Borrego Palm Canyon Campground

This is our second stay in the state park. While the registration says 35 ft is the maximum length, any size unit would fit. All sites are pull-thro and approximately 60 ft. The park is FHU with 30 amp electric. There is decent spacing between sites which are angled. Sites 1-25 are not very level. Many are severely sloped. Our site was usable but we did have to put two pieces of wood under front wheels to level. Sites 30-48 are all level. The park is surrounded by beautiful mountains and there is a paved trail to the Visitors Center (.6 mile). The town of Borrego Springs is an easy bike ride away. The park is very quiet at night. Each site is paved with a picnic table and fire ring.

In our previous campground reviews, we have never given 5 stars toward an overall rating. This is our first...and surprisingly, it is a California State Park. Although ratings can be subjective to the unique expectations of an individual reviewer, based on their experience, time of year visited or a bad hair day, we were quite impressed with the park and would definitely go back.

We had already been boondocking in the Anza Borrego for a week at Rockhouse Canyon Road, but we decided to stay longer and "sample" the facilities at the state’s Borrego Palm Canyon Campground in Borrego Springs. We found a pull through site with full hook-ups so we were able to charge, dump and replenish our water for the next few days of dry camping in Joshua Tree National Park. The pull throughs on our row could have easily fit a 40' motorhome and dinghy, so we had no problem staying hooked up to our trailer. The park was immaculate...very clean restrooms and showers (cleaned every day), no litter on the grounds and the camphosts were always available to answer any questions or sell you some firewood. Just an fyi...firewood in town cost $9.99 per bundle plus tax...at the state park sells the same size bundle for a flat fee of $6.00.

We began our exploration of the park by walking over a half mile to the very cool Anza Borrego Visitor Center. The trail is paved and accessible to everyone...just make sure your walk is not during those "gale" winds that come off the mountains, there are no shelters to deflect those icy blasts. The interpretive center was built right into the rocky hillside and is well camouflaged within the desert fauna with expansive views of the valley. The volunteers were very knowledgable about the park and the center featured several informative exhibits. 

We really only experienced a tiny portion of this state park. Running about 25 miles east to west and 50 miles north to south, it is California’s largest state park encompassing more than 600,000 acres. HUGE! A wonderful sanctuary for those hardy desert wildlife...including "Wile E Coyote,"  whose animated pack celebrated near our campsite.

We did make time to go on a wonderful hike, the Palm Canyon Hike, that led us to a desert palm oasis. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of some Big Horn Sheep that come down the canyon for water but we were just a few minutes late of seeing a beautiful ram. Wonderful viewpoints of the desert below was afforded to us as we climbed up the canyon. And at night the stargazing is awesome.

We loved this state park so much, we are entertaining camphosting at Borrego Palm Canyon in the future.

We stayed during the week (avoided the weekend rush) and stayed in the "no hookups" area. There the sites are spacious, clean, and delightful. There were flush toilets scattered throughout the campground area. The scenery was breathtaking.

The rate we paid includes the Senior Discount. The staff was helpful. The hike up Palm Canyon to the Oasis is very nice and not too strenuous ... unfortunately, we didn't see any Bighorn Sheep!

We stayed in the full hookup. It's listed as a pull thru but is a drive in. Was a little skeptical at first we were not sure we would fit. Camp host was very kind about it and said we could pull in at either direction we wanted. Once we got in camp set up all was good. We did the palm canyon hike, slot canyon and Galleta meadows. Very peaceful and quiet. Loved the sunrises. Would definitely come here again.

Of all of the places we stayed on our month long trip Anza Borrego is at the top of the list. We could have easily stayed for weeks!
We stayed in two campsites during our visit and both were such different experiences. Our first 4 nights we're in the upper no-hookup section. We loved it there. We planned our whole trip around campsite 116. Why? At palm canyon there are three rock ramada campsites. 116 is one of those complete with a fireplace! The sites in the upper section are well spaced and there are flush toilets throughout. One of the restrooms even has a coin shower. We decided to stay longer due to weather and moved to an available full hookup site. THe lower section with hookups is as you'd imagine. Everyone really close and no privacy. Still, we were in such a great place we didn't complain.
A big plus to this campsite is the closeness to town. Borrego Springs is a lively community with good food and friendly people. Market prices seemed high so make sure to stock up before arriving.

Let me start by saying we are new at this. We arrived on a Wednesday without a reservation but were able to get a spot with water and a broken electric hookup which was fine with us. Facilities were clean. Long "2 minute" hot shower. Great views and hikes. Must hike The Slot!

You will not go wrong with this serviced campground, everything is well run and it's a great place to take a short break from BoonDocking. Full washrooms with showers, pull thru sites a little too close but it is a typical up and down campground, the scenery is around you on the horizon not in the park. Sunsets are better at the Rockhouse BoonDocking site but this has a very different and better atmosphere.

Great place to setup for a couple of days. The hike up Palm Canyon Trail was the highlight of our stay. Our site (97) was across from a big group site with a bunch of teens on some kind of organized camping trip. They sang camp songs at night and made fun of my instagram sticker (@tin.can.fan) on my camper, but somehow we survived. Our site was large with a fire pit and a covered table.

Lots of UTV/ATV/dirt bike traffic in Salton City, which is kind of a dump. The road sucks, take it slow. The Salton Sea and Salton City have some cool history: http://www.messynessychic.com/2012/10/03/the-apocalypse-came-early-for-the-salton-riviera-california/

We'll be back again, we loved this place.

We didn't need to check in when we arrived, but the camp host was very friendly and helpful when we needed firewood.

This is a well maintained gem in the Anza Borrego State Park. It's close to the town of Borrego Springs but you wouldn't know it. Amazing views of the mountains and desert make you think you're out in the wilderness.

There are a few hiking trails that start right at the edge of the park. We went on a half a mile trail to the top of a small mountain overlooking the park, and a 3 mile hike to an oasis. Both are highly recommended. We even saw some Long Horn Sheep resting.

The park visitor center is a very short drive away or you can take a .6 mile trail there. It's well designed and they have some great picnic sites there.

As you can see in the photo, the sunrises are incredible. The starry nights are also great for star gazing. One of our favorite parks.

We needed a pit stop area with hook ups for a night traveling from Quartzsite to Oceanside. Wanted to take a more scenic route-btw 78 to here was not a bad drive at all-we pit stopped at Slab City to see the iconic area. They had 50 amp service, full hook ups, everything was very clean and the views were amazing. We didn't hike at all as we were dumping, doing laundry (our own machine, none on site), and just stayed overnight but I would love to come back. Very nice, quiet, stunning, and reasonable! (We did not reserve prior to arrival so no online reservation fee)