Stargazing at night 💫, exploring miles of untouched land, and watching vibrant sunsets, is there anything better? Camping in Anza Borrego is one of the very best ways to spend a weekend in Southern California.
Anza Borrego Desert State Park is just 90 minutes from San Diego and is a vast desert 🌵 to explore. This area is known for the crazy landscapes from narrow slot canyons to wild badlands, it’s perfect for an outdoorsy adventure.
Sleep in this International Dark Sky Community and enjoy the plethora of camping options from hundreds of miles of free backcountry or the wonderful paid campgrounds. There are options for everyone!
For the past few years, my husband and I have been traveling and camping all over the United States. Well, we were overjoyed to find out how you can camp for free all over Anza Borrego. We fell in love with our quiet spot in Yaqui Wells and were blown away by the superbloom 🌺🌼 covering the desert floor.
If you are traveling to this wonderful state park soon, then you will want to be prepared to stay overnight 🌙. It’s some of the best California camping and you will have a blast. Read below for a complete guide including the best campsites, what to bring, and camping guidelines.
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Table of Contents
Guide to Camping in Anza Borrego
Best Campsites in Anza Borrego
Anza Borrego is one of the best places to go camping with plenty of free sites and an International Dark Sky. You can choose from camping at one of the five established campgrounds, 8 primitive campgrounds, and hundreds of miles of backcountry camping.
If you want more facilities than you should look into paid campsites or choose from primitive sites with no amenities throughout the park. But, if you want more of an adventure you can choose free camping from 500 miles in the park. You can read more about dispersed or free camping down below.
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Primitive Campgrounds:
Primitive campsites do not not have any amenities, but they have been camped at before. These spots are marked and some of the primitive areas do have vault toilets in the beginning. We stayed in Yaqui Wash and we loved it!
Primitive Sites:
- Blair Valley
- Culp Valley
- Fish Creek
- Yaqui Well
- Mountain Palm Springs
- Arroyo Salado
- Sheep Canyon
Paid Campgrounds:
There are five paid campgrounds in Anza Borrego, which all have great facilities. If you want to stay at a place with more luxuries, then you should book one of these. You can book a campsite on the Reserve California web page. Read below for more details on each of these sites.
Most of these campgrounds take reservations from October 31st to April 30th and allow up to 8 people per campsite with one vehicle and pets 🐶 on leash. Also, you can access showers 🚿 and flushing toilets at the established campgrounds. Bow Willow does not take reservations and there are only vault toilets there.
Tamarisk Grove Campground
One of the more popular campgrounds, this is a great place to stay with a family. You can stay in the 11 cabins or at the standard camping sites. However, this site is closed in the summer from June 1 through September 30.
📍 Location: 5960 Yaqui Pass Rd, Julian, CA 92036
⛺️ Number of Sites: 27, including 11 cabins
💵 Fee: $35 for one night
⭐️ Nearby Attractions: Trails like Cactus Loop Trail, Yaqui Wells, and Narrows Earth
Borrego Palm Canyon
Borrego Palm Canyon is one of the most central of the campgrounds with easy access to the Visitor Center and Borrego Springs. This campground is also the only one that offers Group sites for 9-25 people.
📍 Location: 200 Palm Canyon Dr, Borrego Springs, CA 92004
⛺️ Number of Sites: 120
💵 Fee: $35 for a normal site and $45 if you need a hook-up site
⭐️ Nearby Attractions: This campground is very close to the Visitor Center. Trails like the interpretive trail and Borrego Palm Canyon.
Agua Caliente
Unfortunately, a few years ago this campsite was involved in a bad flood. However, they have since recovered. Agua Caliente is close to a picnic area, clubhouse, and pools. It is also closed in the summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
📍 Location: 39555, 1849 Great Southern Overland Stage Route of, Julian, CA 92036
⛺️ Number of Sites: 140
💵 Fee: $24 for tent sites, $29 for partial, and $33 for a full hook-up
⭐️ Nearby Attractions: This campground has two outdoor pools and shuffleboard. It’s near trails like Moonlight Canyon and Ocotillo Ridge
Vern Whitaker Horse Camp
This site is for people that have horses 🐎. So, you can take your RV here and allow your horses in the corrals. You will need to bring along a hose and a bucket so that you can wash your horses here.
📍 Location: Off Henderson Canyon Road, 8 miles from Borrego Spring
⛺️ Number of Sites: 10
💵 Fee: $35 per night
⭐️ Nearby Attractions: 8 miles North of Borrego Spring
Bow Willow
Of all the paid campsites, this one has the least frills. There are only vault toilets at these spots, but they do have fire rings and picnic tables. If you are exploring the Southern end of the park, it’s a good place to set up base camp.
📍 Location: Julian, CA 92036
⛺️ Number of Sites: 16, first-come, first-served
💵 Fee: $20 for all sites
⭐️ Nearby Attractions: This campground is near the Southern end of the park.
