Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

San Diego County

Altitude: 16-7,780ft/5-2,370m

Location and importance

About 85mi/136km northeast of San Diego, and reached via Highways 8 and 79, is the entrance to the biggest state Park in California, which covers an area of about 600,000 acres/242,200 hectares, and is one of the most beautiful desert landscapes in the state. Dunes, alluvial land, canyons, palm groves, flowers and cacti (which flower in March and April), as well as fantastic views, represent only some of the attractions of this area on the edge of the Colorado Desert.

The more than 500mi/805km of road are mainly unfinished, and can be negotiated only in a cross-country vehicle. Apart from Route 78 (with some hotels) which runs past Borrego Springs, only the S2, S3 and S22 are made-up.

The park was named after the priest Juan Bautista de Anza, who, in the course of 2.5 months in 1774, crossed the Colorado desert with a small group from Sonora (Mexico) and reached the Californian mission stations.

The Spanish name "Borrego" (year-old ram) refers to the thick-horned sheep which at one time lived in this wasteland region, but which are seldom encountered today.