We had an opportunity to attend the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV show this year so we decided to dry camp out on Plomosa Rd again and go check it out. Was it worth it?
What is the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show (aka the Quartzsite RV Show)?
This show is basically a large gathering of RV enthusiasts that happens every January in Quartzsite, Arizona. The show features a large tent (the “Big Tent”) where vendors try to sell you anything from bamboo pillows to massage chairs, an outdoors area for food vendors and other vendors to try to sell you even more “stuff”, and an area where a single RV dealer has new and used RVs to show and sell. Further out there are over a hundred other vendors of various wares, from jewelry to household goods.
When is the Quartzsite RV show?
This year the show was January 16th-24th, 2021. Future dates for the show are:
January 22nd-30th, 2022
January 21st-29th, 2023
January 20th-28th, 2024
Where are the show grounds located?
The show grounds are located on the southwest corner of Central Blvd (Highway 95) and Kuehn St, just south of I-10, in Quartzsite, AZ.
Where is parking? Is it free?
Parking is located on the south and west sides of the show grounds for free, or on the east side of the show grounds for $5.
Where is camping/lodging located near the show grounds?
There are several RV parks in Quartzsite that fill up every January, so if you plan on staying somewhere with amenities I suggest you book early. If you like to dry camp there is hundreds of acres of BLM lands all around Quartzsite to set up your RV or tent. If you are looking for a hotel to stay in your best bet is Parker, AZ to the north or Blythe, CA to the west.
How did the organizers handle the current health crisis?
Upon entering the show grounds there were several signs reminding attendees and vendors that masks are required, and entry to the Big Tent was denied if you weren’t wearing one. There were several hand sanitizer stations placed inside the tent and throughout the show grounds.
Inside the tent the aisles were wide enough to accommodate two rows of people, and all lanes were one-way traffic only. When we attended Sunday morning it didn’t feel crowded at all.
Most people were patient and willing to wait for others to exit RVs before entering them themselves to look around. There were never more than a couple people inside an RV at once as far as we could tell.
All of the people we talked to and heard from said attendance and camping was down as much as 60% from past years. We’re curious to see if the numbers bounce back to pre-2020 numbers in the years to follow.
Is the show worth attending?
That depends on what you like to do. Do you enjoy vendor fairs and flea markets? Then you might really enjoy what the Quartzsite RV Show has to offer. There are tons of items to peruse as you walk through the rows and rows of vendors around the show grounds.
However, if you are like us and attend RV shows for the RVs I’d suggest you find a different RV show to attend. I was pretty disappointed at the lack of RVs to walk through and the scarcity of RV specific products to buy. Not to say there weren’t any RV specific vendors, there just weren’t very many and they were certainly part of the minority. In fact, the whole show felt more like a fair than what it touted to be, a show for sportsmen, vacationers, and RVers.
In my opinion, I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV show but I don’t think we’ll be back specifically to attend. We do enjoy camping near Quartzsite and will continue to do so.
Have you ever been to the Quartzsite RV show? What about other RV shows? What did you think? We’d love to hear from you! Please drop a comment below or email me at alicia@simplejoyfuljourney.com. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest @simplejoyfuljourney. And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page. Have a great week!