Very helpful to start your visit to Julian at this museum. It appears they want ALL of their…read moreexhibits out, so the area is a bit crowded. But it is a great way to learn the history and background of the area to help appreciated the town as not just a tourist attraction that focuses on apples. They have the largest lace collection west of the Mississippi.

This place is a labor of love, and it's so lovey to see a town that truly cares for its history in…read morethis way as this one does. We stopped by here after eating some pies. A kind volunteer was manning the museum and was an absolute delight! They had so many historical items ranging from native pottery, clothing, weaponry, and even a beautiful collection of books. We had fun losing track of time sifting through it all as they amazingly can historically trace many families back to the start of the town. Learning about each was great!

Our meetup group-The San Diego Ladies Hike, Walking and More group- went to see Arlene and Farmer…read moreJohn this weekend and had a wonderful time at their orchard. After a short education on apples, we hiked their beautiful property with pickers as we gathered our apples for our future fall pies. We were able to see their chickens (my personal favorite) and even press and taste cider. It was a fantastic fall afternoon in Julian. Thanks Arlene and Farmer John!

I was part of a private tour for a homeschool co-op. This included 40+ parents and children ranging…read morefrom 18months- teenagers. Upon arrival the location from the front the street was quaint and idyllic with street parking. Allow me to state the good aspects: 1. The apples and pears were delicious. 2. The helper (don't know her name) was kind and approachable. 3. The views from the top of the hill are beautiful. 4. The cider was tasty! 5. Arleen's apple facts were interesting and one child attendee guessed the answers with shocking accuracy. Now the not-so great: 1. The wi-fi signal is very weak which makes paying via Venmo a problem. 2. THE FLIES!!!!! THE FLIES!!! THE FLIES!!!! The flies were something biblical. They were quite insufferable... Everyone was swatting the air around them or some part of their body, or trying to shoo flies away from their children's faces, arms, and legs. Which you can imagine caused quite a constant murmur of chatting among parents helping kiddos. At this point, Arleen decided to share some apple facts before apple picking commenced. She did not have a mic- so a group of this size, that's spread out could hear. Some of the older children (8-13) that weren't currently swatting flies tried their best to answer questions. This went on for about 5-7ish minutes before, "Farmer John," (Arleen's husband) yelled out how he wanted everyone's attention, and expressed how rude we were all acting (yes, those were his words) because some people were talking and not standing still quietly to listen to Arleen's presentation. This instantly put a sour taste over the whole experience. Parents were doing their best to make the best of a not-so great fly situation. Also, there was a certain level of excitement from the kids being around their friends and the anticipation of picking apples that deflated. There could have been a more tactful way to address this, as well as a realistic expectation of how little children (and adults) that are being swarmed by flies behave. Making a blanket accusatory statement to adults and children on what's supposed to be a fun family memory-making occasion was unacceptable. I'm glad to report "Farmer John" did not make further comments to parents or children, and the tour ended without further incident. I think tours would be good for a single family, people without children, or singles looking to learn more about apples. I also think anyone considering a private tour to inquire about the flies and expectations of children before visiting. This could potentially help you avoid a situation like the one shared above.

The Desert View Tower, built in the 1920's, offers a stunning view of the Anza Borrego Desert. It's…read morealso currently available on a short-term rental website listed as "Lighthouse in Jacumba, CA"! If you're driving by, it's worth a stop. Free to look around the grounds and giftshop; but there is a fee to climb to the top for the best and most expansive view ($9.50 as of this writing). The tower is next to "Boulder Park" featuring some truly hideous sculptures created by an unemployed engineer during the depression. The boulders are much more notable for what may be cupules created by Native Americans, cups that are carved out of rock as part of ceremonies and rituals. A smattering of animals live on the grounds including chickens and peacocks. Free parking.

I've been trying to figure out what to write about this fun little stop an hour east of San Diego…read more It's a wonderful piece of history and definitely worth exploring. My husband and I enjoyed our visit quite a bit. We paid the fee to climb to the top of the tower and go exploring the boulders on the property as well. The tower interior is home to a magical shop full of antiques and second-hand treasures. The boulders next to the tower are fun to explore and have lots of animals painted onto the boulders in the shapes of various animals. As you can tell we really enjoyed our visit BUT... The one road in and out of the Desert View Tower property is absolutely littered on both sides with (maybe) abandoned motor homes, shanties, and whole collections of god-only-knows-what! And the road itself is like driving on the surface of the moon. I felt like I was driving into a scene of "The Hills Have Eyes" (kids ask your Gen X parents about that one). Seriously... I thought we might be murdered and eaten! But if you're feeling brave, come well-armed, and are willing to pop a tire and ruin your suspension, it's a GREAT place to visit!

We had a great time exploring the area and found the observatory educational and fascinating. The…read moremuseum is cool too, lots of information. Gift shop closed before we got there, but items were available for purchase online as well. Great family outing, there is a nice picnic area as well.

I called the gift shop and told the date we were bringing our grandsons to the observatory. I knew…read morePalomar had no tours on weekdays but I did not see one staff member in the hour we were there. The gift shop was closed so we could not buy souvenirs of anything to drink. The observatory was cool but we had to look through glass into a dark room again not a staff member anywhere. I'm sure the weekend is a better time to visit but we went the only day available to us. There was no cost but for our experience maybe a fair price.

