Anza Borrego Desert

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

Need to get away for the day? Yeah, so do we. There’s no better way to relieve stress than to get the heck outta Dodge and remember what life is really about, and Anza Borrego is a wonderful spot for just that. It’s the largest state park in California, and includes 500 miles of dirt roads, 12 wilderness areas, and countless amazing hikes.

Our favorite time to visit Anza Borrego is in the spring, when the wildflowers are blooming. Not surprisingly, this is also everyone else’s favorite time to visit. I’m pretty sure the entire population of the American Southwest descended on the park in the spring of 2017 for the Superbloom (pictures below from our visit during peak bloom). I have some comments on how to outsmart the crowds in the “Suggested Itineraries” section below, although other than the rare event of a Superbloom, you’re unlikely to find much by way of crowds even during peak season. Because of this, I don’t really recommend going during the summer – although you’re almost certain to find solitude, you may also find misery and a sunburn. There are loads of hikes and things to see in the park, but these are some of our favorites.

Warning: This Page Includes Technical Routes. Be Aware of What This Entails and Watch for This Symbol: ⊗.

The Slot

Wind Caves

Hellhole Canyon

Calcite Mine &
Slot Canyons

Goat Canyon Trestle
♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Culp Valley
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Borrego Palm
Canyon

Lower Coyote
Canyon

Galleta Meadows
Sculptures

Villager Peak

⊗ Cougar Canyon

Rabbit Peak

Cougar Canyon (bottom up)

Indian Canyon

Where to Stay

There aren’t a lot of options for places to stay out here – if you’re spending the night, you’re probably going to be camping (there are some non-camping options in Borrego Springs, but we’ve never tried them), and there are a number of developed and semi-developed campgrounds in the area. If you’re cool with backcountry camping, this place is awesome, since the entire park is open for free dispersed camping! Just follow these rules:

Car must be parked no more than one car length off the road, though you may walk in further to set up your site.
Set up your camp at least 100 yards from any water source.
No ground fires are permitted – you’ll need to bring a metal container with you and then pack the ashes out.
Pack in your own firewood. Because the desert is a sparse and fragile ecosystem, collecting twigs and branches is not permitted.
Brush up on Leave No Trace Principals and be sure to follow them while camping in the Anza Borrego backcountry.

Itineraries

There are countless way to explore this large park, but I’m only going to outline one here – this is the itinerary we used to beat the crowds during the 2017 Superbloom weekend.

2 Day Weekend Trip (Friday night – Sunday morning)

Prep work: Research online as early as possible to try and gauge when the peak bloom time will be. Then reserve a campsite at the Borrego Palm Campground for the Friday night nearest to peak bloom.

Day 1

Drive to Anza Borrego after work – arrive late at the campground (you’ll avoid traffic from people viewing the flowers on that Friday because you’ll arrive after dark)

Day 2

Drive over to Henderson Canyon road at sunrise for photography (you’ll run into massive amounts of traffic on your way back, but you’ll be able to bypass them by telling the traffic person that you’re staying at the campground)
Park your car back at your campsite, grab a quick breakfast, and hike the Borrego Palm Canyon trail which is easily accessed from the campground.
Return in time for a quick lunch and to pack up before the noon check out time.
Drive over to the Hellhole Canyon trailhead (you’ll be heading against traffic and shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a parking spot since it’ll be the afternoon and a lot of people won’t be looking to do a hike right now)
Drive over to Lower Coyote Canyon and find a backcountry campsite for the night (traffic should have died down quite a bit by the time you finish this hike and you’ll lose a lot of people by going on a “4 wheel drive” road.
Enjoy the hikes and wildflowers along Lower Coyote Canyon before returning to your campsite.
After dark, drive back out of the canyon for night photography at the Galleta Meadows sculptures

Day 3

Enjoy sunrise at Henderson Canyon road (again)
Go on a scavenger hunt for Galleta Meadows Sculptures before heading out of the park and away from the hoards of people coming in to see the flowers