As California's largest State Park, Anza-Borrego is another spot everyone should have on their…read morebucket list. They have some great trails, camping, star gazing, and a bunch of giant statues that are fun to check out. The visitor's center was fun with a friendly staff. Don't forget to ask about the Junior Ranger Program. We saw two coyotes outside the visitor's center. We did the Palm Canyon Trail. It was an easy and short trail that was perfect for kids. We walked past 4-5 bighorn sheep. That was very cool. Keep in mind there are certain areas that can only be reached if your vehicle has AWD. The town of Borrego Springs is nice with a couple restaurants, shops, and places to stay. Looking back, it would have been nice to spend the night to stargaze. Don't forget to hiking smart: sun protection and plenty of water. Stay on the trials. Leave no trace. And have fun.

Spectacular desert views just a short drive from San Diego or Los Angeles yet it feels like you're…read moreon another continent. Try a late March trip to see the desert floor ablaze in springtime flower colors, or the "secret" Dinosaur Trail, or searching for ancient Pictographs in the Blair Valley section of Coyote Canyon. Anza Borrego never disappoints for those seeking adventure right here in Southern California!

Wowww, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a beautiful green peaceful escape. A great weekend getaway!…read moreIt's excellent for hiking with lots of trailheads, camping sites and amazing scenic views. I highly recommend this park...had a wonderful time.

Backpacking weekend for a scout group out to Granite Springs primitive camp via Harvey Moore Trail…read moreloop from Green Valley Falls CG. For primitive campsites at Granite Springs or Arroyo Seco call the 760 park # to inquire about site availability a few days before arrival. They can tell you if the sites are claimed already.

The "Star" of Palomar Mountain State Park is the California Institute of Technology's Hale…read moreTelescope at the Palomar Mountain Observatory, but there is also a rare bit (for San Diego) of Alpine terrain to explore with hiking trails in the trees and meadows with pounds and lakes. The views are always spectacular, and adventure awaits for those willing to get out and explore. Plan ahead for camping, the campgrounds fill up fast on weekends when the weather is nice.

A beautiful state park and such amazing campgrounds. There are a few campground options, but during…read moremy recent visit, we stayed at the Doane Valley Campground. It was very easy to book ahead online and pay for our daily parking pass once we checked-in. The campsite itself is tucked into the forest, very high up on Palomar Mountain. We found it easy to park our one SUV at our campsite and pitch our tents. The sites do have water, tables, and food boxes. The bathrooms were kept quite nice and tidy. We were all very impressed with the simple but clean and well maintained facilities. We did do a dog friendly hike that starts in the Doane Valley Campground and it's about 4 miles round trip. We had a lovely hike with a decent amount of incline along with beautiful weather. They also have a lovely stop/view area at the beginning of the campgrounds with picnic tables. Palomar mountain is great for camping, hiking, a nice Sunday cruise up the mountain for the beauty, etc. Cell phone service is spotty up there so make sure to either download your map ahead of time or use satellite service.

The Azalea trail is located inside the Paso Picacho Campground. This is an medium level loop trail…read morefor all ages with reasonable mobility. The total hike is 3.0 miles. If you have little ones, under 7, this will be a better option for you compared to the Stonewall Peak or Cuyamaca Peak trails. If you're looking for a real hike, the Azalea Glen trail will connect to the trail to Cuyamaca Peak. That's a 7.7 mile total loop hike if you decide to do that. We took the Azalea loop counter clockwise from our campsite, maybe that's a better choice. It was nice walking bsck down along the little stream. Lots of small rocks on the trail. Wear appropriate shoes. - We saw a yellow caution blocking the loop trail at the halfway point. We ignored it and kept going.. TIP - If you're paying $10 to hike this trail you might as well go all the way to cuyamaca peak.

Scenic trail to add on if you're doing stonewall peak. It does have a pretty good steady elevation…read moreand could get your heart rate up in certain spots. Lots of pretty views (see pictures) and great for social distancing.

Jess Martin Park is on highway 79 in Julian California. This is a really nice county park has base…read moreball fields skate park some exercise equipment. Has shade in some spots. Has bathrooms. Had wash station. BBQ gril. Perfect for picnics gathering. Birthday parties. Take a dog for a walk. Has handicap parking and accessibility. Would I recommend this county park yes highly would. I go every chance I can since I live in Julian and it's our local park. Thank you

My family and I drove up to Julian for a day trip but we knew we needed to let the kids get their…read moreenergy out and we stopped here to explore the playground. The playground equipment seemed newer and the kids loved it. What I loved was that it is completely fenced so I didn't have to be on top of my toddlers and they could explore a bit more on their own. We had a ton of fun climbing up everything and sliding down and using the swings. No one else was there for the majority of the time we were. One other family came for a short period of time and it seemed they were killing time before a photoshoot. Outside of the playground there is some picnicking areas and some sports areas as well. It seems like there can be a good use of space to do many different activities. There is a bathroom there however it is like a camping bathroom with a sink on the outside and nothing more than an outhouse on the inside. I opted to skip it and wait until we got to Julian to use a more modern bathroom. Overall, it was a great stop on the way to Julian for the kids and we will likely stop there again on future trips.

