Getting Around
You don't need four-wheel-drive to tour the desert, but you'll probably want to get off the highways and onto the jeep trails. The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center staff can tell you which jeep trails are in condition for two-wheel-drive vehicles. A free Back Country Permit is required to camp or use the jeep trails in the park. The Ocotillo Wells area has been set aside for off-road vehicles such as dune buggies and dirt bikes. A vehicle must be licensed for highway use to ride the jeep trails.
Orientation & Visitor Information
In Borrego Springs, the shopping center known as "the Mall" is on Palm Canyon Drive, the main drag. Christmas Circle surrounds a grassy park at the entry to town. The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center (tel. 760/767-4205; www.parks.ca.gov) is just west of the town of Borrego Springs. It supplies information, maps, and two 15-minute audiovisual presentations, one on the desert's changing faces and the other on wildflowers. The visitor center is open October through May daily from 9am to 5pm, June through September weekends from 9am to 5pm. The Desert Natural History Association, 652 Palm Canyon Dr. (tel] 760/767-3098; www.abdnha.org), runs the sleek Borrego Desert Nature Center and Bookstore with an impressive selection of guidebooks, historical resources, educational materials for kids, native plants and regional crafts, and a small museum display that includes a frighteningly real stuffed bobcat. This is also your best source for information on the nearby Salton Sea. It's open daily 9am to 5pm.
For information on lodging, dining, and activities, contact the Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce, 786 Palm Canyon Dr., Borrego Springs, CA 92004 (tel. 800/559-5524 or 760/767-5555; www.borregosprings.org).
