Day One

Afternoon

Arrive Borrego Springs

Come early and get settled in. There's still time to get out there and experience the park.

Hike Palm Canyon Trail

Right at park headquarters, the trailhead is 5 minutes from town. Allow about 2 hours for a late-afternoon trip up to the first palm grove and back. Now you've earned a nice meal!

Hot Tub Time

Relax before dinner, and let your muscles know you love them! Maybe a massage?

Evening

Dine in Town

Try Carmelita's Mexican Grill for a relaxed, satisfying meal. Perfect for post-hike enjoyment. Full bar, casual.

Stargazing

Make sure you allow time to marvel at the sky. Almost anywhere in town will do, though close to your bed is best...

Day Two

Morning

Journey to Carrizo Badlands Section of the Park

Allow for an hour's car ride each way from Borrego Springs to this southern section of the park. The early morning light reveals a range of visual features and colors to savor. Each mile takes you back in geological time, until you reach the ancient mountains and territory of the Carrizo Badlands. It's all major highway driving until the next stop.

Hike Bow Willow Loop & Torote Bowl

Explore an area very different from the Borrego Valley. The trailhead is not quite one mile off S-2 on a dirt road, where you'll find parking and a porta-toilet. The native palm grove offers some shade and interest as you start out. Don't forget your water.

After the loop, find the faint trail that zig-zags up the hill from the palm grove to the lip of Torote Bowl, where you'll find an Elephant Tree. Sit and marvel. Is it time for lunch yet?

Afternoon

Explore Blair Valley

Head the car back north toward Blair Valley, which you passed on your way. If you have time, stop at Vallecito Stage Station County Park, where the Butterfield Overland Stage stopped in the 19th century to overnight on its long route into California.

At Blair Valley, head off east on marked dirt roads to visit the pictographs, morteros, and the site of the famous Marshal South Home. Half the fun here is imagining what life was like for the South family, and for the native americans before them.

Relax in Borrego Springs

Time to make the drive back, and maybe put in some snoozing or pool time before dinner. You've earned it.

Evening

Dine in Town

Assaggio? The Red Ocotillo? Maybe a nice filet mignon at Arches? Or a burger and a round of neighborly karaoke at Carlee's? This is the night to savor your discoveries. Remember - tomorrow, you're leaving - with a bunch of new secrets!

Day Three

Morning

Hike "The Slot"

About twenty minutes from town, and 3/4 mile off the highway, is a convenient hike through a slot canyon. Here you're at the edge of a world of interesting locations accessible to higher-clearance and 4WD vehicles. But your car will get you to The Slot and back. A must-see, and very doable before check-out time.

Visit Dennis Avery's Sculptures

On your way back from The Slot, on both sides of Borrego Springs road, take time to stop and experience sculptor Riccardo Breceda's whimsical and impressive metal artwork. Kids of all ages can relate. Patron Dennis Avery is responsible for this unique installation on conservation land he has set aside from development. Thanks, Dennis!

And make sure you travel north of Christmas Circle on Borrego Springs road too, so you see the rest of the pieces out toward where the road becomes Henderson Canyon Road.