Camping Anza-Borrego
Only a 2 hour drive from San Diego, CA, camping Anza-Borrego is basically in my backyard. This video features 24 hours in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park that has a ton of interesting stuff for outdoor explorers.
First, Anza-Borrego State Park is pretty spread out but getting over in the general area is pretty simple. I usually type in “Christmas Circle, Borrego Springs” into Google Maps. It’s sort of like the ‘village center’ of Borrego Springs. There are lots of campgrounds and offshoots before you get to Christmas Circle, but it’s also where you can get to all the different attractions as well.
Second, there is lots of camping both reservable and free; backcountry style if you park your car one car’s distance from the road. (don’t disturb the plant life!)
Here were the highlights from our trip.
Galleta Meadows
(beginning to about 0:30)
If you’ve heard about the 100+ iron sculptures in the middle of the desert, this is where you’ll find them. Borrego Spring land owner Dennis Avery commissioned artist/welder Ricardo Breceda to create original steel pieces of art to create ‘free standing art’ for his property.
I would say the most famous (at least most Instagrammed) would be the terrifying serpent/dragon thing that goes from one side of the road to the other.
GPS coordinates to get to the terrifying desert-serpent: 33.290113, -116.376367
Slot Canyon
(0:31 – 0:55), Trailhead coordinates: 33.18213, -116.21417
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCmNSwcMzQw/
“The Slot” doesn’t have a marked trailhead. Luckily there were other people that were there so we followed them, they seemed to know something we didn’t. When you get to the parking lot, there are plenty of places you could sort of scramble down. Don’t do this. If you keep going to the end of the parking lot, you go kind of up and over a small hill, there is a steeper descent on the left hand side where you enter the canyon.
It’s about 1-mile long depending on where you enter and you descend about 100 feet or so. (Little kids are fine, once you’re down in there it’s pretty flat. Tiny humans in backpacks however are not a great idea, it gets real narrow.) We turned around where the trail widens and meets a jeep road. We found out that you can actually continue and it adds a mile to the hike, but eventually you are turned back around to the parking lot.
Side note: we were driving my Honda Civic and although it was a bumpy ride on the off roads, we were fine.
Borrego Palm Canyon
(1:00 – 1:30), Trailhead coordinates: 33.2702, -116.4182
In retrospect we should have done this part on our way into Borrego Springs since it’s actually before you hit Christmas Circle. Learn from our mistakes.
It was a little confusing getting to the trailhead because there is a Palm Canyon Campground, before Palm Canyon Trail. Basically use the coordinates, it’s more accurate. Because the location is literally Unnamed Road:
Like a lot of things in Anza-Borrego, there isn’t one way to get in and out of Palm Canyon. There doesn’t seem to be regular trail maintenance so basically we scrambled up rocks, over trees, through some low water…eventually we got to the Oasis. We did not attempt to make it to the waterfall since it was near dusk though.
Primitive Camping makes for some great time-lapses
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCryx8bMzc7/
Wind Caves
(1:58 – 2:37), Trailhead coordinates: 32.9933, -116.1184
So if you can make it to the trailhead coordinates, GOOD FOR YOU. Again, we were in my Honda Civic so got to the mouth of the canyon and couldn’t get through the sand. So…we hiked in about 4 miles to get to the trail which is totally worth it, but not nearly as long as the journey.
You can see what the canyon looked like at 2:38 and the wonderful sandstorm we got caught in upon our departure.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCoGBAQMzdp/
In Sum
- Check out the iron statues in Galleta Meadows
- Hike “The Slot”
- Hike Borrego Palm Canyon
- Do some primitive camping if your bad at planning like me
- Hike the wind caves (bring an all wheel drive vehicle is you have one)
P.S. if you’re in Southern California and looking for other adventure locations, consider Joshua Tree.
