I have lost count of all the times we’ve gone camping in Anza-Borrego, which is a local desert state park. You can pretty much camp anywhere, but it’s nice to stay at least at a primitive campground because vault toilets are a huge step up from digging your own hole, especially since the sun is already baking at 6am in the summer.
To get to our new spot, we took the scenic route because we had gone to a friend’s house to watch Eurovision. This meant we drove via Lake Cuyamaca. I’m surprised we hadn’t been by there before and it was really pretty. I’m dying to bring our kayaks out there and paddle around. It’s in a really green area, which contrasts with the desert not far away.
We then stopped at Desert View Park, which gives you an incredible view from the comparatively lush green areas into the desert. You can see the landscape change in just one ridgeline.
Then we got to our destination: Blair Valley. Even via the scenic route, it takes less than two hours to get there from San Diego. It’s this huge valley (duh) that’s pretty flat. Most of it is flat and dusty – a perfect foundation for camping. You can easily drive off the road a bit and camp as far out into the valley as you want. Near the highway is a vault toilet, so we camped a few minutes’ walk away from there.
While we waited for some friends to join us, we set up camp just as the sun was going down.
Eventually our friends made it and we stayed up late drinking a few beers around the fire. It was surprisingly cold, even in late May.
The next morning, we woke up at sunrise to pack up the tents before the sun came up. As soon as the sun hits the ground, it starts to be unbearable inside the tent. Then we made some coffee and breakfast and set out. We wanted to go deeper into the valley to the Pictographs Trailhead. Unfortunately, the dirt roads were washed out and we could not get there. We came upon this one place with a washed out bit several feet deep. With our early 2000s sedans, there was just no chance. So we turned around and found a different trailhead for the Morteros Trail. There were even pamphlets which told you cool things to look out for on the trail. So that’s what we did.
We were pleased that we did get to see some pictographs in the end, even if it was just one bit.
The scenery was really cool. Because it was spring, a lot of the cacti and succulents were blooming, which you don’t get to see most of the time. I even captured this very small bird resting on this structure blooming out of some sort of desert plant, which reached about 10 feet up in the air.
After our hike, we popped over to Julian. We got coffee at Regulars Wanted and we got pie at Mom’s. Then it was time to head back to San Diego.
Normally we have stayed at Culp Valley Primitive Campground in Anza-Borrego, but it’s really small, so it can get kind of crowded. It’s good to have some more options!
I love seeing the posts about your adventures and as usual, your photos are great.