How big is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park?

More than 600,000 acres, or roughly 1,000 square miles. It is the largest state park in California and the third largest in the United States, spanning parts of San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties.

How much does it cost to enter Anza-Borrego?

Day use is $10 per vehicle, collected at the Visitor Center, developed campgrounds and several popular trailheads including The Slot and Hellhole Canyon. The park has no entrance gates and much of it can be accessed without a fee.

When is wildflower season at Anza-Borrego?

Annual wildflowers can appear from January through mid-April, with peak bloom most often between late February and early April. Timing varies year to year based on rainfall and temperature.

Is Anza-Borrego a Dark Sky Park?

Yes. The park was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2018 at Silver tier. Borrego Springs, the town at its center, has been an International Dark Sky Community since 2009, the first in California.

Do I need four-wheel drive at Anza-Borrego?

Not for the paved roads, the Visitor Center or the main campgrounds. The vast majority of the park's roughly 500 miles of dirt roads do require a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park open at night?

Yes, the park is open 24 hours a day, year-round. The Visitor Center is open daily 9am to 5pm October through May, and weekends and holidays only June through September.

City News Service • September 2, 2026

NWS monitoring possible tropical cyclone that could affect San Diego County

The National Weather Service is monitoring Tropical Storm Marie, which developed near Baja California and could bring a chance of showers to San Diego County over Labor Day weekend.

The National Weather Service was monitoring on Tuesday an area of low pressure and thunderstorms several hundred miles off the southern coast of Mexico that could affect San Diego.

The National Hurricane Center has designated the weather system Invest 95-E, and the NWS said there is a 90% chance it will develop into a tropical cyclone within the next 48 hours.

Forecasts for where the system could move over the next several days vary significantly but generally fall along two tracks: a westerly route that would take the storm farther into the Pacific Ocean, or a northern route that could bring the system toward San Diego, Los Angeles and northwestern Mexico.

"At this time, the westward track is the more favored track which would take the storm out to sea, an NWS statement reads. "The northward track is less likely."

The meteorologists did provide a caveat: "Long-range forecasts inherently carry significant uncertainty, particularly with a system that has not yet developed."

Potential impacts, should the system develop into a storm and move toward the region, include a risk of coastal flooding as astronomical high tides are expected during the week of Labor Day.

According to the meteorologists, associated tropical swells are roughly forecast to arrive Saturday or Sunday, coinciding with high tides of 6.2 to 6.5 feet.

"Anticipated wave heights will depend on the track of the storm, so these remain uncertain," the NWS statement read. "It is still way too early to discuss expected rainfall totals, however even with a storm track further out to sea, tropical moisture may still be funneled into the area during Labor Day Weekend."