Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA)

I mentioned in the post about Quartzsite that one of the major draws to this area,in addition to the RV show is the ability to camp in the desert.  We plan to include a stay in one of these areas before we begin our journey north next year, so will write some more about our experience then; but I figured I would write a little bit now to give more context to this area.

Here in Quartzsite the town is virtually surrounded by BLM lands.  Two distinct types of land have been designated in this area: one type is for stays of up to fourteen days, while the other allows stays up to a year.   These lands are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (https://www.blm.gov/d8-home).  The BLM is a federal government agency that manages the use of public lands across the United States, similar in a way to Crown Land in Canada, but from what I have seen and understand it is way more organized and structured.

You can see on the picture below with the BLM lands in this area there are three areas that allow stays for up to fourteen days and two for long term use.

Shaded areas are 14 day and lines indicate trails at LTVA sites

We have only been out to the non-LTVA sites so far to check things out and they are level, and for now, remote.  We have been told it becomes quite a spectacle of vehicles as the winter progresses, but if you can support yourself for fourteen days with enough water, sewage and electricity this is a great way to get out there and enjoy the wilderness.

I would estimate up to a third of the people using these lands are also using side by side vehicles or ATV’s of some sort to get out and explore the many trails in the adjacent mountains.

Starting to fill up

Long Term Visitor Area

In the case of the LTVA sites, it is important to understand you are paying for the privilege to use the land and have certain basic services provided in return.  You are not paying for a given site, rather just for access and use of the land.  You simply arrive at the checkin station, pay your money and continue into the desert to find a place to camp.

Depending on the size of your RV or whatever you are staying in, depends on how long you can stay in that spot.  Because you can stay for longer than fourteen days it is important to have some services available for general health and sanitation, so these areas have been equipped with water and sewage dump areas, as well as portable toilets.  Anyone using these areas will have to drive their vehicle to dump their tanks at a designated dump station.  You can also go in to town and use one of the sites set up to pay for water or dump your tanks.

From what we have been told these BLM lands become filled with campers as the winter progresses.  We have already seen groups of like-minded people circle their RV’s into a group with a central meeting spot between them.  To each his own as there are also a lot of single vehicles parked throughout.