Borrego Palm Canyon
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park · near Borrego Springs · California Desert
Hiking · Trail Running
At a glance
- Difficulty
- easy
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 3 miles
- Elevation gain
- 500 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- October–April · Spring wildflower superblooms (Feb–March in good years) · Summer dangerously hot
- Distance
- 3.5 miles
- Best season
- November–March ONLY · summer heat is deadly
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park day-use fee. An easy loop to a palm oasis. Bighorn sheep sightings common. SUMMER IS DANGEROUS — desert heat. Spring superblooms draw crowds in wildflower years.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
- How the permit works
- No running permit. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park — $10 day-use at the Palm Canyon trailhead. Carry all water. Cool-season only; summer is lethal.
What is here
- Features
- Palm oasis in the desert · Native California fan palms · Bighorn sheep sightings · Spring wildflower superblooms · Largest state park in California
- Features
- Palm oasis in the largest CA state park · Desert bighorn sheep sightings · Spring wildflower superblooms · Slot-like canyon walls & a seasonal creek
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The trailhead is near the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground in Anza-Borrego, with the town of Borrego Springs (famous for its huge desert sky-art sculptures) nearby. Time a visit for a superbloom year (check wildflower reports Feb–March). The park's Slot Canyon and Font's Point are other highlights. Dark skies make it a stargazing haven too.
Trail Running detail
- Surface
- technical
- Intl tip
- The trailhead is near the Anza-Borrego visitor center and Borrego Springs. Winter and early spring are the only safe (and most beautiful) seasons — time a superbloom year for the wildflowers. Bring all your water. Watch for bighorn sheep. Combine with the park's slot canyons and the Salton Sea to the east.
The guide
Borrego Palm Canyon is the signature hike of Anza-Borrego, California's largest state park — an easy 3-mile loop that leads fro…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Borrego Palm Canyon — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.272, -116.418