While staying at Black Rock RV Village over the holidays, we didn’t do a lot of exploring (there isn’t much in the area, and we wanted some quiet time before the excitement of the Xscapers Annual Bash), but one day we did take a drive past Quartzsite to Palm Canyon in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1939 for the protection of desert bighorn sheep and other native wildlife.
One reason for this destination was to scout a possible boondocking site for the future. In March we will be in this area again, and may want to try some boondocking or dispersed camping, instead of our usual RV parks. Quartzsite is famous for boondocking, and there are a lot of people doing so.
The first half of the seven mile Palm Canyon Road is through public BLM land, available for boondocking or dispersed camping: camping pretty much anywhere, without any hookups or designated sites. The second half is in the refuge, and only allows camping in designated spots within 100 feet of the road, marked by a sign and fire pit. We liked the look of the latter more, being closer to the mountains, though of course they are more limited.
Driving our 40-foot rig along a long unpaved road could be a challenge, but the road seemed passable enough, and there were several sites that should be easy enough to get in and out of. So it could be something fun to try.
Here’s driving our truck through the BLM portion of the road:
A gathering of vanlifers:
The entrance of Kofa National Wildlife Refuge:
Info signs:
Kofa mountains:
Dispersed camping:
Parking area at the end of the road:
Info signs:
Looking downhill:
