Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

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

Visit three palm oases in the midst of one of Anza-Borrego's driest quarters.

— Smack dab in the middle of the most desolate part of the Borrego Badlands stands a remarkable triad of palm oases. The best known of these, Seventeen Palms, is a popular destination for park visitors. The other two lie just a short distance away. They are accessible in a roundabout way via off-road vehicle trails or overland on foot as described here. Since the hiking route is partially "cross-country," it is appropriate for hikers skilled at navigational techniques, including the ability to read a topographic map. The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park visitor center in Borrego Springs can help you with your map needs.

First, you must drive to Seventeen Palms oasis itself. From Borrego Springs, follow Highway S-22 (Palm Canyon Drive, Pegleg Road, and Borrego Salton Seaway) generally east for about 16 miles to the Arroyo Salado Primitive Camp turnoff on the right at mile 34.8 (according to the roadside mile markers). Pass through the camping area and continue along the four-wheel-drive route southeast down the sandy, rock-strewn Arroyo Salado wash. After 3.5 miles, a side road on the right quickly ends at a parking area just short of Seventeen Palms oasis.

The oasis itself was used for decades as a functional prospectors' post office. That tradition continues today, as you may find modern travelers' business cards, as well as a park register, in a barrel wedged between two palm trunks. Any water found at the oasis is not potable, so be sure you already have drinking water in your pack.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Start hiking cross-country at the north end of Seventeen Palms grove (elevation 410 feet). Follow a bearing of about 200° (generally south-southwest) over the intricately dissected terrain. In about 0.5 mile you'll cross a rise (510 feet). From the rise you can look south into a seemingly endless maze of mud hills. Make a descent into any of the several small washes directly below, which lead one way or another downhill to the Cut Across Trail (off-road vehicle trail) in Tule Wash, about a mile from the start. The exact route across this convoluted terrain is your choice -- though you may find yourself from time to time on paths worn in by previous hikers.

Turning left (east) on the Cut Across Trail, you should soon catch sight of Una Palma (single palm), its forlorn crown peeping above the mudhills. A stubby side road leads north to it.

From Una Palma itself, head northeast, once again cross-country over undulating mud hills. Topping the first hill, you'll be able to see at least the tallest palm at Five Palms Spring, 0.5 mile away. Head directly toward it, east across the mud hills. About five large and small palms grow here -- though the exact number fluctuates as larger ones perish and fall and young upstarts replace them. It is a coincidence that all three oases you have visited lie at virtually the same elevation, 410 feet.

A short pathway leads down from Five Palms to the off-road-vehicle route in nearby Tule Wash. Turn left and follow it (and later the Arroyo Salado jeep road) nearly a mile northwest back to your car at the Seventeen Palms parking area.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Celebrate Holi, Borrego Springs Music Festival

Events March 23-March 27, 2024
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach

— Smack dab in the middle of the most desolate part of the Borrego Badlands stands a remarkable triad of palm oases. The best known of these, Seventeen Palms, is a popular destination for park visitors. The other two lie just a short distance away. They are accessible in a roundabout way via off-road vehicle trails or overland on foot as described here. Since the hiking route is partially "cross-country," it is appropriate for hikers skilled at navigational techniques, including the ability to read a topographic map. The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park visitor center in Borrego Springs can help you with your map needs.

First, you must drive to Seventeen Palms oasis itself. From Borrego Springs, follow Highway S-22 (Palm Canyon Drive, Pegleg Road, and Borrego Salton Seaway) generally east for about 16 miles to the Arroyo Salado Primitive Camp turnoff on the right at mile 34.8 (according to the roadside mile markers). Pass through the camping area and continue along the four-wheel-drive route southeast down the sandy, rock-strewn Arroyo Salado wash. After 3.5 miles, a side road on the right quickly ends at a parking area just short of Seventeen Palms oasis.

The oasis itself was used for decades as a functional prospectors' post office. That tradition continues today, as you may find modern travelers' business cards, as well as a park register, in a barrel wedged between two palm trunks. Any water found at the oasis is not potable, so be sure you already have drinking water in your pack.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Start hiking cross-country at the north end of Seventeen Palms grove (elevation 410 feet). Follow a bearing of about 200° (generally south-southwest) over the intricately dissected terrain. In about 0.5 mile you'll cross a rise (510 feet). From the rise you can look south into a seemingly endless maze of mud hills. Make a descent into any of the several small washes directly below, which lead one way or another downhill to the Cut Across Trail (off-road vehicle trail) in Tule Wash, about a mile from the start. The exact route across this convoluted terrain is your choice -- though you may find yourself from time to time on paths worn in by previous hikers.

Turning left (east) on the Cut Across Trail, you should soon catch sight of Una Palma (single palm), its forlorn crown peeping above the mudhills. A stubby side road leads north to it.

From Una Palma itself, head northeast, once again cross-country over undulating mud hills. Topping the first hill, you'll be able to see at least the tallest palm at Five Palms Spring, 0.5 mile away. Head directly toward it, east across the mud hills. About five large and small palms grow here -- though the exact number fluctuates as larger ones perish and fall and young upstarts replace them. It is a coincidence that all three oases you have visited lie at virtually the same elevation, 410 feet.

A short pathway leads down from Five Palms to the off-road-vehicle route in nearby Tule Wash. Turn left and follow it (and later the Arroyo Salado jeep road) nearly a mile northwest back to your car at the Seventeen Palms parking area.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mid-range fleet scoring bluefin limits off Ensenada

Rockfish to open at all depths April 1st (no foolin’)
Next Article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
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
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.