Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → Anza Borrego Desert → Galleta Meadows Sculptures

Location: Northwest Anza Borrego Desert, California

Time Required: 10 minutes – several hours, depending on how many you want to see.

Distance: varies depending on stop and route taken, but the sculptures are dotted over miles of roads and landscapes.

Elevation Gain/Loss: N/A (you’re just driving around)

Red Tape/Notes: This map shows the rough locations of the sculptures.

What’s Nearby?: Culp Valley, Borrego Palm Canyon, Hellhole Canyon, Lower Coyote Canyon, Cougar Canyon, Villager Peak, Rabbit Peak, Calcite Mine & Slot Canyons

If you aren’t expecting to see these when you’re driving through the Anza Borrego area, you’ll probably be extremely surprised. Dotted across the landscape are more than 130 large steel welded sculptures, depicting everything from dinosaurs to wild horses to cowboys. Finding the sculptures is something of a scavenger hunt, and having gps coordinates for each of the installations would probably spoil the fun. However, the map listed above in the notes is pretty helpful because it provides the general areas where you can find sculptures; they’re typically in groups, so you’ll find more than one sculpture at each of the marked locations. These also make fabulous night photography subjects. We’re hoping to head back out to the desert this winter and do some more (because of Anza Borrego’s generous camping allowances, you can camp right by most of the sculptures).

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → Anza Borrego Desert → Galleta Meadows Sculptures