Anza-Borrego Desert SP

State Park

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in California. Five-hundred miles of dirt roads, 12 wilderness areas and miles of hiking trails provide visitors with an unparalleled opportunity to experience the wonders of the California Desert. The park is named after Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and the Spanish name borrego, or bighorn sheep. The park features washes, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and sweeping vistas. Visitors may also have the chance to see roadrunner, 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.

(FLOWER INFORMATION BELOW)

NEW VISITOR CENTER DAYS AND HOURS

ATTENTION!

The Visitor Center will be open 5 days a week, Thursday - Monday

from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through May 31, 2010.

Starting June 1, through September 30, 2010, the Visitor Center begins its

summer hours: Weekends and holidays only from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location - Directions
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.

(FLOWER INFORMATION BELOW)

Seven New Cultural Preserves

California State Parks is pursuing classifying 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

Sun motif pictograph�]Little Blair Valley

Sun motif pictograph - Little Blair Valley

ATTENTION! - Final Wildflower Report - July 1, 2010

After a winter of bountiful rain, the desert burst into
a riot of colorful blossoms. We enjoyed a very good bloom.

The blossom of annual flowers is mostly over now.
Some blooms still remain in the upper reaches of the park.
On the desert floor the late blossoming smoke trees
are heavy with deep purple blooms.

Watch this site for updates when the
next flower season arrives.

Remember, bountiful flower seasons depend on winter and
spring rainfall. So watch the weather reports
and hope for another colorful flower season next year.

The pictures below are from last year.

Barrel Cactus

California Primrose

California Primrose

Ocotillo Buds

Ocotillo Buds

Monkdy Flower

Monkey Flower

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.

Wi-Fi Service
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park now offers AT&T Wi-Fi Service!
This service enables park visitors with wireless enabled laptop computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) to access the Internet. You can access this service if you are within a 150 foot range base of the Ranger's Office. For more information about this service please see January 19, 2005, News Release.

January 19, 2005, News Release (pdf)

Other parks with WiFi access...