In San Diego County, there are deserts, mountains, and beaches, all within an hour's reach, each with a completely different ecosystem and different ways to recreate and camp. If you're looking for a wilderness camping experience of rugged beauty and serene solitude, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park might be for you. Explore the camping opportunities this park has to offer! 

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park offers more than 600,000 acres of slot canyons, washes, ridges, and caves carved by wind and rain, with many available primitive camping areas, paid campgrounds, and an off-road vehicle area known as Ocotillo Wells State Recreation Area. In the summer, desert temperatures can reach 110 degrees, so visiting the park between November and April is best.  

Wildflower displays attract thousands of visitors in the spring, but the park is so vast it rarely feels crowded. Spotting wildlife is not as abundant as you would think. Although you can hear coyotes in the night, you rarely see them.  If you’re lucky, you may come across bighorn sheep as you hike. At night you may see kangaroo mice or ground owls. 

Primitive camping

Anza Borrego has over 500 miles of dirt roads in the backcountry where you can pull over and camp at any previously used campsites or clearings free of vegetation. 

Some roads, like the road to Blair Valley, are RV-and two-wheel-drive-accessible and offer pit toilets. Others require ground clearance and four-wheel drive and do not have toilets. Be sure to research accessibility before making the trip, so you don’t find yourself stuck in the sand far off course. Note that there is no drinking water at the primitive sites, and when not in the off-road recreational area, all vehicles must be street-legal.  

Camping in the desert wilderness is a phenomenal experience, but not for the unprepared. At times, you are completely off the grid without cell reception or neighboring campers. Sometimes you can manage to send a text. And even though you can see for miles, it’s deceptively easy to go off-trail and get lost. The dry heat can be deceiving, so dehydration is a serious risk. Be sure to bring ample drinking water for cooking and hiking, because water is not available in the backcountry.  

Because primitive camps are remote, the stargazing and silence are breathtaking, making it a great place to unwind. There is virtually no light or noise pollution except an occasional coyote howl. 

Here are some of the best primitive camping areas in Anza Borrego: 

• Blair Valley 

• Fish Creek 

• Split Mountain 

• Yaqui Well 

• Mountain Palm Springs 

• Arroyo Salado 

• Sheep Canyon 

• Coyote Canyon 

• Clark Dry Lake

Rules: This is a wilderness area. Please recreate responsibly and leave no trace. Firearms, drones, ground fires, and off-road vehicles are not permitted in primitive areas. Dogs are okay. Bring your own metal, above-ground fire pit, tables, chairs, shade canopies, water, toilet paper, and a shovel in case you get stuck in the sand. On occasion, a ranger may stop by to make sure you aren’t building ground fires. 

Paid campgrounds 

If you enjoy the safety and accessibility of an established campground, the park offers five paid campsites, all of which have great facilities and can be booked on the Reserve California web page. These include:  

• Tamarask Grove Campground 

• Agua Caliente Hot Springs 

• Bow Willow Campground 

• Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area 

• Borrego Palm Canyon, Borrego Springs, CA 

Most campgrounds take reservations from October 31 to April 30, allowing up to 8 people per campsite with one vehicle and pets on leash. Also, you can access showers and flush toilets at the established campgrounds. Note that Bow Willow does not take reservations and only has vault toilets. 

Note about reservations: In the past, San Diego campsites have been notoriously hard to reserve, but take heart—the reservation system was recently revamped thanks to a bill California State Parks Foundation supported! Campsites are now released in rolling windows allowing you to reserve them six months in advance, and new cancellation policies incentivize people to release their sites if they go unused.

Desert Activities

Whether you’re visiting Anza-Borrego Desert State Park for its camping or just a day activity, there is plenty this park has to offer for your exploration! Check out a few activities regardless of whether you are a park newcomer or a seasoned desert adventurer:
 

1. Tour the Anza-Borrego Desert Visitor Center 

The park’s visitor center is a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the Anza-Borrego Desert! Inside the center are exhibits showcasing the desert's flora, fauna, history, and environment; a theater; a gift and bookstore; and helpful park rangers. Plus, right outside are several easy trails that take you through the native plant gardens surrounding the center.   
 

2. View the Wildflowers in the Spring   

View wildflowers in the spring, which after heavy winter rains can be superblooms. The best viewing is mid-March to mid-April on Henderson Rd, Coyote Canyon, Borrego Palm Canyon Trail. Flowers can be seen throughout the park, but you may have to get out of your car and hit the trails to experience them! Be sure to stay on the trail so not to doom the bloom! Call the Wildflower Hotline for daily updates. 
 

3. Check out the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail  

This popular 2.9-mile loop trail near Borrego Springs takes you through the rocky canyon to one of the last remaining naturally occurring native California palm groves left on the planet. The path leads to the third-largest palm oasis in California, which was the first site sought for a desert state park back in the 1920s! 
 

4. Hike to the Goat Canyon Trestle 

Goat Canyon Trestle is the world’s largest all wood train trestle built in 1933. You need four-wheel drive to access the trailhead, and bouldering makes it difficult to follow the trail at times, but it’s a magnificent view. 
 

5. Visit Little Blair Valley  

Not only does little Blair Valley have incredible native American petroglyphs and morteros, but is a great place to gaze at the stars or view the annual Perseid meteor shower. Little Blair Valley is a favorite spot for amateur astronomers because it has little to no light pollution. The meteor shower is in August in the heat of the summer, so plan to arrive after dark and leave before sunrise. No need for a tent. Just bring a reclining lounge chair or blanket. 

Share with us your desert and camping adventures! Follow and tag us @calparks on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter page. 
 

SOURCES 

• https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638  

• https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1217  

• https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1023  

• https://theabf.org/experience-anza-borrego/wildflowers/  

• https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/borrego-palm-canyon--5