Camping Guidelines
Even though you can find plenty of free space to camp in Anza Borrego, there are certain rules put in place. Make sure to follow all the guidelines, so that you can continue to camp for free in this amazing state park.
🚗 Your car must stay less than one car lengths away from the road. However, you can walk away from your car to set up camp.
⛺️ Camps must be 100 yards from any water source.
🌿 Do not trample or set up camp on any vegetation.
🔥 Fires on the ground are prohibited in the park to protect the soil. Instead, you can bring a collapsible fire pit.
🪵 You must bring in firewood and clean up after all your fires. Including, getting rid of excess wood and ashes.
🗑 Pack out all of your garbage and bring it with you. This does include human waste, so you should prepare with proper materials.
What is Dispersed Camping?
People throw around the term “dispersed camping” a lot, but you may not know what it means. It simply means to camp outside of an established campground.
You can dispersed camp in National Forests, on public land, or sometimes off the road in certain areas. Anza Borrego has more than 500 miles of dirt roads, so there are plenty of options for free camping in the backcountry.
It’s important that whenever you dispersed camp you clean up after yourselves and leave the area better than you found it. You need to pack in and pack out everything that you bring. Dispersed camping has been allowed in Anza Borrego for years and you want to continue allowing it to exist.
Best Time to Go Camping in Anza Borrego
Rangers and locals will tell you that the best time to go camping in Anza Borrego is during wildflower season 🌸. These wildflowers start to bloom in the spring and they usually appear in mid-March lasting through the end of April.
Temperatures are mild during the day and cool down at night in the spring. Plus, you can see the beautiful wildflowers around the area at Borrego Palm Canyon, Henderson Road or Coyote Canyon.
Fall and Winter are also great times to camp in Anza Borrego and less crowded than the spring time. In the winter you will want to be prepared with layers because on rare occasion it even gets cold enough to snow ❄️!
The desert gets extremely hot 🥵 in the summer with temperatures in 100s. Although it may cool down at night, it’s not a great time to camp because you may feel too hot. Some campgrounds are even closed in the summer time.
Packing List
It’s important to be prepared when you go camping. There are a lot of things to think through, especially if you’re going to be dispersed camping. You will need to bring everything to sustain you for the weekend including PLENTY OF WATER 💦, camping meals, and a sleeping set up.
Make sure to pack up everything you bring with you, so that your campsite is clean! Also, if you plan on going down some dirt roads, you may need a 4WD vehicle. Look at the map beforehand so you know where you can access and have an idea of whee you want to go.
- Tent
- Sleeping Bag
- Sleeping Mat
- Camping Chairs
- Bottles of Water
- Camping Utensils, Cooking Utensils, & Dishware
- Camping Stove
- Pots & Pans
- Snacks, Easy Camp Meals, Coffee Making Materials
- Fire Pit (if you can have fires)
- Cooler
- Trash Bags
- First Aid Kit
- Headlamp
- Satellite phone
- Shovel
- Tire Treads
- Camera
You can find all of my favorite camping gear here!
Final Tips for Camping in Anza Borrego
Remember that you will be camping in the Anza Borrego DESERT! It is dry and very hot. Be cautious of the high temperatures and of course, look out for rattlesnakes 🐍. Pack everything you may need including extra water and make sure that other people know your plans. If you are prepared, then everything will go smoothly!
Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this post!
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I am going to try Anza Borrego in late March 2024. I pull a 22’ travel trailer. Will I have much trouble getting into AND out of the dispersed camp sites. My truck and trailer are set for off road camping
I think you’ll be fine as long as you can stop at one of the closer sites. The ones a bit deeper in would give you trouble, but there are some that are accessible!
Is camping on the bed of my truck permitted?
yes!
Hi Lita! Very informative post! (:
I’m planning on going camping somewhere in AB desert with a group of about 8 people, a few dogs, and a baby in November for my husband’s birthday. Where would you recommend we stay? We don’t want to be too close to others, since we will likely be a bit loud. I’m having a hard time deciding between reserving a campsite at a campground or choosing a random spot. Would love to know your thoughts!
I think that the dispersed camping area was great, because the spots were large and far away from each other! We had no problem finding one and didn’t feel like we saw others.
Hi Lita,
Great posts! We want to try Yaqi Wash. Would you say it’s safe to set up camp and be able to leave it unattended to continue exploring? Or do folks generally keep close to camp?
It would definitely be safe to leave your stuff!
Hi Lita,
We stayed at Tamarisk Grove Campground and it was very noisy because of the nearby roads. Yaqui Wells primitive campground must be noisy too then, right? How about Yaqui Pass?
Final question, is there good free camping off Fonts Point Wash or the dirt road to 17 Palms? Or other dirt roads? We have an AWD, no 4WD unfortunately…
Thanks!
Peter
The Road off Fonts Point Wash is mostly inaccessible without 4WD. We did not find it too lout around Yaqui Wells.