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Borrego Springs : Things to do
Stop by the ABDNHA
Nature Center - one block west of Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs and
our staff will show you the exact location and route to all of the
activities listed here.
Borrego Springs is the logical place to base your trip
to the Anza-Borrego Desert. All of the hikes, scenic drives, and other
activities on this page are within a one hour drive of Borrego Springs.
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If you are camping, you should know that you
can camp along any of the park's dirt roads, as long as you park within one car
length of the roadway itself, and follow park regulations. It is important
to note that you may not build fires on the ground or collect any wood or plant
materials. State park campgrounds are available at Palm Canyon,
Tamerisk Grove. In the town of Borrego Springs,
The Springs at Borrego and
The Palm Canyon Hotel & RV
Resort offer full service RV campsites. |
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1. Desert activities in and around Borrego Springs |
A calendar listing of activities in Borrego Springs
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Stop by ABDNHA's Headquarters when you are in Borrego Springs |
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The Anza-Borrego Desert
Natural History Association (ABDNHA) Borrego Desert
Nature Center: 652 Palm Canyon Drive, one block
west of Christmas Circle is a good place to stop for general information
about the area, as well as Information on flower blooms,
upcoming hikes, educational programs, maps,
and guides.
The ABDNHA store offers a wide ranging
collection of desert books as well as jewelry, clothing,
gifts for both children and adults, and a variety of other
items for the 'desert minded." The center staff is always ready to assist you in
planning your desert hikes and drives. |
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The ABDNHA Botanical Garden is an interesting place to stop and see
a variety of desert plants. Phase 1 has recently been
completed and work continues as funding becomes available. One
block west of Christmas Circle. |
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Also check the
schedule at Anza Borrego Desert State Park. |
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2. Short
hikes around Borrego Springs |
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Hike:
Palm Canyon Trail At the western edge of Borrego Springs,
next to the Palm Canyon Campground in Anza-Borrego State Park.
Just minutes from Christmas Circle. See an oasis of native
palms, interesting geology, lots of lizards along the way, and if
you are lucky, you might see some desert bighorn sheep. This
is the most heavily used trail in Anza-Borrego. 3 miles
roundtrip. |
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Hike: Visitor Center to
Campground Trail Travels between the park visitor center and
Palm Canyon Campground. Easy, level walking. 1.2 miles
roundtrip. |
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Walk:
Visitor Center Trail, a short .25 mile self-guided trail at the park
visitor center. See native plants along the way, as well as
native pupfish in a small waterhole. |
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Hike:
Glorietta Canyon and Wash
Glorietta Canyon is just minutes from Borrego Springs and it offers
lots several options for hiking, all with beautiful scenery, plants
and rock formations. |
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Hike:
Kenyon Overlook Trail A short walk with a fantastic view.
An easy walk from the parking lot beside the Yaqui Pass Road (S3).
This is a great hike at sunset, as the distant mountain ranges take
on subtle hues and shadows drift across the bajadas.
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Hike:Little
Surprise Canyon A beautiful little canyon
with fascinating geology and wildflowers in season. Just
minutes from Borrego Springs |
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Hike: Morteros
Trail and Pictograph Trail (2 miles round trip). These two
short hikes in
the Blair Valley include many morteros and
petroglyphs. |
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Hike: The
slot. Approximately 1.5 miles roundtrip. Have lots of
fun exploring this deep and narrow slot canyon. There are many
different ways to explore this area with hikes of varying lengths.
If you have never to the area before it will be best to stop by the ABDNHA Nature Center or State Park Visitor Center for directions and
other information. Several miles of dirt road driving are
required to get to the starting point of this hike. 4WD is
generally not required but a high clearance vehicle is best.
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Hike: Cactus Loop trail
1 mile round trip. Self guided moderate hike, with some hills
to climb, across from Tamarisk Campground. |
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Hike: Narrows
Earth Trail .5 mile loop trail with self-guiding brochure
describes the geology of the area. Park off of Highway 78, 4.7
miles east of Tamarisk Grove. |
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Hike:
Yaqui Well Nature Trail 1.6 easy walk to desert water
hole. Generally a good place for birding. Trail starts
across from Tamarisk Campground. |
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Scenic Drives around Borrego Springs |
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Scenic Drive : Montezuma Grade. It is less than 15 miles from
Borrego Springs to the small community of Ranchita following Highway S-22.
But you gain 3400 feet in elevation and pass through several different
climate zones along the way. The drive is actually most spectacular
heading west, from Ranchita down to Borrego Springs. The scenery is
spectacular, with massive rock formations, rugged canyons, and a view of the
Salton Sea. The road is good, but keep your eyes on the road; there
are many twists and turns along this route. |
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Scenic Drive:
The artwork of
Ricardo Breceda More than 130 sculptures dot the desert landscape
around Borrego Spings. They consist of ancient animals that once
roamed here, historical figures, and many that are pure imagination.
It is all an easy drive from Borrego Springs |
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Scenic Drive : Fonts Point
Fonts point offers an incredible vista
across the Borrego Badlands, an area of layered sediments from ancient
streams deposited during the last 600,000 years and much older deposits, as
old as four million years, from the ancestral Colorado River. 4 wheel
drive is strongly recommended for the four miles of off-highway driving that
lead to Fonts Point. The route is not steep but there are sections of
soft sand. |
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Scenic Drive : Erosion Road. If you are interested in geology stop by
the ABDNHA Nature Center, one block west of Christmas Circle, to pick up
your free copy of this self-guiding brochure, as well as the brochure to the
Narrows Earth Trail. The Erosion road brochure will lead you on
a self-guided auto tour along the Borrego-Salton Seaway, one of the most
fascinating landscapes in the Anza-Borrego Desert. |
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Scenic Drive : The Triangle Tour.
