Michele StuevenThree hours from Los Angeles and about 40 miles from the Mexican border, Borrego Springs is one of eight international Dark Sky Communities and the gateway to Anza-Borreo Desert State Park in Northern San Diego County. If you seek perspective, this clean, uncluttered, and not overpopulated 650,000-acre desert park is the place to clear your head.
The park takes its name from 18th-century Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and borrego, the Spanish word for sheep, of which many bighorns still roam the local mountains.
The park’s fossil record includes preserved plants, a variety of shells, animal tracks, bones, and teeth. Most fossils found in the park date from six million to under a half million years of age. Paleontological remains are widespread and diverse, scattered over hundreds of square miles of eroded badland terrain extending south from the Santa Rose Mountains into Northern Baja California in Mexico. For thousands of years, it was the homeland of native Cahuilla, Cupeno, and Indigenous Kumeyaay tribes.
Morteros, bedrock mortar grinding holes in ancient Kumeyaay winter village (Michele Stueven)
The park offers four different points, each with an excellent view of the desert landscape. The four-mile road to Fonts Point is not marked but consists mainly of hard-packed sand and dirt, and it is easy to follow.
The badlands are a region of arid geography with sunken mesas and corrugated hills of dry mud and a view of the Salton Sea in the distance. The Fonts Point area is one of the best places in North America to view these sedimentary layers. Visit early in the morning or late in the day to avoid the heat.
Once undersea, the Borrego Badlands are a maze of hills and arroyos which, when seen close-up, reveal a hidden treasure of native palms, remote springs, and mysterious concretions, none of which feel like planet Earth.
Named by USA Today as one of the ten top stargazing locations in America, the Anza-Borrego Desert is rugged. Most of the hundreds of trails, including slot canyons, ancient Kumeyaay villages, dramatic badlands, and the celestial views from Fonts Point, can only be accessed by four-wheel-drive vehicles.
But that ride is just the start of what will help dislodge the cobwebs and constraints of your mind. The twinkling views of the Pleiades star cluster, Double Star Cluster in Perseus, Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, distant galaxies M81/M82, and the planets Jupiter and Saturn will set it all straight.
For the most adventurous, you will find local stargazers near Superstition Mountain, an off-roading area in Imperial County, California, that’s about 17 miles west of El Centro. The 13,000-acre open area contains sand dunes, mud hills, rocky trails, and typical hard-pack desert terrain. Cross-country off-highway vehicle use is permitted within the boundaries of this area. No fees are required for use or camping.
Fonts Point (Michele Stueven)
Borrego Night Sky Tours by noted astronomer Dennis Mammana takes visitors on two-hour curated tours of the desert sky, identifying its comets and constellations with the help of a telescope. There is no fixed location to meet, but it will always be minutes from the Borrego Springs town center, which will be determined when you get your final tour details. No four-wheel drive is necessary; precise directions are sent via email a week in advance. Every nighttime observation is different, depending on a variety of celestial conditions, and offers a truly personalized experience.
You can also stargaze in any of the park’s 12 campgrounds and it’s one of the few California parks that allows open camping throughout its 650,000 acres.
Where To Stay
The Borrego Valley Inn is a serene oasis with modern comforts. The adults-only, invisible service adobe property has 15 rooms with private sunbathing patios, fireplaces, complimentary Wi-Fi, access to two pools (one clothing optional), and outdoor hot tubs. There’s no front desk or onsite staff, with automated coded check-in. Breakfast is delivered to your doorstep with a soft knock on the door. A phone number is provided upon reservation confirmation if you need to reach someone.
The larger nearby Palm Canyon Hotel & RV Resort offers a family and pet-friendly Western-themed experience, with spacious king or queen rooms, solar-powered Jupes equipped with Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, and dimmable LED lighting and premium recreational vehicle sites, as well as customized onsite Airstream trailers available for rental. The property has outdoor pools and hot tubs, a restaurant and saloon, a general store, laundry, and RV guest facilities. Plus, you can sleep in the jail.
Palm Canyon Hotel and Resort (Michele Stueven)
Inside the desert jupe at Palm Canyon Hotel (Michele Stueven)
Where To Eat
All the restaurants are privately owned mom-and-pop establishments. You won’t find chains of any kind in Borrego Springs, with the closest McDonald’s an hour away.
Big Horn Burgers And Shakes at the Palm Canyon Hotel serves Western fare, and its saloon shakes up a thirst-quenching blood orange margarita. If you’re planning a long hike or desert tour, have Kendall’s Cafe pack you a picnic lunch to go with one of their massive sandwiches. For a romantic dinner under the stars or a frisky sunrise breakfast, join the locals at The Red Ocotillo for old-school American fare like exceptional meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The garden-to-table restaurant sources produce from its adjacent vegetable garden. If you’re in the mood for Mexican food, the family-owned Carmelita’s Mexican Grill And Cantina has been a local standby since 2008, with owner/chef Narciso Dorado in the kitchen.
Meatloaf dinner at The Red Ocotillo (Michele Stueven)
Because of the heat, the season usually runs from October through Mother’s Day, and because it’s an official Dark Sky Community, codes and statutes have been established to reduce light pollution, bringing a feeling of peace and making it possible never to escape the stars. The only thing you will hear at night is the wind blowing and the coyotes baying at the moon.
And if you want to see giant scorpions battle grasshoppers or oversized sand dragons emerging from the desert floor, don’t miss the more than 100 metal sculptures created by Ricardo Breceda in the Galleta Meadows Estate. It’s free to visit, you don’t need a state park pass.
Maps and information are available at the Park Visitor Center, the State Park Store operated by the Anza-Borrego Foundation, and the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association store. Check out the Anza Borrego Foundation website for more info on what to see and do in the park, as well as education programs provided by the foundation through the spring of 2025. The Borrego Springs Film Festival takes place from Wednesday, Jan. 15 through Sunday, Jan. 19.
Galleta Meadows (Michele Stueven)
Goodnight, moon (Larry Bradley ABF Volunteer)