San Diego California Events. Area focus - Borrego Springs

City: Unincorporated area of San Diego County
Area Population: 2,856
Elevation: 728 feet above sea level
Distance from downtown SD: 101.0 miles northeast

Borrego Springs is an unincorporated community in San Diego County, California, United States. Because of frequent summer daytime temperatures over 100°F, many residents are seasonal.

The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park visitor's center is located west of town. A local landmark is the traffic roundabout between the airport and downtown, known as Christmas Circle. The town includes a branch of the San Diego County Library.

The village is located on the floor of the Borrego Valley, which is widely acknowledged as the westernmost extent of the great southwestern geographical region known as the Sonoran Desert.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
200 Palm Canyon Drive
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5311) Map

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.

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.

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.

Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area
5172 Highway 78
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5391) Map

Adjacent to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, this area has desert terrain, from below sea level to 400 foot elevations. It is a motorcycle, four-wheel drive, all-terrain vehicle, and dune buggy use area.

The wash-and-ridge terrain includes a butte with dunes and a sand bowl, a blow-sand dune, springs and a camp on a former homestead site. The park has pay showers, picnic tables, shade ramadas, fire rings and a dump station available. No water.

Location/Directions
Eastern San Diego and in Western Imperial Counties. Access is via Highway 78, about 35 miles east of Julian or about 20 miles west of Highway 86.

Seasons/Climate/Recommended clothing
The weather can be changeable; layered clothing is recommended.

Vallecito County Park
37349 County Route S-2
Borrego Springs, CA 92004 Map - Park - Campground

When an East Coast traveler saw Vallecito for the first time in 1859, he described it as a "beautiful green spot--a perfect oasis in the desert." That it was, and still is. A portion of that "little valley," as its Spanish name is translated, has been preserved as a county park built around a reconstruction of the historic Vallecito Stage Station. But the park preserves far more than history. It offers the modern-day camper a quiet place in which desert secrets reveal themselves to those who take the time to watch and listen.

A Green Refuge
That 19th Century traveler was just one of a long line of appreciative visitors. For the Native Americans who lived here for thousand of years, for Spanish conquistadors, for explorers and soldiers such as Kit Carson and General Stephen Kearny, for emigrants in the early part of this century who still traveled by wagon, Vallecito has always been a green refuge in an often harsh land.

Countless generations of Native Americans camped here but left little evidence of their occupation. In contrast, a single generation of 19th Century Americans left indelible impressions. One example, the stage station, is testimony to the most dynamic decade of this area's history. First used as an army supply depot, then as a rest stop on the "Jackass Mail" between San Antonio and San Diego, the building was busiest during the lifetime of the Butterfield Overland Stage (1858- 61). The stage line carried mail and passengers over the 2800 miles separating Tipton, Missouri and San Francisco in 25 days. It was said to be the longest stage ride in the world.

Stage stations scattered along the route offered the weary passengers a brief meal and rest as the horses were changed. Then it was on to the next stop on the 24-hour-a-day journey. Vallecito was a favorite such station, since it was the first place with greenery that travelers saw after crossing the hostile desert west of Yuma. But the Civil War ended the southern mail route, and Vallecito went into a slow decline.

In 1934 the County purchased the crumbling building and surrounding land, and rebuilt the station using original materials. But it's not only human history that is preserved here. The extensive vegetation in the small valley supports abundant wildlife, including foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, and many reptiles. Birds are especially attracted to the mesquite and acacia thickets; among the avian residents are desert specialties such as cactus wrens and black-throated sparrows.

Facilities
Vallecito is a quiet alternative to some of the busier desert campgrounds. One attraction is the weather, which averages about 10 degrees cooler than nearby Agua Caliente. The 44 primitive campsites at Vallecito have tables, fire rings, and barbecue stoves, and water is available at scattered locations throughout the campground. A youth area offers additional camping possibilities at the 71-acre park. Children will enjoy the tot lot, and picnickers will want to make use of a large covered picnic area. Pets are permitted. Vallecito is a convenient hub from which to enjoy other desert activities, such as the miles of hiking trails in Agua Caliente Regional Park, four miles south on S-2, and in the nearby Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Vallecito is open from Labor Day weekend to Memorial Day weekend.

Borrego Springs Preserve
Old Springs and Peg Leg Road
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-765-4098) Map
Directions: From Downtown Borrego, take Palm Canyon east for 4.5 miles. Turn right on to Old Springs. Go .2 miles and preserve is on your left.

