Wind Caves (Split Mountain)
Fish Creek, Anza-Borrego Desert SP · near Ocotillo Wells · California Desert
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 1.3 miles
- Elevation gain
- 250 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Oct–Apr
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- Free. Access via Split Mountain Rd + Fish Creek Wash. Never enter the wash if rain threatens (flash-flood corridor).
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Wind-sculpted sandstone hoodoos · Marine-fossil beds · Split Mountain gorge · Panoramic badlands view
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- This is the single most common place in the park to get a rental car stuck — the last miles are soft sand.
The guide
Wind and time have eaten a hillside of sandstone into a honeycomb of caves and hollows perched above the Carrizo Badlands. The …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Wind Caves (Split Mountain) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.9933, -116.1184