Borrego Palm Canyon Campground — Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Very clean, well-maintained, and nice location. Very strict check-in time. However, you can tell they are cleaning the sites and making sure the sites are in order. They rake around the fire ring, so you know they checked it. Park rangers are driving around. Staff are really nice and helpful. Flush toilets, bathrooms, well lit, and warm showers. I recommend checking out the visitor’s center for free maps and information. There’s a lot to do in the area. Bring your bikes. There’s also a trailhead to the oasis right in the campground. Not too difficult. The main trail is not as difficult as the alternate trail. Theres cool metal art throughout the area. A tiny town with a couple markets and places to eat. I was able to hike The Slot canyon, which was awesome. Just take note, when you enter the canyon from the trailhead, there is a large boulder/outcrop you have crawl over/under. THAT IS YOUR POINT OF ENTRY/EXIT. don’t pass it like I did and and nearly get lost. All the trails start to look the same after a while. All in all, it’s a good hike, maybe not for smaller children or larger people, because some of it I had to remove my backpack in order to fit through. Can’t go wrong with Anza-Borrego.

This campsite gave my boyfriend and I a great first camping experience together. There was so much to do in the nearby areas. Fonts Point and The Slot are must see spots!

It's a fine campground. There is a check-in kiosk that was well run and you can pay for an extra car or an open site with a credit card.* The sites are set up in two main loops. One for big campers and one for the rest of us. There is no real separation between sites.

This is convenience based campground. You're at the jump-off for some challenging yet accessible hikes into the desert. Close enough to town to ride a bike for ice cream. The camp has flush toilets and token based showers.** Each site has a deep fire pit, a picnic table under a shade pergola, and access to a nearby water source. Oh yeah, and it's less than two hours from San Diego.

The outer ring sites look out towards the desert. You'll always know you're in civilization, but they offer the illusion of solitude...if you can tune out the generators. There will be generators, and probably unattended kids riding e-bikes or kicking balls at you as your try to use the bathroom. Site 75 is a great site because in addition to looking out away from inner loop, the fire place is set further away from driveway and picnic table. Site 56 is fine. It's just fine.

Temper your expectations for desert solitude, appreciate the conveniences for what they are, and this becomes a four star site. The site is mostly, always, definitely full, but cancellations offer last chance drive up opportunities. The park rangers said that most sites were booked through the entire season which ends at the end of April, and we couldn't find a site when searching online for a second night (Saturday), but there were at least three open sites whose reservations had been canceled we could have stayed in.

Notes:

Anza is particularly great for star gazing and spring flowers. There are often big horn sheep along the Palm Canyon trail leaving camp. We met one we named Barnabas. 

Extra vehicles are an additional $10.

*Pro-tip: Fire wood is cash only. It's not bad 3 bundles for $20. If you don't have cash, you can find wood in town for cheaper without the convenience of it being at camp.

**Pro-tip: Showers require tokens which are purchased from a machine. 2 tokens for $1. 1 token = 2m in the shower.

We visited Anza-Borrego State Park for the first time over Christmas weekend, as a group of 3. Decided to camp here due to its proximity to the park sights and ease of getting to it. We stayed at site 117 which was very spacious and fit our large tent no problem. All sites feature a fire pit and picnic table. Depending on which site you choose it can have space for multiple tents (seemed like most of them) or only have space for one. There are a handful of sites that are extra cool - they feature stone ramadas with a built in fireplace and tables (sites 116, 104, and 107). I would opt for one of those sites next time! The campground was pretty quiet at night. We didn't have any neighbors too close to us. The stars at night are gorgeous! You can spend hours just staring up at the sky. The Palm Canyon trail starts from the campground - no need to drive to the trailhead, and it is a hike worth doing. There are several open air toilets around the campground. I expected them to be pit toilets but they flush. There are regular building toilets with sinks as well. The only downsides to camping here are 1) at night you can see the lights of the town (doesn't interfere with stars at least), and 2) the cost. I would try one of the other more remote campgrounds next time or dispersed camping, now that I've been and know the area better.

General: The Borrego Palm Canyon campground has three sections: one with full hookups and two without. 

Site Quality: It is often windy here, so it was recommended we pull in at an angle. The driveways are paved and on the short side, but our campervan fit with no problem (I would assume if you have a larger RV, you might be in the section with the full hookups.)

Bathhouse: Individual units with flush toilet, sink, garbage receptacle, and hooks but NO soap dispenser. Showers take tokens and while they were not the worst campground showers, they weren’t the best (but a hot shower after a hot hike was welcome nonetheless). Tokens were 50 cents each for two minutes. 

Activities: numerous hiking trails, accessible from the campground. The most popular one is the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail which leads to the oasis of California Fan Palms. Sadly, the oasis was damaged by a human-caused fire and while you can see the palms, you can no longer walk among them. Galleta Meadows with metal sculptures in the nearby town of Borrego Springs is well worth exploring. 

We were there at the very end of March when it was just beginning to get (too) warm. We only did an overnight here and the Borrego Palm Canyon hike, but it was beautiful and we would definitely return.

I camp many places, this restroom is the most high class one, it has flush toilet, basin, mirror, light and clothes hook. If you bring your own shower bag or a bucket of water, shower room is free to use actually.

Gets hot early in the year so as always bring extra water. It was walking distance from a hike that leads to a little oasis which I definitely recommend going to, to beat the heat! Sunsets and star views are incredible. Nice large camp spaces.

Pros: Close to town, Clean flush toilets/ bathrooms, RV sites, family friendly, close to trails

Cons: not much privacy, books up early

Winter camping in the back loop is one of my most favorite things ever. If you especiAlly lucky, you may even see a Bighorn Sheep or two come through early in the morning. Do t miss the sunrise as well!

