Ghost Mountain

Among stargazers, creating light pollution is the equivalent of throwing rubbish out of a car window. That’s why the street lights in Borrego Springs are subtle, not glaring, and the local airport has adjusted its aircraft beacon to angle downward. The town’s residents like to see their skies illuminated by millions of bright stars, and they plan to keep it that way. Borrego Springs is the first International Dark Sky Community in California, having earned that distinction by restricting and modifying lights on public streets, outside businesses and even on residents’ front porches. It doesn’t hurt to have a high mountain range between here and the big, bright cities and towns of Southern California, plus 600,000 acres of undeveloped Anza-Borrego Desert State Park all around. 

If you’d like to learn more about what you’re seeing, schedule an evening under the stars with astronomer Dennis Mammana of Borrego Night Sky Tours. The Springs at Borrego, an RV resort with a small observatory housing an 11-inch diameter telescope, holds public viewings and lectures several times a year. In April, take part in even more events during Dark Sky Week.

The creatures pop up alongside Borrego Springs Road: Prehistoric elephants. A sabre-tooth cat. An ancient camel. A T. Rex and a giant bird of prey. Not the flesh-and-blood kind, but remarkable art pieces—sometimes whimsical, sometimes haunting—are the one of a kind works of sculptor Ricardo Breceda, whose creations delight and surprise drivers near the town of Borrego Springs. 

While some creatures are ambitious fantasies, such as a 350-foot-long serpent arcing across the playa, many of the sculptures represent real-life creatures that once roamed this land. In 2008, Breceda was originally commissioned by local philanthropist Dennis Avery to make sculptures for his extensive desert property known as Galleta Meadows, but the creatures seem to have multiplied around town. To find Breceda’s 130 or so rust-red, scrap-metal sculptures, collect a detailed map at the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association bookshop in Borrego Springs (also a great place for nature-themed gifts). 

At first glance, the desert can seem like an inhospitable place, which makes Anza-Borrego’s wild flower bloom seem all the more miraculous. The park’s more than 200 flowering plant species put on a brilliant display each spring—if winter rains have worked their magic. Typically the bloom occurs between late February and April, with early March being the safest bet. Once the bloom starts, it lasts only for a few weeks. Call the park’s wild flower hotline for up-to-date information (+1 760-767-4684).  

Borrego Palm Canyon Trail usually has good displays of spiky ocotillo, saffron-yellow brittlebrush and desert lavender. For a longer trek, hike about 3 miles into Hellhole Canyon and reap rewards of flowering barrel cactus and sweet-smelling lupine, plus cascading water at Maidenhair Falls. If you have a 4WD, scope out the sand verbena and dune evening primrose along what’s commonly called Coyote Canyon Jeep Trail, a dirt road at the north end of DiGiorgio Road.