Anza Borrego Desert

WELCOME, DESERT DENIZENS!

Our deserts section covers the Anza Borrego Desert State Park and the communities of Borrego Springs, Ocotillo, Ocotillo Wells and Jacumba.


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FULL MOON DESERT WALK SET FOR JANUARY 24

January 21, 2024 (Borrego Springs) -- The Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association’s Education Director Mike McElhatton will lead a full moon nighttime walk in South Palm Wash on January 24 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  The moonlight walk is a tradition of the organization, now in its 13th year.

Experience the unique and serene beauty of moonlight on the canyon walls along this a free 1.5- mile walk through South Palm Wash. Meet at ABDNHA to carpool. A flashlight, water, and good hiking shoes are required. Activity cancels with cloud cover or high wind. Call the Nature Center at 760-767-3098 to reserve. This walk is fairly easy with short moderate sections.


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COYOTE MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE HIKE JANUARY 14 IN ANZA BORREGO STATE PARK

East  County News Service

January 4, 2023 (Anza Borrego) – The Anza Borrego Foundation will lead a hike on Coyote Mountain in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park on Sunday, January 14 from 7 a.m.to approximately 4 p.m. Hikers will cljmb Coyote Mountain on an eight-mile route with an elevation gain of about 2,500 feet.


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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: ORCHID TREE BLOOMING IN BORREGO

April 10, 2022 (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park) -- Though there wasn't enough rain for a superbloom season in the Anza Borrego Desert this year, you can still see examples flowering desert plants and trees in a demonstration garden at the Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association center.

This orchid tree blossom was among the most striking examples during a recent visit by our editor, Miriam Raftery, who snapped this photo of the beautiful bloom resembling those found in the tropics, but thriving in the local desert.


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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: SUN SHAFTS AND FLOWERS

 

 

East County News Service

March 6, 2019 (Borrego Springs) – Bob Kutscher sent in these dramatic images yesterday in the Anza-Borrego desert, “before the clouds completely blocked the sun as a few light showers started.”

 

 

 


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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: STUNNING SUNRISE

 

 

East County News Service

December 17, 2016 (Ocotillo) -- Jim Pelley captured this image of a spectacular sunrise over the desert in Ocotillo yesterday morning.


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NIGHT SKY PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP JUNE 25-26 IN BORREGO SPRINGS



By Miriam Raftery

May 26, 2016 (Borrego Springs) –In June, the Milky Way will be  a spectacular sight to behold in the night sky over Borrego Springs.   You can join world famous night sky photographer Dennis Mammana  to learn the fine art and science of capturing the Milky Way with your camera, along with many other remarkable celestial sights visible in the clear, dark desert sky at a night sky photography workshop June 25-26.


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DESERT WILDFLOWERS HIKE SATURDAY MARCH 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 4, 2016 (Ocotillo) – The Jacumba Hikers and Walkers will lead a Desert Wild Flowers hike this Saturday, March 5th. Meet at 8 am at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum  (11 W. Frontage Road, Ocotillo).  The hike begins at the trailhead to   

Mountain Palm Spring off S2, then traveling to a Palm Oases and along the you may encounter wild flowers: Ocotillo, Blooming Creosote Bush, Salton Milk-Vetch, Poppies, Mariposa Lilly, Pink Phlox, Primrose, Desert Paint Brush, Verbena, Dasies and Yellow Cups just to name a few.


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DESTINATION EAST COUNTY: TOP FESTIVALS AND EVENTS MARCH 24 - APRIL 12

 

March 24, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes the Ramona Music Festival and Vallecito Days, recreating frontier life, plus our very own Party with the Press. We’ll also have a preview of coming attractions including egg hunts, April Pool’s Day in La Mesa, and readings of baseball’s most famous stories!  Stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.


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DESTINATION EAST COUNTY: TOP FESTIVALS AND EVENTS MARCH 21 - APRIL 12

 

By Miriam Raftery

March 17, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes a star party and a free community festival in Lakeside, theater, and musical events. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including some major music festivals, historical renactments, egg hunt extravaganzas and a family fiddle camp.  Stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.


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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLARS

 

March 12, 2015 (Anza Borrego Desert) -  Kristin Kjaero visited the Anza Borrego desert Tuesday, where she observed "thousands of caterpillars in a feeding frenzy...The roads were dotted with yellow splotches."  Standing still for just a few moments to take a photo, she adds, "I had caterpillars crawl onto each foot."