Such a fun place to walk around and take in the views. It’s the perfect time of year to go!

Big Space and big sky! We camped in February and it was cold at night but perfect day hiking weather. Hiked up to palm grove oasis. There is so much natural beauty here. We saw big horned sheep.

Camped here in July. The sunset and sunrises are amazing to watch!! You can see it all right from your site. Flushing Bathrooms very clean and accesible. Site includes grill, fire pit, picnic table, and potable water. Beautiful view of the mountains that meet the desert. Highly recommend visiting for a night or two.

This campground felt more like I was glamping. Everything was easily accessible and by that I mean; a toilet, running water, and showers. We slept in our tent which felt pretty amazing being that the weather was perfect. I’d highly recommend visiting this camp site in the cooler months.

Yes, it’s desert camping but there are so many fun things to do here.  There’s a 3 mile hike to a wonderful spring, visiting the badlands, biking into town for a weekend morning farmers market and taking a Ranger’s flower desert hike.  We also enjoyed hiking to the top of the hill in the early morning.   We lucked out and got a great campsite that had a beautiful rock wall and covering with a fireplace.  So cool.  Definitely best to camp here in the spring or fall.  Would be really hot, in the 100’s, in the summer. Best time to camp is in the spring when all the flowers are in bloom.

We drove to this site at 11:00pm and even in the dark it was easy to navigate. We drove right to our spot and set up. The campgrounds are pretty close to one another so not much privacy. Coyotes were howling all night and very active around camp. Super bloom was amazing here! The restrooms were spotless!! Also a neat counter sink area provided. Most sites have a shaded structure and picnic bench with grill.

Campground is near town but town isnt very populated. Little to no light pollution and very quiet campground. Summertime is great as night temps stay relatively high. Close to visitor center. For more adventurous types. Look for primitive areas in the park. Far better and very secluded.

We didn’t camp in the campground, but I loved the availability to camp wherever in the state park! Very pretty place with TONS of off-roading, hiking, and exploring to do! Planning another trip soon!

Borrego Palm Canyon in Anza Borrego Desert State Park is good for those who want to be near town because it's right on the edge of the small desert town of Borrego Springs, where there are restaurants, a couple of small convenience stores and services.  (Run out of ice? No problem!)

Some sites here have ramadas for shade, a couple of them dating back to the conservation corps time with built-in fire pits.  Each site has a picnic table.  There are bathrooms with flushing toilets and showers.  The Palm Canyon trailhead is at the end of the campground.

Not much shade if you are tenting, but if you luck out, you could get some endangered bighorn sheep coming through the campground.

Sites are paved and great for RV's.  There are also sites good for tenting.  (Again, no shade.  Summer is brutally hot.  Spring and fall are the most pleasant.)

This campground is one of my favorites. My practical side enjoys the clean bathrooms with hot showers and proximity to markets for refills on ice and beer. My adventurous side enjoys the hikes, coyotes singing and clear skies to observe the night sky. This campground has been enjoyable every time I’ve gone. I’ve been to many campgrounds where neighbors keep you up late, but something about this location demands quiet enjoyment. Don’t get me wrong, my friends and I stay up laughing around the campfire well after sunset but everyone seems to respect the quiet hours. The sites are spacious, each with a shade ramada, grill and fire-ring. The visitors center is a must see and there are numerous hiking trails near the campground. As beautiful as the wildflowers are during a super bloom, the crowds are super distracting. March is the best time of year to go, if there is a super bloom you’ll enjoy that, if not, you’ll enjoy the solitude.

Can get super windy! Great over roading and hikes in this enormous state park. Come prepared for anything!

Beautiful in a desert way. Can get super duper windy. Great off road hikes and scenery.

palm trees in the middle of the desert with water is just a short hike away. the campsites themselves are just on flat sand with cactus so beware. it is the desert so that's to be expected. this site feels more primitave than most others and I've never seen it busy but there are some great hiking trails and the sunset views are amazing. no dogs are allowed. Just a short drive away from the many desert statues in borrego springs.

I've camped here a couple of times. I come here mostly for the dark skies for astrophotography. It's a nice campground, clean bathrooms and showers. There's some nice hiking as well .

This is a great campground to stay in the park when you plan ahead, it fills up fast though. Great hiking walking distance from your campsite, the Palm Oasis and the hike to the visitor center are great! I love camping here, I try to get out there at least twice a year.

We just hit the end of the season before it got too hot. It is often windy. We had hookups and used our AC every day. The palm canyon hike is really nice. The sites aren’t huge and it’s definitely desert camping. The bathrooms are clean.

This campground has great amenities and is very well run. Each site has a large fire pit, charcoal grill and a water spout near by. Bathrooms with flushing toilets and coin operated showers. They sell firewood if you get there before they leave for the day, around 5pm. During the cooler months it seems to fill up quickly so it’s best to make reservations ahead of time. Overall a great trip.

Great campsites. Large fire pits. Hiking was close also.

Unexpectedly hot, with an elevation of only 775' above sea level. Tent & dry camping sites are well spaced (not so for the full hookup sites on the RV/north side). Very dark skies, with coyotes singing all night. Clean restrooms, clean sites, modern fire pits (deep and tall), and splintery creosote-treated shade covers. Beautiful views and many hiking trails. Best to make reservations.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?pageid=638

We went during the summer time so in with no surprise that we were able to just drive through the dozen open camp sites. It's almost like we had the deserted park all by ourselves. Easy access to hiking trails and lots of peaceful animals around the sites. Wonderful experience and amazing giant sculptures everywhere!

We enjoyed our quick visit to Anza Borrego state park and were pleased with this campground. The sites we average for a CA state park (smaller sites, close, not very secluded) but with such a great park to check out we were not at our site very much.