November 24, 2025.
We visited Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on a whim based on a recent wildflower report. Little did I know that it’s California’s largest state park and there’s much more than just wildflowers to see here. I dropped by the visitor center to learn more. After watching the movie, perusing the exhibits and talking to the park ranger, I decided to hike to Borrego Palm Canyon, the most popular hike in the park.
I know, that doesn’t sound like me.
But, Aaron was parked at the trailhead. It was going to be really hot, so I didn’t want to tackle a really long hike. Plus, I’d just learned that the “borrego” in the park name refers to the bighorn sheep that live in the canyon. I had a good chance of seeing them on this trail. And there was a less popular loop trail to take back to the trailhead. With all that information in mind, I prepared myself for a crowded California trail and started hiking.
I saw a handful of flowers along the way, but it was nothing like the thick purples, oranges and whites we’d found in a lonely wash the day before. I used iNaturalist to scout recent observation and it led me right to the jackpot. This trail was pretty dry and dusty. Every bloom I found was a miraculous surprise.
The Borrego Palm Trail is an interpretive trail that is signed with several numbered posts. I had my handy guide from the visitor center so I could stop and learn about the trail at each number. This also gave me regular break spots where I could rest and let me body temperature drop back to normal. It was already hot.
As I approached post nine, I heard what sounded like a stampede. Looking up, I noticed about 8 bighorn sheep racing down a bouldery ridge, headed in my direction! I expected to see a mountain lion giving chase behind them. But I did not. They screeched to a stop not 50 feet ahead of me and poked around a small rockpile. I watched them quietly until a group of children came barreling down the trail, scaring the animals up and over a nearby ridge.
I continued walking all the way up to the palm grove. It’s always a joy to find one of these oases in the desert, just like in the Wile E. Coyote cartoons I watched as a kid. They’re real. The temperature drops below the shade of the gigantic trees, and it’s a great place to hang out…when it’s not full of other people. I snapped a quick photo before hopping onto the lesser used return trail that looped on the other side of the canyon.
This was the section of trail that truly took my breath away. The whole time, I was rewarded with big views down to the valley floor. I found a few new flowers, including the exquisite rock hibiscus (Hibiscus denudatus). I saw almost no one.
Walking along in a peaceful reverie, I noticed some motion out of the corner of my eye. Sheep, and lots of them. They ran up from a drainage below me, crossed the trail and continued to the mountainside on my right, unconcerned with my presence. I found a rock to sit on and watched the sheep for the next 30 minutes. Another pack of sheep joined the first one and the creatures went about their usual business all around me. Males chased the females. A few sheep butted their heads together. Single sheep trotted this way and that, Groups formed and dissipated. It was such a special experience.
Once I heard a large pack of hikers coming down the trail, I decided to slink away. Not much further away, the trail, I regained the main trail and then I was back in the parking lot. It was crazy how close I was to throngs of people who had no idea what was happening just up the hill.
When visiting Anza-Borrego, it’s really important to be aware of the weather. It gets really hot in these desert hills and there’s hardly any shade. It’s totally understandable why people would gravitate to this particular hike, because even if it’s miserable outside, the hike is relatively short. There’s a lot of bang for your buck as you travel across washes and along bouldery ridges. The oasis is a welcome sight after all the desert heat and the flora and fauna just add to the whole experience. I’d do this one again in a heartbeat, but maybe I’d time it for sunrise or sunset.