Quartzsite LTVAs established for RV boondockers

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would like you to come visit them in the desert this winter, to see just how pleasant the Southwest can be when the rest of the nation is shivering.

The Arizona Sonora Desert, as well as Southeastern California's Mojave Desert, are among the most popular winter destinations for RVers from the Western and mid-Western states, with the Coachella Valley area (Palm Springs) in California and Arizona's Yuma, Tucson, and the greater Phoenix area among the most popular.

For boondockers, however, Quartzsite, Arizona is the reigning king of boondocking and a "must see" for RVers at least once before hanging up their wheels. You can visit Quartzsite and stay at one of the town's hook-up campgrounds, but to really get the flavor of the place, head to one of the BLM's Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVA) instead--established especially for boondocking RVers.

The BLM has authorized LTVAs as designated camping areas for seasonal visitors with rates of $180 for the entire season of September 15 through April 15, with the added perk that you can move around between LTVAs for the one seasonal fee. This is a great deal for new visitors to the desert who do not want to stay in one place but would rather see other parts of the desert as well. You can also buy a 14 day permits for $40 if you do not intend to stay for the season.

The LTVAs offer no hookups, but do have onsite trash containers, a water station, camp host, ranger patrols, central restroom area, and dump station. It is a good way to learn and practice boondocking, since the services you normally need are nearby. You will also find that LTVAs are near enough to supply centers--groceries, restaurants, RV repair, etc.--to make life easy.

There will be plenty of experienced boondockers around you also to help out if you have problems or questions. And as you know, RVers are quick and eager to offer advice and help when you need it. You might even end up invited to a potluck, music jam session, or campfire gathering of RVers--especially at one of the Quartzsite LTVAs where more than half a million RVers pass through during the winter.

So looking at the bottom line, if you decide to stay at an LTVA for the season instead of at a medium to hi-line RV resort, you could save enough in camping fees in one season to pay for a roof full of solar panels, a Blue Boy portable waste tank, and a water bladder--three of the serious boondocker's additions to his rig--and by the end of the season you would be a member of the boondocker's fraternity. And that's a pretty neat--and independent--place to be.