70 now ends in Globe and 60 ends here.

Get around
As there is no public transportation, a car is essential.

Sleep
Most accommodation in Quartzsite is in the form of RV parks; a list is maintained by the Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce. The other limited options are listed below.