If you want to really get into the desert but just getting to
know the area, the Triangle Tour offers a great introduction.
This is a 33 mile loop and it offers a great combination of
scenic driving, hiking, and venturing off of the blacktop
highway into some of Anza-Borrego's ever-changing washes.
The Triangle tour brochure, with map, is available in the
ABDNHA Nature Center, one block west of Christmas Circle. |
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Scenic Drive :
Mine Wash Native American Village Site The turnoff into Mine
Wash is on the south side of Highway 78 about 3 miles east of the Tamarisk
Grove Campground. Many morteros are scatted among the large
boulders. 4WD is not generally required for the route to the
village site but high clearance is advised.
Read more
about this site. |
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Agua Caliente and Vallecito are San Diego County Parks
about a 45 minute drive from Borrego Springs, along Highway S2. Agua
Caliente, with natural hot springs, has two beautiful outdoor swimming pools, an indoor hot pool, the Moonlight
Canyon hiking trail, and lots of room for kids to play. It's a great
place for families. Vallecito is a restored stage stop on the Butterfield
Stage Line just a few miles from Agua Caliente. Both parks have nice picnic areas and campgrounds. |
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4.
Wildflowers and Desert Plants |
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There are always interesting plants to be seen in the Anza-Borrego Desert
but the crowds really show up when the wildflowers are in maximum bloom.
This is generally in February - March, but not every year, as much
depends upon the winter rains that fall on the desert. Even if you
happen to be here during an 'off-year' or outside of the main blooming
season, if you are a "plant person" you will find plenty to keep you busy.
Check
FLOWER UPDATES for the latest flower on where things are blooming
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4. Cycling -
Road Biking - See the desert on two wheels! |
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CYCLING The Borrego Springs area offers some of the finest road biking you
will find in all of the United States, and at a time of year when much of
the nation's roads are covered in ice and snow. Borrego Springs is
steadily becoming the winter training ground for many professional bike
racing teams, including the top-ranked North American women’s pro team – Colavita Pro Cycling, and teams MIT and other sponsors.
CHECK OUT OUR BIKING PAGE WITH MAPS OF ROUTES
AROUND TOWN
You have your
pick of routes to choose from, relaxing pedal trips around town, an easy ten mile loop into the
citrus-growing farms north of town, a longer 20 mile loop that includes more
of the desert, and many other loops you can discover on your own. Much
of the terrain in the Borrego Valley is rolling, there are wide shoulders,
and traffic is far less than what you would encounter in more
heavily-populated areas. All routes start and end at Christmas Circle.
See what Road Bike Action Magazine has to say.
And... if you view
yourself as advanced, or you like to push yourself to the max, there is
always the 12 mile trip from Borrego Springs up the Montezuma grade to the
town of Ranchita, twisting and turning along the way and climbing 3,400
feet. It's one fantastic hill climb.
If you are looking for off-road biking, mountain biking, most of the good
routes will be in the higher elevations, away from the sandy washes you find
in the valley. A good place to explore is the Blair Valley, where the
terrain is mostly level and the roads are generally firm.
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5. Borrego Springs Desert Photography |
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Borrego Springs and the surrounding Anza-Borrego Desert is
full of life and color. If you enjoy photography you will find subject
matter that ranges from the microscopic in size to landscapes that start at
your feet and stretch to the horizon. Desert photography can be
challenging but that's the fun of it. You can visit for a lifetime and
you will still find new things, and new ways, to fill your lens.
Thanks Mike McElhatton,
Vic Murayama,
Jason Rothmey,
Daren Sefcik, , Sam Webb, for images used in this composite. |
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6.
AROUND TOWN |
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Visit the State Park Visitor Center.
Located at the top of Palm Canyon Drive (drive west from Christmas Circle) the visitor center has fascinating
displays on the plants and animals of the desert, the paleontology, and
archeology, as well as scheduled films on desert topics. Desert
pupfish can also be seen at the park visitor center, in a small pond not far
from the main entrance. |
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Check to see if there are art programs, concerts, or other performances
during your stay. You can stop in the ABDNHA Nature Center or the
Chamber of Commerce to ask, or you can check the individual websites of the
different community organizations.
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Borrego Springs Farmers Market -
Every Friday 7:00 a.m. - Noon, from last Friday in October until Memorial
Weekend. Local dates, other fruit, foods, and interesting items |
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Shopping - Browse through local
shops at the mall and the center, offering artwork, interior decor items,
desert essentials, along with fudge, ice cream, and many great restaurants. |
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Golf. There are four golf
courses in town open to the public. There is also a tennis center
in town. |
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Skateboarding? Yes.
If you have kids who want to try their skills on a professional level
course, Borrego Springs has one of the best. |
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Buy some local citrus or dates!
You just cannot leave town without picking up some local grapefruit.
The season begins in late December and ends when the grapefruit are all
gone! Borrego is famous for its delicious ruby reds. There are
several "honor system" fruit stands in town and in the orchards. Just
pick up a bag and place your money in the box. Borrego dates are also
available at the Roadrunner Date Farm and at Farmers market. |
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Borrego Springs is an official International Dark Sky
Community. This makes the town and the
surrounding desert areas a great place for serious astronomy, star gazing,
or just admiring the heavens on a clear desert night.
Check program schedules to see if
astronomy programs are offered during your stay, or bring your own telescope
and have some fun.
Photo
above
(c) DennisMammana/dennismammana.com |
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Borrego Springs
Internet - Free WiFi Hotspots: Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs
now has free wireless internet access. The Borrego Springs Library,
inside and outside, also has free wireless access. |
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