r/socalhiking • u/Casual_Observer0 • 1d ago
Anza-Borrego Desert SP Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Hiked and camped with my eight year old son this week. Monday arrived at the park in the evening and set up camp in the Blair Valley camp ground. We used a cooler as a table to make dinner and camping chairs as we had the car. Beautiful night sky. Tuesday, the next morning, we woke up and hiked the pictograph trail. Beautiful hike. I carried my son's backpack as a day pack carrying food, water and other essentials but leaving the bulk of our gear back in the car. My son loved the pictographs on the rock and the rocky areas on the side of the trail. The overlook at the end of the trail is beautiful.
We then went to the visitors center and toured the museum and learned about the wildlife and geology of the park. Got my son a bandana with the park map.
We then headed to Font's point. Car got stuck in the sand right after turning off the main road. I wasn't intending to drive to the top, I was just looking for a place to park. Thankfully we quickly got rescued by some folks in a jeep and then parked the car right off the main road. The hike up to Font's point quickly got very dark. Trudging through the sand was slow going. My son was scared because of how dark it really was—it was pitch black except for what was illuminated by our headlamps. We stopped and made dinner on the way up on some rocks on the side of the road. We camped out to the side of the "no camping" sign by Font's point. It was a bit windy up there, making it a bit tricky to pitch the tent. But once set up, it was nice and cozy in the tent. My son reported that he didn't wake up once from the wind. Our shoes, which we kept in the vestibule of the tent, were filled with sand coming in under the walls of the vestibule due to all the wind.
The next morning, Wednesday—Christmas, we headed to Font's point. We had the place practically to ourselves right after sunrise. It was beautiful. We made breakfast on top of a monument explaining the view of the mountain. Great cell reception at the top, but very spotty on the rest of the route. We then hiked back to our car. It was definitely a better hike during the day.
After that we went to check out the large serpent and some of the other iron sculptures around borrego springs.
We then hiked the slot canyon. It was definitely my son's favorite hike. He loved how closed-in it felt and scrambling over rocks. We didn't complete the loop but instead headed back again through the slot canyon. I definitely recommend the slot for kids. It's an easy and very enjoyable hike. The high walls of the canyon provide quite a bit of shade which means it's quite a bit cooler than the parking area above the canyon.
Overall we had a great time. Beautiful park with a ton to explore. Definitely better with a 4x4 high clearance car as a lot of the roads are sandy and not flat and definitely pushed my sedan to the limit (and beyond). Remember to pack a lot of water as it's dry. The visitor's center does have a water bottle filler. Day use fees (of $10) to park at the slot and visitor's center. Camping at Blair Valley and at Font's point was free. Blair Valley camp ground had pit toilets and camp sites had metal fire pits (that we didn't use).The night sky was breathtaking. Glad I brought a mini-tripod and was able to take a few pictures of the sky with my phone.
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u/areraswen 1d ago edited 1d ago
campfires aren't allowed in Blair valley right now, right? I'm planning to head out there in the next week or so but last year we were able to do a fire. 😞
Edit for anyone curious: I called the visitors center today and confirmed fires aren't allowed in Blair or little Blair at the moment.
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u/Casual_Observer0 1d ago
Per the state park website:
Campfires must be kept inside a camp stove or in a metal container provided the camper with a bottom and sides.
The fire pits at the sites in the Blair Valley campgrounds are metal containers which seem to meet these regulations. That said, I didn't make a camp fire (just used a small camping stove) nor did I see one during our time there.
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u/areraswen 1d ago
I was talking more about local burn bans in effect right now vs overall rules of Blair valley. I know fires are allowed in Blair under normal circumstances-- we actually brought a pop up fire pit and used it since our campsite in little Blair had no fire ring. But there is a burn ban in San Diego county and a notice on the AB website saying that burn bans apply when they're in effect, but doesn't tell me if a burn ban is in effect, heh. I was wondering if there were any notices posted about it.
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u/Casual_Observer0 1d ago
I didn't see anything specific posted about it. But, I wasn't planning on doing it so I wasn't looking out or asking about it specifically.
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u/areraswen 1d ago
That's fair. I called the visitors center today and they said no fires allowed atm (excluding propane for cooking only), but I definitely think they could do a better job of making people aware of the ban if they expect people to follow it, heh.
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u/Casual_Observer0 1d ago
I'm glad you called. When I spoke to them (after spending the night in Blair Valley just before Font's point) they mentioned the no fires thing when I asked about regulations about camping by Font's point (because it's not a designated camp site) and I wanted to know how close to Font's point the no camping sign was (turns out, pretty close). I didn't ask about fires more generally because I didn't intend to build one.
I agree, if there's a more general fire ban they should put the notice on the website.
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u/areraswen 1d ago
There's no fires outside of cooking fires allowed in the park at all right now based on the conversations I've had. Last year we brought firewood and a pop up fire pit and burned it just fine, so Blair valley and little Blair are NORMALLY completely acceptable.
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1d ago
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u/areraswen 1d ago
When I called the visitors center in AB today they said fires were currently banned in Blair valley.
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u/coazervate 1d ago
I failed to find petroglyphs like fifteen years ago, but with modern GPS I think it's time to head back! Plus now I know to stop and look for borrowing owls
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u/Casual_Observer0 1d ago
I failed to find petroglyphs like fifteen years ago,
Oh no!
They are on a big boulder in the middle of the hike. One couple we passed at the trailhead said they missed them on the way out and only caught it on the way back. There's no particular signage on the trail itself though.
Best of luck!
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u/coazervate 1d ago
That's funny, I remember sitting on a giant boulder while the rest of the group went to search for them. I'll keep an eye out, thanks!
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u/HikingWiththeHuskies 1d ago
Great report and sounds like a great trip with your son. Thanks for posting.
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u/shoudaknown 1d ago
Sounds like an amazing adventure, I bet your son loved it! Magical moments! Thanks for sharing!
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u/Alternative_Elk1234 1d ago
Hey, Im planning on going there soon once the skies clear up to do some star gazing. How was the light pollution? Were you able to see the milky way?
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u/Casual_Observer0 1d ago
It was pretty dark,but definitely there was still light pollution that you could see around the horizon. We also weren't there around the new moon, which would make it darker. That said, it was probably the darkest sky I've seen in a long time (before the moonrise). Unfortunately, we couldn't see the milky way. That would have been incredible.
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u/minmaster 1d ago
nice, i am going to anza to camp next weekend. fonts point is my favorite. taking a suv (not a 4x4) and hoping to do a little more off roading than last time. last time all i did was fonts wash and some coachwhip but i want to try the longer roads.
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u/Merky600 1d ago
Well after seeing those pictures I wish I could have gone with you. I’ve never been there but my son and his Scout Troop have several time.
If your son likes this, he might do well in Scouts (and you as a leader position). Just a thought.