Drift Desert Ghost Town

La Paz County, Arizona33.4137, -114.6469

Can you visit?

Likely private land

Private or unlisted land · Ask the owner first

Nearest town
13 miMesa Verde, CA
Mild months
Jan–Dec5 of 12
Next ghost town
16 miClip
Illustration of a desert landscape
Illustration of the landscape type, not a picture of Drift Desert. No free-licensed photo yet.

Drift Desert, in La Paz County, Arizona, is a ghost town.

On the map

20 mi40 miBlytheQuartzsiteMesa VerdeDrift Desert
  • BLM
  • State
  • Tribal
  • Private or unlisted

Star: Drift Desert. Dots: other ghost towns within 40 miles, colored by land manager. Squares: towns over 1,000 people. Rings are straight-line distance. Live map: © OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles, OpenStreetMap contributors.

The closest town with more than 1,000 people is Mesa Verde, CA, about 13 miles north in a straight line. The nearest city over 50,000 is Yuma, AZ, 62 miles away.

Ghost towns nearby

  1. Clip16 mi south
  2. La Paz22 mi northeast
  3. Picacho27 mi south
  4. Midland32 mi north
  5. Castle Dome Landing33 mi south
  6. Hedges38 mi south
  7. Polaris40 mi east
  8. La Laguna42 mi south

Distances are straight lines. Roads to ruins are often dirt, and a 20-mile hop can take an hour.

Who owns the land

Private or unlisted land

The point we have for this town is not on any public or protected parcel in PAD-US, the national map of public land. That usually means private land. Ruins on private land are off limits without the owner's permission, even when no fence or sign is visible. Look from the public road. Another parcel starts within a quarter mile: State Trust Land, Yuma Field Office. Ruins often spread across more than one owner.

The point is the town location from Wikidata, and the land record is from PAD-US 3.0 (USGS). Ruins can spread past that point, and land changes hands faster than the database. How we read PAD-US.

Weather by month

0°20°40°60°80°100°6940Jan7343Feb8048Mar8855Apr9863May10671Jun11078Jul10878Aug10471Sep9157Oct7847Nov6638DecJan: 0.6 inFeb: 0.6 inMar: 0.4 inApr: 0.1 inMay: 0.1 inJun: 0.0 inJul: 0.2 inAug: 0.3 inSep: 0.4 inOct: 0.2 inNov: 0.2 inDec: 0.5 inrain
Mild month (average high 55–88°F, low above 28°F) 32°F, freezing Rain and snow water, inches

Mild months here run November to March, judging by NOAA normals from Blythe. April to October bring 10 or more days at 90°F and up.

NOAA 1991–2020 normals from the Blythe station (USC00040924), 14 miles away. About 3.6 inches of precipitation a year.

Facts

LocationLa Paz County, Arizona
Coordinates33.41370, -114.64690
SourcesWikidata Q20714329 · Wikipedia article

Questions

Where is Drift Desert ghost town?

In La Paz County, Arizona, at 33.4137, -114.6469. The closest town with more than 1,000 people is Mesa Verde, CA, about 13 miles north in a straight line. The nearest city over 50,000 is Yuma, AZ, 62 miles away.

Can you visit Drift Desert?

Likely private land. The point we have for this town is not on any public or protected parcel in PAD-US, the national map of public land. That usually means private land. Ruins on private land are off limits without the owner's permission, even when no fence or sign is visible. Look from the public road. Another parcel starts within a quarter mile: State Trust Land, Yuma Field Office. Ruins often spread across more than one owner.

When is the best time to visit Drift Desert?

Mild months here run November to March, judging by NOAA normals from Blythe. April to October bring 10 or more days at 90°F and up.

Are there other ghost towns near Drift Desert?

Yes. Clip (16 mi), La Paz (22 mi), Picacho (27 mi), Midland (32 mi).

More ghost towns in Arizona

All 119 ghost towns in Arizona · Ghost towns near Lake Havasu City