Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Borrego Springs · near Borrego Springs · California Desert
Off-Road
At a glance
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Size
- 600,000+ acres · 500 miles of dirt roads · California's largest state park
- Best season
- October–April · Spring wildflowers (Feb–March) peak season · Summer is deadly — 120°F possible
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit required for day driving on established dirt roads. California State Park fee applies at entrance station (but many routes bypass the entrance). All vehicles must stay on existing roads — Anza-Borrego does NOT permit open OHV play like Ocotillo Wells. 4WD and high clearance are practical requirements for most routes beyond Font's Point.
What is here
- Terrain
- desert-wash · overland · rock-crawling
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Off-Road detail
- Vehicles
- 4x4-jeep · overland
- Signature routes
- Font's Point (4 miles, easy–moderate) · Pinyon Mountain Road (17 miles, expert) · Fish Creek Wash / Sandstone Canyon (47 miles out-and-back)
- Intl tip
- The Galleta Meadows metal sculptures — over 130 life-size and larger metal animal sculptures scattered across the Borrego Valley — are visible from the road and make for an extraordinary and completely free art installation in the middle of the desert. The most famous is a 350-foot-long serpent. Combine Font's Point sunset viewing with a Galleta Meadows sculpture walk for a complete Anza-Borrego day.
The guide
Anza-Borrego is the largest state park in California and one of the most extraordinary desert landscapes in North America. Its …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.259, -116.394