Quartzfest is what you get when you take a ham radio convention, put it in the Arizona desert, and sprinkle in a bit of off-road action!
My wife and I have been attending Quartzfest since 2019 and we’ve had a great time every year. The timing of the event works out extremely well for our schedules (typically the last full week of January) and the location is typically very mild this part of the year too.
The 2024 Quartzfest is taking place the week of January 21st through the 27th just south of the small town of Quartzsite, Arizona. What is typically a town of 2,400 explodes in January and February — attracting approximately 1.5 million people!
The week that Quartzfest takes place coincides with the annual Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show where many full-time travelers take the opportunity to make plans for the year and get any necessary maintenance and upgrades performed on their RVs and travel trailers.
Quartzfest itself has varied in size over the years, the 2020 event was the largest at almost 1,000 attendees in recent history. The event takes place at the Road Runner 14-day Dispersed Camping Area managed by the BLM and has zero amenities, so you have to pack in everything you need and pack out everything when you leave.
On your way in, you’ll want to stop at the RV Pit Stop in Quartzsite and fill up with water and make sure your tanks are empty if you’re brining an RV or travel trailer — tent campers can relax knowing that Quartzfest provides on-site portable toilets for use that are kept clean and well stocked.
It can be a challenge to find the Quartzfest group after dark, however the Road Runner BLM site has a large parking area right off of US Route 95 — park there and camp for the night and come find the group in the morning.
Typical events include a daily morning, Noon, and Happy Hour radio net, special event station, ham radio license testing, pico-balloon launches, and SOTAs & POTAs! The Northern Arizona DX Association hosts an annual distance challenge contest too. Every night is Happy Hour around the community fire where a raffle is held and at least a Baofeng or two are given away!
Every day will have a variety of seminars, tutorials, demonstrations, and tours of a variety of topics — related to ham radio, camping/RV, cooking, and much more. There is at least one hosted off-road trip during the week — it’s never been too challenging, but 4×4 and high-clearance has always been recommended. We’ve never seen anyone get stuck during the off-road trip, but there are enough friends around that it wouldn’t be a problem for very long.
The event is definitely family friendly and I suggest checking out the schedule on a regular basis as it constantly is receiving updates as we get closer to the event.