Borrego Valley Airport
1820 Palm Canyon Drive
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5727) Map

Three miles east of Borrego Springs and 100 miles northeast of downtown San Diego. The Burnand family, developers of Borrego Springs, sold approximately 145 acres to the County of San Diego in 1947 for the development of Borrego Valley Airport. The County owns and operates the facility and contracts with an on-site manager for day-to-day operations.

There is no time like Springtime in the desert. And Borrego Valley Airport is an ideal location to start desert exploration. The weather is usually pleasant and the flora is adorned with a rainbow of colors between March and May.

The airport and town are surrounded by the 600,000-acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Fly in, grab breakfast at the airport's Assaggio Ristorante Italiano (760) 767-3388, Saturday and Sunday. Hours: closed Tues., open Sat-Sun from 9am to 9:30 pm; open Mon, Wed, Thurs and Fri from 11 am to 9:30 pm. Assaggio Ristorante Italiano is closed during the months of July and August. Rent a car (760) 767-7415 at the terminal to begin a day's adventure or a week's vacation.

Resorts and motels are available, as well as many campgrounds and picnic areas. A short drive from the airport is the State Park Visitor’s Center with many displays of desert life, area history and other interesting information.

In front of the center is a display of the various plants which will help you learn the difference between a chollas and beavertail cactus, for example. The center also has maps of the numerous hiking trails in the area. If your interest is in nature, follow trails through nearby canyons. You may be lucky enough to see a rare bighorn sheep or exotic birds.

If you’re more interested in playing golf or tennis, or just laying by a swimming pool, there are several top-quality resorts which offer courses, courts and comfortable waters. Several provide shuttle service from the airport.

Ocotillo Airport
Ocotillo Wells, CA 92004 Map

Ocotillo Wells, CA, 100 miles E of San Diego on State Highway 78. Ocotillo Wells Airport was acquired from the federal government in 1956.

Golden rays of dawn peek over an eastern knoll warming away the early morning chill. From the west, the smell of breakfast wafts across a hard-packed dry lakebed. Gradually, the sapphire sky, with its pinholes of starlight, dissolves to deep azure. Ocotillo Wells.

Here in the Anza-Borrego Desert life is best lived from September to May, away from the searing heat of summer. Here there is the opportunity to see the ancient and the modern.

Ocotillo Airstrip, one of eight aviation facilities owned by the County of San Diego, is a great way for pilots to visit this remote area. The strip's two runways, one 2,475 feet long and the other 4,210 feet, sit on a dry lake bed about 100 miles east of downtown San Diego. A small café, gas station and general store are directly across State Route 78. Tie-downs are available at the airstrip's transient area.

Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Park is due west of the airport and has more than 42,000 acres of desert landscape. Some of the most unusual terrain in the county is within hiking distance of the airport.

Devil's Slide is a 200-foot high granite and sand island, a decomposing mountaintop. You may find old hidden mine shafts which some say are haunted. The Pumpkin Patch is a huge field of globular sandstone "concretions" formed by the natural cementing of sand particles to a small object such as a grain of sand, a piece of shell or even a bug. Dozens of other unique spots include Barrel Springs, Shell Reef, Blow Sand Hill and Gas Domes.

When you fly in to Ocotillo Airstrip for hiking or camping, make sure to bring appropriate clothing, food and plenty of water. Even on cooler days, you'll need water in this arid area. Also, keep an eye on the weather. If heavy storms are on the way, it's best to play it safe. The airstrip is built on a lakebed, which can sometimes turn to mud with rain.

Walking through remote areas near Ocotillo Airstrip and the adjoining Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, you may get the feeling you're the first person to leave footprints in the sand. But archeologists found evidence of human activity in the area as long as 6,000 years ago. Nomadic groups of Native American Kumeyaay and Cahuilla left evidence of their life in the desert.

A little research in travel books or on the Internet before your trip provides insights into the history and splendor of Ocotillo Wells. It's worth the effort.

Library
571 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5761) Map - Website

Post Office
2599 Country Club Road, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(800-275-8777) Map

Sheriff
565 Palm Canyon Road, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5656) Map

Borrego Springs Elementary School (K-6)
1315 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5333) Map - Website

Borrego Springs Middle/High School (K-12)
2281 Diegueno Drive, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5335) Map - Website

Palm Canyon Cont High School (9-12)
2231 Diegueno Drive, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
(760-767-5418) Map - Website

San Diego County Website
Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce
Borrego Springs Demographic Profile - Fact Sheet
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