Central Anza-Borrego: Mine Wash

Kumeyaay Morteros at Mine Wash

Mine Wash is in the middle of a broad and gently sloping plain. It extends about four and a half miles south of Highway 78 into the Pinyon Mountains. Unfortunately, parking places and campsites are not plentiful.

The wash has a number of Kumeyaay morteros, the most prominent of which are about a mile and a half south of the highway. Morteros are depressions in stone that developed after years of use by Kumeyaay women for grinding beans, nuts, or seeds.

It is possible to walk west from the end of the wash and join a trail across the North Pinyon Mountains which joins the California Riding and Hiking Trail in Earthquake Valley.

Getting to Mine Wash. Mine Wash lies east of County Road S-3 and west of Borrego Springs Road, both of which come down from Borrego Springs. It is about a mile and a half west of Pinyon Wash and about two miles east of Stag Cove. The wash is marked by a small sign which you can easily miss unless you watch carefully.

Round Granite Hill From Mine Wash 

North Pinyon Mountains from Mine Wash