I've been here a few times already, but this visit was for my sister-in-law. She's always wanted to…read morevisit the sculptures. I mentioned that the weather will be very warm not quite as hot as it can be during the summer. It was a steady at 94° and reached up to 97°. We went during the month of May. So if you don't do well in the heat I suggest visiting in early spring or during the fall. This would be a great place to take someone who is visiting from out of town or from another country. The sculptures are pretty spectacular. We didn't get to visit all of the sculptures, but enjoy taking photos of the ones we were able to get to. With the sculptures being far apart from each other it's great for photos because you won't see the other ones in the background. I think it's a great place to visit and to get some fun pictures afterwards you can visit the town which has a few restaurants in shopping stops. There's also a museum in town that would be cool to check out. I will be out here in November camping. I went camping here last November and the weather was very windy and we had a beautiful storm for one day with rainbows shining everywhere last year. It was beautiful. I look forward to coming back to this area.

We went to BORREGO SPRINGS, with the sole intention of seeing the Galleta Meadows Sculptures…read more BOY, were we IMPRESSED!!! We had done a lot of planning ahead of to make sure that we saw as many as we could. It's a little difficult to find some of them, BUT WE ACCOMPLISHED QUITE A LOT!!! If we were to point out any in particular it would have to be the SCORPION and the SERPENT!!! We were surprised by the SOLDIERS AND WINE PICKERS.

This was a great spot to get out of the heat. We decided to bring a small group of Girl Scouts and…read moretag-a-longs here and the Exploration Lab exhibit was great for the kids! We had a 2.5 year old all the way to a 13 year old and they were very entertained and engaged with the activities offered. I don't think this specific exhibit is offered year-round. If it's not, the rest of the museum would be slightly too "old" for the kiddos, looking at the fossils. Overall, very clean, well displayed information and fun.

A great local museum that was fun for the whole family. I learned a lot about the local area and…read morehighly recommended for anyone who either lives locally or has family visiting.

Surprisingly complete ode to the history of Imperial Valley, with both things to see inside and…read moreout. The museum is very large with two upstairs sections. Downstairs includes a history of the valley plus slices of the changing technology that helped make the west what it was. Nature and animal exhibits too, with stuffed animals. Upstairs one large section is devoted to the different ethnic groups who have settled in the valley and contributed to it, and another section includes antiques that made life easier through home improvement devices over the years. Works of well known Imperial Valley residents like author Harold Bell Wright are exhibited. Outside some farm devices and a parked few pieces of a train including its caboose. In all a very enjoyable experience with something for everyone. $10. per adult, $5. for students.

Good day for a couple laps around the park! Nice view with…read morewater area with ducks Friendly family park!

We were driving from San Diego back to El Centro. We had tried stopping earlier but the wind was so…read morebad, so we drove on. We saw the sign for the Imperial Valley Desert Museum on our last trip and it sounded interesting...but I didn't really expect that much being so far away from any towns. We weren't sure we were even heading toward the museum since there was no sign and road was gravel and bumpy. But around the corner there was the terra cotta roof of the museum. No sign for the entrance either but they were glass doors so in we went. No one was at the desk but there were people looking at exhibits so we went in. The museum was not large but had areas with different exhibits and historic artifacts. The exhibits were very informative and well done. They have a beautiful collection of pottery by the Kumeyaay, a local First Nation tribe (who had bands that covered north from Escondido to near Ensenada and east from Yuma, AZ. to the Pacific Ocean. There is a movie that explains how the different bands lived that was so wonderful and informative that I would watch again. We were there about an hour and didn't see everything in detail. I really enjoyed learning about the Kumeyaay people and the desert area of Imperial County area. We will definitely come back to go through it again. I highly recommend making the stop to see the museum.

This is an excellent desert museum. They have a number of good interpretive displays and regularly…read morehost events such as star viewing (they have several telescopes), lectures and planned trips to Anza Borrego state park and the surrounding areas. For years, this museum sat vacant. Finally enough money was raised to build out the interior. When it opened, I just had to go see it. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. For its size, I was surprised to see the number of displays they had and the quality of them. They also have a nice bookstore with trail maps and other informative desert literature. If you've driven on interstate 8 eight between San Diego and Arizona, I'm sure you have seen this museum. It has an outdoor trail with many native plants. There's also shaded sitting areas. If you have an extra 30 minutes to an hour, drop by the Imperial Valley desert museum. I'm sure you would enjoy it.

I was curious to see this trail-park, but didn't know the history till I read the board, (which I…read moreterribly forgot to take a full photo of). It memorializes 11 men that died while digging a fire line on steep canyon - three Forest Service firefighters, seven inmates firefighters & their correctional officer (from the Viejas Honor Camp (prison camp), died at approximately 8:00 PM (part of the blaze looped below their position and overran the crew) The fire, (which was started by arson on November 24, 1956), burned 43,611 acres before containment on the evening of November 28. This is from the National Forest Service Library website. It's has quite a few picnic tables, a couple grills by them but I personally wouldn't want to bbq out there. There are restrooms that are like porta pottys and a short trail (trails) but I didn't walk too far because of my knee. It's a beautiful, peaceful & scenic spot to go to if you live in the area or if you want to add to a pit stop while venturing out here. Main Street in Julian is down from here where you can grab a bite to eat at anyone of the restaurants/cafes.

A small picnic stop on the way up to Julian. We stopped by…read moreto check out the nature trail and its viewpoint of the Santa Ysabel valley. The small loop trail is only .5 miles and about 15 minutes of hiking. This is a great place to stop and stretch your legs, go to the restroom, and maybe have a picnic before heading up to Julian.. - Restrooms - Views - Parking lot