Established Camping
Borrego Palm Canyon Campground — Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Warning 2 Alerts are In Effect
There are 2 alerts for this campground. Camp safely!
Warning 2 Alerts are In Effect
There are 2 alerts for this campground. Camp safely!
<p>A horse or horses are required to reserve and check into campsites at Green Valley Horse Camp and Los Vaqueros Group Horse Camp at Cuyamaca Rancho Desert SP AND Vern Whitaker Horse Camp at Anza-Borrego Desert SP.</p>
<p>Tamarisk Grove ONLY: Non-potable water is available at the campground. Please bring your own water for drinking and cooking.</p>
About
State Park
Anza- Borrego Desert State Park’s rugged landscape formed largely by the forces of erosion attacking the uplifted mountains. The higher the mountains rise, the more vigorously they are attacked by rain, snow, ice, and wind, as they yield to the constant pull of gravity.
Borrego Palm Canyon Campground visitors will be able to reserve campsites six months in advance from the current date. Bookings may extend from the arrival date to the desired departure date – based on availability and the park’s maximum stay rules. Reservation are available October 1st through April 30th.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
Stay Connected
- WiFiGood
- VerizonGood
- AT&TGood
- T-MobilePoor
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
- Yurts
Features
For Campers
- ADA Access
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Firewood Available
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
Nice campground
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.
- (7) View All
Amazing Experience
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!
- (4) View All
It's a fine campground. Just fine. Except for all the people.
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.
- (6) View All
Location
Borrego Palm Canyon Campground — Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is located in California
Address
200 Palm Canyon Drive
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
Coordinates
33.267434 N
116.408015 W