(Keywords: Hiking, ATV, Off Road - California)
Featuring,
Anza-Borrego State Park
Most
folks envision the desert as a wasteland completely void of hospitable scenery
and lacking in varied topography, but the quintessential picture of the
Borrego Desert is a California Palm Oasis with the costal mountain range
as backdrop. These palm oases are the object of a popular activity,
called "oasis bagging." You drive for miles on jeep
trails up arroyos and washes, get out and hike up canyons, then walk around
to find the perfect location to photograph these desert rarities.
Download this GPS Map to help you locate many of the Palm Oases and other
points of interest in the Borrego Dessert.
The Anza-Borrego State Park is located two hours east of San Diego. RVs pulling off-road vehicles are a common site along the routes between the desert and the population centers of southern California. Accommodations for RV camping are as plentiful and varied as the 4-wheel drive trails on which to ride. Likewise, other lodging facilities include budget motels, bed-and-breakfasts, and even a five-star hotel.
If you consider yourself part of the B'n'B Crowd, check out the Borrego Valley Inn. We had a great stay there a couple of nights in January '02. The owners were very helpful in planning our "waypoint collection expeditions" and there were always interesting folks around in the evening to share the day's experiences with. They don't pay me a commission for this link, but if you make a reservation, please say you heard about them through the Travel by GPS web site anyway.
Regardless of your mode of transportation or preference in sleeping accommodations, this GPS Map will point out many of the popular places in the town of Borrego Springs and guide you to several trailheads, vistas, and points of interest in the over half-million acres of state park lands which surround it.
This GPS Map includes some of the details presented in Lowell & Diana Lindsay's guide to "The Anza-Borrego Desert Region."* Refer to the Lindsay's guide for more information regarding the regions geology, history, and trails.
Click on the binoculars to see a demonstration of ExpertGPS displaying an aerial view of "The Slot". slot_exper.jpg (Approx. 72 KB) opens in a new window.
GPS Map
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Download the free GPS Map in GPS eXchange (.gpx) file format, which can be read and transferred to your GPS using free GPS software. (The .gpx file will appear in a new window where you can File > Save as... on your computer).
GPS Map Details
File Size: 68KB
Revised: 5 March 2002
Class A1 Data
Waypoints: 50+ (trailheads, vistas, places of interest)
Routes/Tracks:
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Coyote Canyon Road to Lower Willows
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Fonts Point Wash to Font Point
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Arroyo Salado to Seventeen Palms and Five Palms
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Buttes Pass / Desert Overlook Fork to Buttes Pass / Desert Overlook Fork to "The Slot
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Palm Canyon Nature Trail
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Fish Creek Wash ( Split Mountain ) to Wind Caves trail
Adventure Travel Tips
Regarding off-road driving in the state park, you are required to travel only on designated trails in licensed vehicles. Even then, you may encounter deep sand, huge pot-holes and other obstacles such as water crossings, boulders, and on-coming vehicles in narrow canyons. Four-wheel drive is highly recommend, especially during dry spells (two-wheel drive with high-clearance will do fine on some roads in the right condition ). In the desert, getting stuck is as easy as getting dehydrated. Take lots of water - and remember to drink it. If you will be hiking, I recommend hydration packs* which evenly distribute the weight of the water you carry.
More Info
For more info, rules and regulations for the Anza Borrego State Park, see their web site at:www.anzaborrego.statepark.org
