Anza-Borrego Desert SP

WILDFLOWERS

Where are they???

The quality and extent of flower displays are governed by a variety of environmental factors that are not only beyond our control but hard to predict.  This is the second year of lower-than-average rainfall, and we have relied on trees, shrubs, and cacti for most of our color this spring.

Very little is still in bloom in the Borrego Valley. This is the time of year to check out higher elevations. Try the Culp Valley area, or sections of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Be sure to stop by the Visitor Center for maps and more advice on how to make the most of your visit to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park!




Take advantage of the nice weather to come out for a walk or a hike, and see what you can discover! Explore on your own, or join one of our interpretive hikes led by a volunteer naturalist.

If you would like to receive updates next year, as different wildflowers start coming into bloom, we suggest that you check back here, or join the email list of our nonprofit partner, Anza-Borrego Foundation.

You can also call our Wildflower Hotline at 760-767-4684.

Scroll down to see photos of wildflowers from previous seasons.

Swainson's Hawks

Borrego Springs is a major stopover on the Swainson's Hawks' 6,000-mile spring migration from Argentina to their breeding grounds far north of us. Local "Hawkwatchers" are stationed at strategic locations in the valley every morning and evening to count them as they overnight here. Would you like to join them? Find out more here or read a summary on the Borrego Valley Hawkwatch Blog.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

Eighty-two birders were out bright and early on December 16 to identify and count the most birds possible for the 30th Audubon Anza-Borrego Desert Christmas Bird Count. By the end of the day, 114 species were recorded, with a total number of 8,878 individual birds. The count circle, with a diameter of 15 miles, is centered in Borrego Springs and includes park land in Coyote Canyon, Palm Canyon, Culp Valley, Glorieta Canyon and Clark Valley. Thank you to Anza-Borrego Foundation for sponsoring this event each year! 
For the complete list of birds seen, click here.
For a more detailed chart showing which birds were seen in each area, click here.

About us - Location - Directions

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in California. Five hundred miles of dirt roads, 12 wilderness areas and many miles of hiking trails provide visitors with an unparalleled opportunity to experience the wonders of the California Desert. The park is named for Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and the Spanish word borrego, or bighorn sheep. The park features washes, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and sweeping vistas. Visitors may also have the chance to see roadrunners, golden eagles, kit foxes, mule deer and bighorn sheep as well as iguanas, chuckwallas and the red diamond rattlesnake. Listening devices for the hearing impaired are available in the visitor center.

The Park is located on the eastern side of San Diego County, with portions extending east into Imperial County and north into Riverside County. It is about a two-hour drive from San Diego, Riverside, and Palm Springs.

Many visitors approach from the east or west via Highways S22 and 78. From the coast, these highways descend from the heights of the Peninsular range of mountains with spectacular views of the great bowl of the Colorado Desert. Highway S2 enters the park from the south off of Interstate 8.
                                                     

Seven New Cultural Preserves

California State Parks has classified seven areas of outstanding historic and cultural interest in Anza Borrego Desert State Park as Cultural Preserves. The proposed classifications were recommended in the approved 2005 A.B.D.S.P. General Plan.

For more information, please visit the link below:

Anza-Borrego Desert SP General Plan and Cultural Preserves Web page: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=21314

More about the Park

Most visitors approach from the east via Highways S22, S2, or 78. Visitors from San Diego via Highways 79 and 78 have the added pleasure of driving through the mountainous Cuyamaca Rancho State Park--quite a different experience from Anza-Borrego. The highways from the east climb to 2,400 feet or so and then descend about 2,000 feet to the valley. Where the highway breaks out of the high-country vegetation, it reveals the great bowl of the Anza-Borrego desert. The valley spreads below, and there are mountains all around. The highest are to the north--the Santa Rosa Mountains. The mountains are a wilderness, with no paved roads in or out or through. They have the only all-year-flowing watercourse in the park. They are the home of the peninsular bighorn sheep, often called desert bighorn. Few park visitors ever see them; the sheep are justly wary. A patient few observers each year see and count them, to learn how this endangered species is coping with human encroachment.

CALIFORNIA OVERLAND!

Click on the link below to start your excursion through the wildlands of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park:

California Overland Home Page

Borrego Jeep / Photo Adventures

"EXPLORE AND EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY, SOLITUDE AND MYSTERY OF ANZA-BORREGO STATE PARK WITH AN EXCITING, MEMORY MAKING JEEP ADVENTURE.  YOUR GUIDE ,AARON DENNIS C.P.P. , IS A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER WHO CAN SHOW YOU HOW TO RECORD YOUR MEMORIES " .   (PHOTO INSTRUCTION IS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE AND IS OPTIONAL)
 
With Art and Soul
AARON DENNIS

www.aarondennis.com

WWW.BORREGOJEEPPHOTOTOURS.COM

WILDFLOWERS


Blossoms and Buds: Beavertail Cactus at the Visitor Center (S Theriault)

The pictures below are from previous years' wildflower seasons. 

Orcutt Aster by Park Volunteer Mike Bigelow


Fishhook Cactus (Mammillaria)
photo by Park Volunteer Mike Bigelow


Desert Woolstar by Park Volunteer Mike Bigelow


Apricot Mallow by Park Volunteer Mike Bigelow

Phacelia (Wild Heliotrope)
photo by Park Volunteer Grace Clark


Pink-blooming Cheesebush
photo by Park Volunteer Grace Clark
 

     Barrel Cactus