07/22/2026
The Best Shows in the Desert Don't Need a Ticket 🌠
Head out to the BLM land around us, and the sky stretches out in every direction. Remote, quiet desert like ours is exactly the kind of place the night sky needs to really shine — and campers on Plomosa Road and La Posa consistently call it some of the best stargazing they've found.
Four major meteor showers light up our sky every year, and we're lining them up with the town events we have confirmed so far.
🏹 ORIONIDS — OCTOBER
Meteor: This shower peaks the night of Wed, Oct 21 into Thu, Oct 22, with the darkest, best viewing in the hours before dawn, once the moon sets. These meteors are dust from Halley's Comet streaking into our atmosphere at roughly 41 miles per second.
Town: Tyson Wells Market Centre opens for the season Oct 1 🛍️, so grab a bite from one of the on-site food booths before you head out to watch — and while you're there, stop by the Tyson Wells Game Store 🎲, stocked with over 2,500 good old-fashioned board, card, and dice games.
🦁 LEONIDS — NOVEMBER
Meteor: This one peaks Mon, Nov 16 into Tue, Nov 17, with the best viewing after midnight once the moon sets. These meteors come from debris left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, and it's earned a reputation for surprises. In both 1833 and 1966, it turned into a full-blown meteor storm.
Town: That same evening is the Quartzsite Chamber & QIA Quartzsite Improvement Association Chillin' With the Locals 🤝 (4-7 pm), and five days later the Town of Quartzsite Fall Festival takes over Town Park (Nov 21) 🎪 with live music, food, and a beer garden.
♊ GEMINIDS — DECEMBER
Meteor: The year's best shower peaks Sun, Dec 13 into Mon, Dec 14, and it's visible essentially all night long. It's also the oddball of the group — instead of comet dust, it's actual rocky debris shed by asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
Town: Our Christmas Light Parade lights up the night before (Sat, Dec 12, ~7 pm) 🎄. Warm-up act: the light parade. Headliner: the meteor shower.
📐 QUADRANTIDS — JANUARY
Meteor: Don't blink for this one — the peak on Sun, Jan 3 into Mon, Jan 4, 2027 lasts only a few hours, so it's best caught in the dark stretch before dawn.
Town: It falls right in the middle of the Tyson Wells Rock & Gem Show and Desert Gardens Rock, Gem & Mineral Show💎and just before the Women's Rubber Tramp Rendezvous kicks off (Jan 6-8) 🚐.
🤫 And here's a secret: Quartzsite already has its own meteor story — one that actually landed. Stay tuned for that one next. 👀
For the full rundown of everything happening in town, check out the "Welcome to Quartzsite" booklet, finalized by fall and available at the Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce or Town Hall.
Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce – Moving positively forward for Quartzsite!
