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Back to Dateland

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Voykit pocket guide · United States

Dateland

Stop for 1–2 hours, not a night: dates, a milkshake and a fuel top-up on I-8 between Gila Bend and Yuma. Sleep in Yuma or Gila Bend unless you have an RV.

Dateland is a farm settlement of about 250 people on Interstate 8 in Yuma County, Arizona, and it exists because of dates: Medjool and other varieties grown in the surrounding desert since the 1920s. There is one shop, one RV park and no hotel. Treat it as the best leg-stretch between Gila Bend and Yuma, plus two free BLM petroglyph sites within 30 minutes.

New YorkAberdeenAbileneAbington TownshipAbiquiuAbita SpringsAdaAdamsAdamsAddisonAdrianAftonAgoura HillsAkronDateland500 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
United States
Best months
Oct–Apr
Avoid
Jun–Sep (40 °C (104 °F)+ afternoons)
Stay
0 nights

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
USD
Money
Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
Daily spend
Budget $30–60 excl. bed (fuel, one shop stop, picnic) · Mid $60–120 excl. bed (fuel, shop, sit-down meal in Yuma) · High $120+ excl. bed (fuel, shop, hotel in Yuma) (estimate; check)
SIM and data
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
Emergency
Police, fire, ambulance 911 · Yuma County Sheriff (non-emergency) 928-783-4427 · BLM field office 623-580-5500
Plugs
Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
Tipping
Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
Water
Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
Toilets
Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.

What things cost

ItemPrice
Date milkshake at the date shop$6–9
Box of Medjool dates$10–25
Coffee or cold drink$3–6
Fuel, per gallon on this stretch$4–5
Painted Rock Petroglyph Site day useabout $2
Painted Rock primitive camping, per nightabout $8
eSIM or data SIM, about a week$15–30

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

YUM · Yuma International Airport
About 1 h 15 min west on I-8; small schedule, mostly connections via Phoenix
PHX · Phoenix Sky Harbor
About 2 h 30 min east via I-8 and AZ-85; the practical gateway for most trips

Typical fares

Dateland → Yuma, I-8 west
about 1 h 15 min by car
Dateland → Gila Bend, I-8 east
about 1 h by car
Dateland → Phoenix via I-8 and AZ-85
about 2 h 30 min by car
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card

Get around

You need a car. I-8 is the only real access and the town is a strip of exits; the date shop and RV park sit off the same frontage road. Distances between the shop, the ghost town and the petroglyph sites are 6–30 miles, so plan fuel before you leave the interstate.

See and do

Known for

  • Date farms and the date shop
  • Date milkshakes
  • Sears Point and Painted Rock petroglyphs
  • I-8 desert road stop

Day trips

WhereHowTime
Sears Point petroglyphsDrive I-8 east, then follow the signed BLM access road; about 19 miles northeast of DatelandAbout 45 min each way
Painted Rock Petroglyph SiteDrive east on I-8 then north on Rocky Point RdAbout 1 h each way
Aztec ghost townExit 73 off I-8, about 6 miles eastAbout 15 min each way
YumaI-8 westAbout 1 h 15 min
Gila BendI-8 eastAbout 1 h

Sleep

Dateland RV Park
The only beds in town, and they are hookups, not rooms: electric and sewer, showers and laundry, register at the gift shop. No tent-only or motel option.
Yuma
About 1 h 15 min west on I-8. Full range of motels and chain hotels; the default base for this stretch.
Gila Bend
About 1 h east on I-8. Small motel cluster, useful if you are heading to Phoenix or Tucson.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
Where is the gas station?Where is the gas station?
How much is a box of dates?How much is a box of dates?
Can I pay by card?Can I pay by card?
Is there water here?Is there water here?
How far to the next town?How far to the next town?

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
  • Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
  • Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
  • Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
  • Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned

Scams and watch-outs

  • Fuel is scarce on this stretch: fill up at a quarter tank or better, and do not pass Dateland low.
  • Summer afternoons regularly pass 40 °C; carry water and do not walk far from the car.
  • Rattlesnakes are active at the petroglyph sites, most often in warm months — watch where you put hands and feet.
  • Sears Point footpaths are not maintained; keep the car on the road and stay on the paths.
  • Cell coverage is patchy between exits; download offline maps before the drive.

Low-crime, very low-population desert stop. The real risks are heat, distance between fuel stops and rattlesnakes at the petroglyph sites — not people.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Dateland yet. Suggested stay: 0 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • Date farms and the date shop
  • Date milkshakes
  • Sears Point and Painted Rock petroglyphs
  • I-8 desert road stop

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Dateland

To this address, please

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

No consulates here; nearest are in Phoenix and Tucson. Check your country's embassy in Washington, DC for the full list.

Tipping is expected in the US: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink. The date shop is a counter stop, so a tip is optional.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/dateland). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.