Longterm visitor area = LVTA. This place is one of the cheapest dry-camping areas ever. 14 days cost $40 or from September to mid-April $180. Yes, it is just a big area in the desert without hook-ups, but here one can stay in one place for 6 month unlike on most public lands. The longest stay time on other public lands is 14 days or less, before one has to move at least 25 miles down the road.... Here a waterfill station, a few trash drop off containers and a dumpstation plus a few vault toilets are included. To us the community is the biggest thing here. We come to meet our fellow nomad friends here every year. I think, the willingness to help each other, have a good time plus the informality aka anyone is welcome plus you participate, if you like or stay home when you do not want to is the best part. Also there is probably an intrest group for anyone in one of the LVTA's or the free camping areas around Quartzsite. A few of the downfall are: 1. that it gets so crowded in the area (no not like in an RV park, we are still all way more spread out) in January, that no matter what cell service you use, you get lots of bars, but can not send any data from about 10 am until midnight. There are just too many users here!!! The town goes from 3300 to around 1/2 million desert dwellers. 2. It can get very windy since we are in the La Posa Plain and are surrounded by mountains at a distance. 3. There are only two smaller grocery stores, Roadrunner and Coyote Fresh, in town aka the prices are higher. The next real grocery stores are in Blythe, CA 25 miles away - Albertsons, Smart + Final plus the Blythe Ranch Market (a big Hispanic market) or in Parker,AZ 36 miles away - a small Walmart (always picked over at the busiest time of the year), Safeway and Food City. Quartzsite also has a Family Dollar and a Dollar General plus during the winter season Ken's discount grocery plus Quartzsite Grocery & Drug. Both of these are places where you can find overstock items, they are cheap, great for packaged foods (canned, boxed etc) and the Grocery & Drug also carries some fruit/vegetables plus bakery items, but if you are looking for specific brands etc you will have go to either the 2 small regular grocery stores or to Blythe or Parker....
