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.

Sally Walsh, Creative Director • October 1, 2026

The Art Scene: Joe Garcia, Journey & Openings in Santa Ysabel and Borrego Springs

Joe Garcia’s Journey at Santa Ysabel Gallery

September 19–November 30
Santa Ysabel Gallery
Highway 78 at Highway 79, Santa Ysabel

Santa Ysabel Gallery opens a new season with Journey , an extraordinary exhibition featuring local artist Joe Garcia. It is one of the most beautiful and masterful collections I have seen in a long time.

Garcia says, “painting is a journey.” This show reflects that journey, revealing a master artist at the peak of his creativity.

His watercolors are remarkable for their luminosity and depth. Careful control of values, transparent layers of washes—a technique he has written a book about—and an expert use of tonal ranges bring light into each composition.

One of the exhibition’s anchor paintings, Coming Ashore , is an 8-by-10 original depicting a solitary woman rowing toward shore against a soft crosscurrent. Romantic and intriguing, it is a highly collectible small work.

An intimate series of studies showing children playing at the beach immediately drew collectors’ attention and quickly sold. We do not see the children’s faces; these paintings are about childhood rather than individual portraits. With artistic ease, Garcia captures the spontaneous joy of a child playing at the beach.

His wildlife paintings reflect years of painting and close observation of nature. In art, there is much talk about light. Garcia’s treatment of it is subtle and transforming, seemingly achieved with ease.

Standout wildlife works include California Valley Quail , Coyote Snooze , a 9-by-12 oil, and Bob Cat , an 8-by-10 oil. Throughout the collection, the wildlife paintings are exceptional.

Prices are approachable, with small original oil paintings starting around $500 and larger works priced in the low thousands. Alongside the exceptional quality of the artwork, this range of pricing contributes to the exhibition’s appeal.

Rooted in the backcountry he calls home, Garcia’s work invites visitors to linger. This is a show you leave feeling uplifted, enveloped by the sheer beauty of the paintings.

Career Markers

Author of Master the Watercolor Wash (2002) and Watercolor Bible (2004).
Repeatedly selected for the Woodson Art Museum’s Birds in Art , most recently in 2024.
Works in collections across the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Europe.

Historic Santa Ysabel Gallery

Built in 1930, the historic building housing Santa Ysabel Gallery was originally known as the Hellyer House.

The gallery’s permanent collection includes the James Hubbell Room, dedicated to the internationally recognized local artist, poet and organic architect. Hubbell made the surrounding mountain area his home and creative center for decades and founded the Ilan-Lael Foundation near Julian in 1982.

During your visit, say hello to the talented and knowledgeable curator and gallery director, Steve Clugston, and take a stroll through the beautiful vintage gardens.

Gallery hours: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Upcoming Art Openings in Borrego Springs

The Gallery at The Palms: The Outliers

Exhibition: October 2–November 1
Opening reception: October 2, 5–8 p.m.
ArtTalk: Saturday, October 17, 3 p.m.

Featured artists include ARhAyas PSonn AllureA, Katina Clementsmith, Rebecca Duckworth, Laura Hackney, Tom O’Brein, Denise Paradise and J.D. Stowell.

Mark your calendar for the October 17 ArtTalk, an opportunity to hear more about the art and the ideas behind it.

Borrego Art Institute: Earth & Sky

Exhibition: October 17–November 29
Opening reception: October 17, 5–7 p.m.

This group mixed media exhibition celebrates plants, animals and the earth’s natural elements.

Artist submissions: Entry is $20 per artist, with a limit of two artworks per person. Artwork will be accepted October 10 and 11.

Studio 628: Mixed Tempo

Location: Gary Henderson Interiors Studio 628
628 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs
Opening reception: Saturday, October 24, 5–7 p.m.

This collective exhibition features Kevin Goddess, Victoria Johnson, Kippi Leonard, Robert Landry, Wil Gardner and Marcy Gregory.

