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.

Andrea McKenna • August 19, 2026

1961 AERO-RAMA Air Show in Borrego Springs | Historic Borrego Sun

Wing-Walking, Skydiving and Stunt Flying in Borrego Springs

On April 8–9, 1961, the AERO-RAMA Air Show was held in Borrego Springs. Sponsored by the Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce and Borrego Valley Airport Management, the two-day event was designed in the style of the air circuses of the 1920s.

A Two-Day Air Show

The AERO-RAMA program included:

Skydiving
Wing-walking
Aerial trapeze acts
An air race
A hot-air balloon ascent
Aerial dogfights
Ground-to-air pickups
Antique aircraft

The finale featured stunt pilot Cliff Winters, who deliberately crashed an airplane as part of the performance.

Stunt Pilot Cliff Winters

Winters had served with the 82nd Airborne and later learned to fly through the GI Bill.

He became known for parachuting, wing-walking and stunt flying.

Filmmaker Nick Cominos began filming Winters in 1961. The planned documentary was never completed, but the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives now preserves a Cliff Winters collection containing 54 cans of 35mm film.

Winters continued performing until 1963, when he was killed during an air-show stunt in Chino, California.

Learn more about Cliff Winters

Hope Copeland

Hope Copeland, described as an actress-publicist, also appeared in promotional material for the AERO-RAMA. One photograph shows her recreating the appearance of a 1920s airline stewardess, reflecting the show's early-aviation theme.

Borrego Valley Airport

Borrego Valley Airport was already established before the 1961 event. San Diego County acquired approximately 145 acres for development of the airport in 1947.

The 1961 AERO-RAMA remains an unusual chapter in Borrego Springs aviation history, documenting a time when air races, wing walkers, parachutists and stunt pilots performed over the desert during a two-day community event.

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These documents are part of the Borrego Sun materials acquired by Ram Media Foundation. The Borrego Sun archives are being preserved by the San Diego History Center, ensuring that decades of Borrego Springs history will be preserved for future generations.

To support the future of local media and preserve the past, please contact Andrea at andrea@rammediafoundation.org