Joshua Tree & Anza-Borrego
Southern California deserts · near Joshua Tree / Borrego Springs · California Desert
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Late fall–early spring (dangerous heat in summer)
What is here
- Terrain
- desert
- Amenities
- Surreal Joshua Tree boulders · Geology Tour Rd backcountry · Vast Anza-Borrego (CA's largest park) · Desert dark-sky camping
- Best for
- Surreal, accessible desert backroad adventure
- Features
- Iconic Joshua Tree scenery · Sandy desert backroads · Anza-Borrego wash riding · Spectacular dark skies
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Extreme heat outside cool months · Deep sand & washboard · Scarce water, must carry own · Remote washes, navigation
- Good for a first timer
- No
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- adventure · day-gravel
- Surface
- sand
- Remoteness
- 3
- Riding
- Sandy desert backroads amid surreal boulders and Joshua trees — routes like Geology Tour Road, plus the vast washes of Anza-Borrego, California's largest state park
- Terrain note
- Sea level to 4,000+ ft; sandy roads & washes; extreme aridity & heat
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- Southern California's great desert parks — Joshua Tree (sandy backroads like Geology Tour Rd among surreal boulders and iconic trees) and Anza-Borrego (California's LARGEST state park: vast washes, badlands, palm oases, spring wildflowers). Surreal, spectacular riding in the cool months. Sandy, arid terrain: deep sand, scarce water (carry your own), backcountry remoteness, dangerous summer heat (late fall–early spring only). Desert camping under blazing stars. Unforgettable.
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
Southern California's great desert parks — Joshua Tree and Anza-Borrego — offer surreal, spectacular backroad riding for those …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Joshua Tree & Anza-Borrego — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.98, -116.16