Borrego Palm Canyon

Indianhead Mountain from Borrego Palm Canyon Trailhead (December 21, 2011)

Agave in Bloom, Borrego Palm Canyon Trailhead

 Borrego Palm Canyon Trail Mileage: 3 miles
Change in Elevation: 450 ft gain/loss
Best Times: Fall to Spring
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Borrego Palm Canyon Campground, Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Borrego Palm Canyon Trailhead during Spring (March 23, 2009 )

 The trail to the Palm Oasis in Borrego Palm Canyon starts at the wide valley of dry desert vegetation, however, during spring, these dry bushes do bring in colors.

 First Mile of Trail during spring

After about half a mile, you leave the vast open space as you get inside the canyon. Here,  you will start seeing more interesting rocks, thorny vegetation and trunks of washed down palm trees. It is said that before the flooding in 2005, there were thousands of palms lining this canyon. Thankfully, there are still several left standing after the flood.

 First small waterfall in the trail

Tough in the midst of desert, there are a lot of small waterfalls that can be seen in the trail. It's amazing to see water splashing over boulders and very inspiring to see how life in the desert is supported by these water streams. 

 Plants growing underneath the shallow clear water

 Another waterfall we saw in the trail

Aside from the spring pictures in the 3rd and 4th pictures above, all the pictures here were taken from our latest hike in Borrego Palm Canyon trail, December 21, 2011. 

 Nature's Garden in the desert

 Before we reached the thick grove of palms, we saw this grove of small palms growing. It is inspiring to see how nature heals, where thousands of palms may have been washed away during the 2005 flooding, but slowly, they are growing back. I can't wait to see this canyon lined up with palms again.

 Another waterfall near the thick grove of Borrego Palms

The end of the trail is at the thick grove of palms. This place is popular for sighting desert bighorn sheep because this is where they go down to have their fill of water, but we were not lucky during our hike to spot some. 

Palms in Borrego Palm Canyon (end of trail, but anyone can continue to explore)

After the hike here, we explored the Palm Slot Canyon, more of that in my later post, and then, we ended our day at Fonts Point.

♥♥