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| How
to Get There
• From the Los Angeles area, head east on HWY 91 until you hook up with I-15. • Take I-15 south and head towards Temecula. • Once you reach Temecula, exit on HWY 79 south. Do not confuse this with Winchester Road which is the first HWY 79 you will see. • Take HWY 79 past Warner Springs and then head east on S-22. • S-22 Will take you all the way down into the town of Borrego Springs. Once you're in town, you will come up to an intersection where you will want to make a right turn. • Keep following this road (which is still S-22) through town, past Christmas Tree Circle and then make a left at Di Giorgio Road. • Di Giorgio is a paved road that will take you past some homes and then a citrus farm to the west. This road will eventual become a dirt trail that'll lead most passenger cars to an area known as the Desert Gardens. There are picnic tables here and a whole host of succulents to enjoy here. • Beyond the Desert Gardens, the trail will become progressively rougher and then you will encounter a couple water crossings. In some years, the water can reach a depth of 24" or more and this is will be the end of the road for most basic 4WD SUV's. • Beyond the water crossings, the trail will become significantly rougher as you climb up a short rocky section of trail. My 4" lifted Jeep with 33" tires and a front/rear lockers walked up this stretch of trail without any problems but I would caution most SUV's from going beyond this point unless you have some clearance under your vehicle and some skid plates. If you are feeling adventurous, there are plenty of rocks you can use to stack. • Once at the top, you will enter into the beautifl Collins Valley. The trail will eventually end up at the Sheep Canyon Campground. There are a series of foot/horse trails that lead off from here. • The only way out is from the way you came in. NOTE: This trail is closed from June 1st - September 30th to protect the Big Horn Sheep. Resources • AAA San Diego County Map • Map from the book The Anza Borrego Desert Region by Lindsay. • Guide to Southern California Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails |
| Coyote Canyon & Wildflowers Anza Borrego Desert, CA 03/05/05 I don't know why, but every time I come out to Anza Borrego, it always seems to rain. Not a lot of rain mind you and certainly not enough to keep you at home but defiantly enough to be annoying for sure. Having said that, all this rain has turned the Anza Borrego desert into a beautiful garden of wildflowers, which is in fact the reason why we came. I suppose this would have been an amazing sight to see if not for the thousands of tourists that flooded into Borrego Springs like some kind of disease (apparently they got the memo too). Need I say, we quickly made our way out of the zoo and sought seclusion on higher ground up Coyote Canyon. Making our way past the Desert Gardens, I was surprised to see how far and how many BMW's, Lexus', Mercedes Benz's and mini-vans of all makes went up this trail. As I suspected, the first water crossing was enough of a deterrent for most would be explorers but it certainly was disappointing to see how many made it all the way past the second and significantly deeper water crossing. Even at this distance, the hills were just teaming with people gawking at all the pretty flowers. Fortunately, this is where the trail ended for all but the seasoned wheelers. Just on the other side of the second water crossing, the trail climbs up a short but rocky and somewhat challenging (i.e. FUN!) ridge. Beyond this point, the only vehicles I saw were a group of Land Rovers, a couple of Broncos, several Jeeps TJ's, YJ's and even a couple of old Willys. Over the ridge, the trail makes its way across Collins Valley and ends up at a primitive campground in Sheep Canyon. From here, there are several foot/horseback trails that will take you up Indian Canyon or all the way across Coyote Canyon to the northern boundary of Anza Borrego State Park. On this trip, the creek near the campground was running full and so my family and I decided to spend our day and do lunch here. The only way out from here is to go back the way you came. Make sure to take a moment and verify that nobody is coming up the rocky section of trail before you start your descent. Remember, this trail is closed between June 1st and September 30th so plan accordingly. Although we were able to take quite a few photos of the beautiful wildflowers and I got to get in some easy wheeling, I don't think I will be coming back out to the Anza Borrego Desert until the crowds have subsided a bit.
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