Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
The largest state park in the
Lower 48, Anza-Borrego's 600,000 acres include
mountains higher than 6,000 feet, palm-covered
canyons, badland areas, and some of the most
wondrous desert wildlife in all of California.
The park is less than 2 hours' drive from San
Diego and 31/2 hours from Los Angeles. Spring
and fall are the optimum seasons for visiting
the park.
The town of Borrego Springs is
surrounded by the park and is the main access
point for the park's attractions. The Park
Visitor Center is located at the north end of
Palm Canyon Drive, the town's main street (Road
S-22). This is definitely the place to begin a
visit to the park. Children will enjoy reading
the Junior Naturalist handbook, available here,
and a short trail leads through the desert in
front of the visitor center, which is buried in
the desert scape. Because of the intense heat of
the summer months, the park's interpretive
program starts each year in November and ends
during May. However, the park facilities are
open year-round.
Anza-Borrego is one of the
nation's foremost fossil and bone yards.
Thousands of fossils have been collected in the
park area and are now catalogued and stored in
the fossil library. Most are fossils of small
(and some very, very small) animals. However,
more than 100 species of large animals have been
unearthed in the park, including the giant
ground sloth, bison, llama, ancient dog,
American lion, zebra, horse, dromedary camel,
mammoth, and many reptiles. These animals once
thrived in what is now the Borrego Badlands,
where waving seas of grass grew to the edge of
an ancient sea.
Desert Wonders
In springtime the southern California desert
blooms. After the winter rains, the desert puts
on its spectacular display of wildflower color.
Spring is also a comfortable time of the year to
visit the desert park, when daytime temperatures
are only in the 70s and 80s. Later, after the
flowers disappear, the mercury shoots up to over
100 degrees, and most of the winter residents
leave for cooler climes.
Cacti offer delicate pastel flowers. On the
desert floor are bellyflowers, tiny little
plants requiring visitors to get down beside
them. These are the earliest bloomers and the
first plants to wither, as the summer warmth
ends their annual cycle. The best time for
viewing is mid-March to early April
Park Campgrounds
Anza Borrego Desert State Park operates the
Borrego/Palm Canyon Camprground, in Palm Canyon.
Another campground without hookups is in this
area. Tamarisk Grove Campground, south of
Borrego Springs, has no hookups. For
Borrego/Palm Canyon reservations, call
800-444-7275. Unlimited primitive camping is
permitted across the park. For more information, go here.
For More on Anza Borrego Desert State
Park and Borrego Springs,
go
to our Anza Borrego Destinations
page
