Our Baja motorcycle vacation starts now. We’ve got a couple of weeks carved out of our schedule for a motorcycle vacation and we’re getting started in Borrego Springs, California. Anza Borrego Desert State Park is a fantastic place to ride and camp in the California desert. We spent four nights in the area on our way to Baja Mexico. While we were there we explored a a lot of the area including Sheep Canyon and Fonts Point.
Anza Borrego | Sheep Canyon
Details
- Distance: 16 miles
- Location: Borrego Springs, California
- Start: Borrego Springs
- End: Sheep Canyon
- Roads: Coyote Canyon
- Conditions: pavement, dirt
- Cities: Borrego Springs, California
- Camping: Anza Borrego Desert State Park
Borrego Springs is one of my favorite California Desert towns. It’s a beautiful place to visit in the fall and winter and you might even see the desert flowers bloom in the spring. It’s a small town with your basic services, a few good restaurants and a couple of good grocery stores. Dozens of metal sculptures are in the desert on the outskirts of town.
Sheep Canyon
Our first adventure took us into Sheep Canyon which is just a few miles north of Borrego Springs. The road into Sheep Canyon Primitive Campground is unpaved and potentially very sandy. In addition, there are a couple of water crossings that can make this ride even more challenging.
Desert Landscape
Rising into Sheep Canyon is a great way to experience some of the desert landscape in this incredibly vast park, which is approximately the size of Rhode Island.
Our Motorcycles
Eva is riding her BMW 850 GS motorcycle and I’m on my new Husqvarna 701 LR. Both of these bikes are good choices for a ride like this one which combines difficult tracks like Sheep Canyon with longer rides on the pavement as we make our way to Baja Mexico in the days ahead.
Difficult Hill Climb
There is one particlarly steep hill climb into Sheep Canyon which could present a problem to riders with less experience. Of course, it’s always advisable to ride with a partner or turn around if the going gets too difficult.
Sheep Canyon Primitive Campground
We arrived at the Sheep Canyon Primitive Campground just in time to find some firewood and build a fire in the approved fire pits that are provided. It’s important to know that building fires on the ground in Anza Borrego Desert State Park is prohibited, to protect and preserve the desert environment. Similarly, you are not allowed to collect dead wood from the ground to build a fire. You must bring your own firewood. The next time I come here I would definitely bring my Firebox stove and perhaps a bit of charcoal as I believe it would present an ideal solution for building a small contained fire for cooking.
Korean Steak Barbecue and Udon Noodles
We purchased food at the local market in Borrego Springs and prepared our meal at the campsite. Udon noodles with steak and, Korean BBQ sauce and some frozen vegetables a fine camp dinner that evening.
Sheep Canyon Water Crossings
We left Sheep Canyon in the morning and rode out on the sandy road, crossing the streams along the way. In short order we found ourselves back in Borrego Springs at the Red Ocotillo Restaurant.
Anza Borrego Desert State Park Campground
We stayed at Anza Borrego Desert State Park Campground the second night which is a large public campground with all of the amenities including fire pits, toilets and showers. Our dinner that evening was salmon and rice prepared over charcoal on the grill.
Borrego Palm Canyon
In the morning I grabbed my Mosko Moto Nomax Tank Bag which I filled with water in the provided bladder and went for a short hike into Palm Canyon which is a highlight of the state park. It’s always nice on a trip like this to get off the bike and get some good exercise.
Fonts Point
In the afternoon I rode out to Fonts Point, a location I have been to before where I filmed this video. Fonts Point is a scenic viewpoint of some of the amazing rock formations in the area, although it is a very sandy road to get out there.
Scenic Beauty of the Borrego Badlands
This is the view of the “badlands” in Anza Borrego Desert State Park from Fonts Point.
Baja Motorcycle Vacation Starts Now
After four days of riding and camping in Anza Borrego Desert State Park we left Borrego Springs and spent the night in the Corral Canyon Campground and our Baja motorcycle vacation starts now. We’re crossing the border into Mexico next!