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 • October 12, 2026

Flashback: When Borrego Grew Gladioli for the West Coast

Photo: From the 2015 Borrego Sun online edition, "Borrego Springs - April 1956, Acres Of Blooms"

Charlotte Fortiner stands among the gladioli at the Fortiner Glad Ranch in Borrego Springs in April 1956. This photo from the Borrego Sun archive shows part of the ranch’s crop of 600,000 blooms.

The flowers were headed to florists up and down the West Coast, and the original caption noted they would be the first glads of the season to reach the market.

It’s a striking picture for a desert town. Today most people know Borrego Valley for its grapefruit, palms and wildflowers. But for a time, rows of cut flowers grew here too. The valley’s warm winters let local growers get their blooms to market ahead of the rest of the state.

Charlotte and her husband, Sam, were among the families who built Borrego’s farming economy after World War II. Sam once recalled that there “wasn’t much going on in the valley other than dates and cattle” until after the war. The Fortiners bought land in the valley and worked side by side to build their farming business. Both were licensed pilots, and they flew their own small plane over the mountains, a practical way to get in and out of a valley that was still remote.

Charlotte did far more than farm. She raised three sons and kept up a long teaching career. She was the first teacher in Borrego to teach grade school music and art, and she also taught home economics in the local public schools. She was a charter member of the Borrego Art Guild, where she served as president, newsletter editor and in many other roles. In 2002 she was the honoree at the Guild’s 27th annual Festival of Arts.

Charlotte Elizabeth Fortiner lived from 1919 to 2011. In January 2014, The House of Borrego Springs held a show of her paintings and other artwork to honor her as one of the valley’s pioneers.