A great (Loop) hike that is best experienced during fall…read more.. There are many ways to hike this trail, but mine is a 5 mile loop hike. Follow my suggestions and get a great family-friendly hike with great views, fresh air, and you'll get up close to microwave towers, a USAF Doppler radar ball, and cellular towers. Soo cool. Okay, you've put this hike on your list based on the pictures but there are a few thing you need to know. I started at the Desert View picnic area. This is a great parking area but you MUST have an adventure pass to park here. You'll have to buy a day, or annual park pass at any sports/adventure store. OR, I found a free parking alternative. Okay here we go. I'll talk about the free parking..If you're at the picnic area just hop on the PCT and head north.. The access to the free parking area it's the next North turnoff past the Desert View picnic area. Drive up the road to the lot and park in the dirt lot.. Check out the view!! For your reference look up the road and you'll see a big black gate.. this is where your loop hike will END... Don't worry, you will not be trespassing on this hike. That gate only blocks cars, not hikers. My loop starts at the Pacific Crest Trail, so if you parked at the free area walk down the road and look for the trailhead on the RIGHT side of the road.. TIP - Because this area doesn't have reliable cell service you will need to use GPS via Google Maps (or a hiking app) to find the actual "unmarked Monument trail". TIP if you can't use google maps, you'll have to look for the PCT marker that's at the base of a small hill.. just look for a tight opening through manzinita trees on the right just before that sign. The monument trail is tight, but you can do it. Hike to the top and hike around the various government installations..take pictures..have fun. To complete the loop, continue to walk down the service road past more towers and dome heading south.. it will take you all the way back to the viewpoint parking lot.. TIPS - Put the location of the Desert View picnic area in your google maps app for reference BEFORE you enter this area (no internet coverage up here). Remember if you park at the picnic area you need an adventure pass. No pass required if you park at the viewpoint lot. This loop didn't have a single no trespassing sign. So do walk the service road on the loop back.

The views at the top are spectacular. Tall Pines to the west, dry desert to the east. This peak…read morelies on what is known as a ecotone. A boundary between two distinctly different habitats. I used the directions provided here and they got me to a parking area off the shoulder on Sunrise Highway, about mile marker 25. The trailhead has between a barbed wire fence and the trail unmarked. You walk in a northerly direction for about half mile or so through a trail that looks vague in places do to lack of use, apparently. I got this info from a great hiking book called Afoot and Afield San Diego County by Jerry Schad. You'll walk until you get to another trail that intersects, and it's not marked. Follow it right on you'll be on the Big Laguna trail. Walk about 100 yards until you get to another trail intersection. It's the Pacific Crest trail and you'll follow it left. At the summit is a few radio and microwave antennas. Of interest was a laser target, standing about 6ft tall. I snapped a photo and uploaded it. When at the summit you'll appreciate the beautiful contrast of habitat as you pan around 360 degrees. It was especially windy this day, but very clear providing great views. Mount Stephenson and the large round white antennae towers can also be visited very near by. The views of the desert are amazing. This is an easy hike of about 4 miles out and back. Elevation gain 500 feet

If you enjoy dark sky or full moon, Anza- Borrego Desert State Park is the place to go!…read moreLast June, we ventured to Borrego Palm Canyon Campground for camping, expecting a dark sky and starry night but instead encountered a full moon that turned the desert into a magical scene. The moonlight created an almost mystical atmosphere, making the desert feel like another planet. We set up our tent beside a stone ramada with a table and fireplace. The cleanest toilet we've ever seen was just steps away, which was a luxurious touch. Since it wasn't peak season, typically from March to April when wildflowers are in bloom and again from autumn onward, the park was quieter. We checked in with the DIY machine at the entrance of the campground, and friendly ranchers were around to offer help if needed. One rancher suggested that if we wanted to hike, we should start early and finish by 8:30am before the temperatures began to rise. ( Just a tip: download a campsite map beforehand because there's no internet service in the park) The desert, lit up by the moon, looked like something from another world. Rugged rock formations and the wide open space felt never ending, and with the moonlight highlighting the cool details of the landscape. The desert was so quiet and empty, It felt like the world had melted away, leaving just us and the serene, mystical surroundings.. Next morning, the heat cut our hike short with our cat, and it was a bit of an ordeal. Cats can be more sensitive to the heat, and she had a breathing issue and gasping for air right after we started hiking. We had to quickly rushed back to the car to help her cool down. So just be aware if you plan to bring your pets along. Despite this, that night remained a magical mix of peace and wonder, a cherished experience that I'll never forget.

I went RV Glamping here last month! Great site. Electricity and water hookups. Campsite bathrooms…read morewere clean too! I saw there were showers, but I didn't use them. Our campsite was a nice layout, we had our picnic table right near where the RV got parked. I saw some had the table more off to the side in some bushes. Multiple hiking trails started at different points around the campsite. Stars were gorgeous at night!!

Wonderful campground with lots of trees. Enjoyed a partial hookup that included electrical and…read morewater. Each site has a picnic bench and fire ring. Some have benches as well. Only one bathroom area but the family bathroom is spacious. The bathroom area also has huge wash tubs for cleaning pots and pans. Same area has the RV dump. Small pond about 0.1 mile from the east end of the park, can catch and release blue gill. Have to buy firewood at the ranger station. Only complaint was the noise. There were lots of kids screaming, crying and being unruly with parents doing nothing about it.

I did not stay here, but went to check it out for a future stay…read more The staff said we could drive thru and check it out. It is nice, looks like a good place to camp, but the sites are on top of each other and not what we are looking for so I probably will not stay there.