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Take a short hike to secluded Big Spring in Tubb Canyon, overlooking Borrego Valley.

Big Spring, tucked in a tributary of Tubb Canyon on the west side of Borrego Valley, is one of the more reliable water producers in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. As such, it is an important watering hole for local wildlife. Tracks on the sandy pathways leading to the spring show evidence of visits by coyotes, mountain lions, and bighorn sheep.

Unknown to most park visitors, Big Spring is quite easy to reach on foot -- only a 3/4-mile walk from the nearest paved road. The best place to start hiking is the small parking turnout on the north side of Montezuma Highway (S-22) at mile 11.2. Remember that you'll need a state-park permit ($5 per day) for parking in Anza-Borrego. Permits are available at the entrance to Culp Valley Campground and down the hill in Borrego Valley at the state-park visitors' center and elsewhere. Bring liquid refreshment with you. Midday temperatures at this elevation are routinely in the 90s this late in the season.

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Walk due south across 400 yards of flat terrain, and cross over a gentle saddle. At this point you should pick up a trail that descends into a sandy wash -- the head of Tubb Canyon. After about 200 yards downstream the trail leaves this wash and passes over a low saddle to the south. Big Spring lies beyond, in the bottom of Tubb Canyon's south branch.

At the spring, the water gushes through tall thickets of seepwillow and thorny tangles of catclaw and mesquite -- so it may be hard to reach the water with one's hide intact. Small willows and cottonwoods raise their crowns above it all. Enhancing the scene is the massive presence of Pinyon Ridge, rising to the south.

Before going back to the highway, try climbing the small hill (2720´) east of the saddle you just passed over. This is one of the panoramic viewing sites used by volunteers during the Anza-Borrego Desert summer bighorn-sheep census.

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Big Spring, tucked in a tributary of Tubb Canyon on the west side of Borrego Valley, is one of the more reliable water producers in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. As such, it is an important watering hole for local wildlife. Tracks on the sandy pathways leading to the spring show evidence of visits by coyotes, mountain lions, and bighorn sheep.

Unknown to most park visitors, Big Spring is quite easy to reach on foot -- only a 3/4-mile walk from the nearest paved road. The best place to start hiking is the small parking turnout on the north side of Montezuma Highway (S-22) at mile 11.2. Remember that you'll need a state-park permit ($5 per day) for parking in Anza-Borrego. Permits are available at the entrance to Culp Valley Campground and down the hill in Borrego Valley at the state-park visitors' center and elsewhere. Bring liquid refreshment with you. Midday temperatures at this elevation are routinely in the 90s this late in the season.

Sponsored
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Walk due south across 400 yards of flat terrain, and cross over a gentle saddle. At this point you should pick up a trail that descends into a sandy wash -- the head of Tubb Canyon. After about 200 yards downstream the trail leaves this wash and passes over a low saddle to the south. Big Spring lies beyond, in the bottom of Tubb Canyon's south branch.

At the spring, the water gushes through tall thickets of seepwillow and thorny tangles of catclaw and mesquite -- so it may be hard to reach the water with one's hide intact. Small willows and cottonwoods raise their crowns above it all. Enhancing the scene is the massive presence of Pinyon Ridge, rising to the south.

Before going back to the highway, try climbing the small hill (2720´) east of the saddle you just passed over. This is one of the panoramic viewing sites used by volunteers during the Anza-Borrego Desert summer bighorn-sheep census.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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