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SD TRAILS: HIKING TO GARNET PEAK

 

By Randy Zuniga

March 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Garnet Peak is a fun and easy hike with spectacular views. The amazing part about this hike is the amount of payoff for how short the hike really is. An “out and back” that is 4.4 miles long (roundtrip) with most of it along the beautiful Pacific Crest Trail. In this compact hike one experiences a picturesque summit overlooking the Anza Borrego desert, Imperial Valley, and on clear days even the Salton Sea.


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DESTINATION EAST COUNTY: TOP FESTIVALS & EVENTS JAN. 1-17

 

 

December 30, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County has events ranging from a winery concert to a walk up Mount Helix.  Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including a concert by the famed British rock band Herman’s Hermits at Sycuan, a photo tour in the Anza Borrego Desert and a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday concert in Lemon Grove.  So stay tuned for all of these events and much more, from East County Magazine.


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PETITION LAUNCHED OPPOSING OPENING MILLIONS OF ACRES OF CALIF. DESERT TO INDUSTRIAL-SCALE ENERGY PROJECTS

 

“Without significant input from the public, from you, this juggernaut will proceed relentlessly, sacrificing millions of acres of desert habitat, wasting precious groundwater, degrading air quality, and “taking” endangered species and other wildlife.” —David Garmon, Borrego Springs, petition author

By Miriam Raftery

November 28, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Environmentalists have launched a petition at Moveon.org asking the public to sign in opposition to the Desert Renewable Energy Plan, which would open up millions of acres of California deserts to industrial-scale wind and solar projects. Instead, environmental leaders want the California Energy Commission to do an analysis of rooftop solar as an alternative. 

You can sign the petition here:  http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/we-dont-have-to-sacrifice?source=c.em.mt&r_by=1516679

The petition states: “More renewable energy is available from rooftop solar in San Diego and Los Angeles Counties than will be derived from the siting of utility-scale generating facilities on 2 million acres of desert habitat called for in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. The unintended consequences of utility-scale facilities in the desert are becoming known and are unacceptable--dust storms in Lancaster, midair incineration of birds at Ivanpah, depletion of scarce groundwater in Borrego Springs.”

The petition was started by Borrego Springs resident David Garmon, president of the Tubb Canyon Desert Conservancy. It is supported by the Desert Protective Council in San Diego and by Basin and Range Watch, another southwest environmental protection organization.


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EXPLOSIVES STILL LURK AT EX-MILITARY SITES

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – UT San Diego has published a list of nine danger zones for explosives still lurking beneath the ground at former military sites.  It may surprise you to learn that seven of those are in East County and all nine are in inland areas.


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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: BLOOD MOON

 

April 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Night sky photographer Dennis Mammana (© Dennis Mammana/dennismammana.com) captured this beautiful image of a rare ‘blood moon” eclipse overnight in the Anza Borrego Desert.


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HIKE TO PAINTED GORGE IN ANZA-BORREGO FEB. 1

January 30, 2014 (Carrizo Mountain)—The Jacumba Hikers will be hitting the trail this Saturday at 8 a.m. for an “extreme” hike to Painted Gorge/Carrizo Mountain.  Heat and movement over time has created fantastic shapes and colors as the sun illuminates and plays shadows upon this geologic wonder.


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AUTUMN ADVENTURES IN THE ANZA BORREGO DESERT

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –Among East County’s best-kept secrets are the dramatic tours offered by Overland Adventures.

  Autumn nights are ideal for several special upcoming experiences ranging from a classical guitar concert by moonlight in the redrock Hawk Canyon area to two overnight camp-outs for stargazers –including a chance to view an upcoming meteor shower and the spectacular comet ISON.

For details on these autumn excursions, scroll down or visit http://www.californiaoverland.com/


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COUNTY ANNOUNCES MARCH EVENTS IN EAST COUNTY PARKS

March 6, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – The County of San Diego is hosting a variety of unique events at parks countywide, include several East County and inland area locations: Agua Caliente Regional Park in the Anza Borrego Desert,  Lake Morena, Lakeside Community Center, Spring Valley Community Center,  Sweetwater Summit Regional Park and Campground in Bonita, Sycamore Canyon/Goodan Ranch Preserve, Vallecito County Park, Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve, Wilderness Gardens Presere, and William Heise County Park in Julian.

Scroll down for detailed listings of activities at each park. For information on park locations and more, also see http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/parks/


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