Gallery hours: Friday–Sunday, 1–5 p.m., and by appointment.

Learn More About Borrego Springs

Studio 628 Opens the Season with “Mixed Tempos”

By Andrea McKenna • October 1, 2026

Six artists come together for a collective exhibition, with an opening reception October 24 in Borrego Springs. Gary Henderson Interiors Studio 628 will celebrate its season opening with Mixed Tempos, a collective exhibition featuring Kevin Goddess, Victoria Johnson, Kippi Leonard, Robert Landry, Wil Gardner and Marcy Gregory. The opening reception takes place Saturday, October 24, from 5–7 p.m. at Studio 628, located at 628 Palm Canyon Drive in Borrego Springs. Bringing six artists together in one exhibition, Mixed Tempos offers visitors an opportunity to explore their work and welcome the return of the local gallery season. The evening will also include a sneak preview of Galeria el Patio, adding another reason to stop by and see what’s ahead. Community members and visitors are invited to join the celebration, enjoy the exhibition and spend an evening connecting with Borrego Springs’ arts community. Opening reception: Saturday, October 24, 5–7 p.m. Location: Gary Henderson Interiors Studio 628, 628 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs

“…and Nobody Died.” The PAC6 Painters Celebrate 12 years of Adventures in Art

By Debra Holladay, PAC6 Painters (PAC6) • September 29, 2026

Known as the PAC6 Painters (PAC6), Linda Brown, Marian Fortunati, Nita Harper, Debra Holladay, Laura Wambsgans, and Sharon Weaver have explored and documented the landscape together for the past 10 years. Dedicated to painting the beauty and grandeur of the American landscape, the Southern California-based collaborating artists share a love of the wild outdoors and painting en plein air. Following in the historic footsteps of the California Impressionists, the PAC6 creates landscapes of iconic locations from a new and contemporary perspective. The paintings not only allow viewers to visit and revisit these places, but also take them on a journey through each artist’s individual interpretation of their experience. As Laura Wambsgans explains “Capturing the light within the landscape, nature’s palette, and the true sense of a place is our desire with each landscape painting. If we are successful, the viewer will feel the sun and wind and forget what is on the wall outside the frame.” The group’s first trip to Canyon de Chelly in 2013 solidified their partnership and was where they dedicated themselves to creating bodies of plein air and studio work for exhibiting as a group. Armed with easels, paints, and brushes, they’ve hit the trails, explored deserts, climbed mountains, and waded in the lakes and streams. Highlights of their trips include a pack trip by mule into the Sierras back country to Lake Ediza (and a bear that won’t forget them), jumping mules, a late-night stroll through the Silver Terrace cemetery under a full moon, forest fires, tumbles and twisted body parts, and crunched cars. Other painting expeditions include Yosemite Valley (with a snow trip planned for 2025), Carmel, Vermilion Cliffs, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, Virginia City, and Lake Tahoe. Upcoming trips are already planned this year for June Lake, Rankin Ranch, and a fourth trip to Carmel. Linda Brown sums it up when she says, “Wandering the great outdoors and painting its beauty, from grand mountain vistas to butterfly wings, is a joy we simply could not live without.” Most recently, the PAC6 took on the Anza Borrego Desert. Multiple plein air trips over the past 16 months have resulted in a collection of plein air and studio paintings that showcase the variety and beauty of the desert. The group’s upcoming exhibit at the Borrego Art Institute, On the Trail of Plein Air Masters with the PAC6, opens October 17, 2026 and runs through November 29, 2026. Regardless of the destination, at the end of each adventure the PAC6 Painters brush off their jeans, smile at each other, and proclaim “… and nobody died.” The PAC6 Painters are: Linda Brown , www.lindabrownart.com Marian Fortunati , www.marianfortunati.com Nita Harper , www.nitaharper.com Debra Holladay , www.debraholladay.net Laura Wambsgans , www.laurawambsgans.com Sharon Weaver , www.sharonweaver.com