Anza Borrego Slot Canyon Dogs
Posted : admin On 4/8/2022- The Slot is a 2.3 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Borrego Springs, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from September until May.
- Discover 'The Slot' and colorful Hawk Canyon at Borrego Mountain in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. min read Explore a geologic hodgepodge and an intriguing slot ravine at Anza-Borrego's Canyon.
- The Slot (Anza Borrego Desert State Park) Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.The turnoff for the Slot is a dirt road called Buttes Pass, located on Highway 78, 17 miles east of Scissors Crossing, 10 miles east of Yaqui Well Road, 1.5 miles east of Borrego springs Road and 21 miles west of Highway 86.
The Slot Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
The Slot in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is one of the must see destinations when visiting this area. Anza-Borrego is an incredible day trip destination, worthy of taking a full day excursion, as it’s just a 1 hour 45 minutes drive from San Diego. Check out our blog post on Anza-Borrego for a bigger picture view of the outdoor adventures you can find in this area.
The Slot Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The Slot in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is one of the must see destinations when visiting this area. Anza-Borrego is an incredible day trip destination, worthy of taking a full day excursion, as it’s just a 1 hour 45 minutes drive from San Diego. The Slot is an amazing short hike located in the Anza Borrego Desert. Drive east on Hwy 78, and about a mile and a half after Borrego Springs Road, turn left onto Buttes Pass Road. Buttes Pass road is a dirt road and not marked well so look carefully. The road is pretty smooth, about a mile in you will take a left at the fork.
This very short (0.8 miles) hike is suitable for all skill levels, and the only thing that will get tired is your fingers from snapping so many photos! Our kids were mesmerized, and declared this one of their all time favorite things we’ve ever done! Let’s show you our time at The Slot in Anza-Borrego, and at the end we’ll give you all the details and logistics you need to know.
From the parking area, you’ll head down into the canyon – it’s a narrow, yet steep trail (don’t worry, it’s not too bad) that goes right into it. You’ll immediately be walking through The Slot at it’s widest part. Tons of fun climbing areas, Sydney and Grant had tough decisions on which part to climb first!
As you can tell from our attire, we chose an unusually cool day to visit Anza-Borrego. You know those rare days where your iPhone weather app doesn’t show a sun or clouds, but just shows wind? Yeah, doesn’t happen that often. Well, we brilliantly had planned our day trip on this day but we decided not to let the wind stop us. It was a wind can actually knock you over kind of day. WHOOPS! To make the most of the situation, when we got there we bought the kids sunglasses at the Visitor’s Center to keep the dust out of their eyes.
As you continue down the path, then it starts to get narrow. This is where it’s time to suck in that belly! This is where the kids started freaking out (with joy) and said this was even better than Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona!
It was nice because even though we were there on a holiday, it wasn’t very crowded at all. Most of the time we had The Slot to ourselves, with the exception of the occasional passerby which we then took the opportunity to ask them to take a family photo of us.
Once you get through the smallest of The Slot, it starts to open up again towards the end. Which kind of makes you sad because you know it’s coming to an end.
As we got towards the end and the kids were getting super fired up about how much fun they were having, Grant did The Slot happy dance!
You know you are towards the end when you pass under this slanted rock bridge overhead. It’s very cool looking and still going strong, although I’ll admit we walked under it quickly! Hey, you never know! The Slot then opens up to a wide dirt path. You could continue down the road and loop back to your car, which is about another mile. Or you can do what we did, retraced our steps, giving us the opportunity to enjoy The Slot again from a different vantage point.
Need to Know
Getting there:
Anza Borrego Slot Canyon Dogs For Adoption
The Slot is located in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, but is a little difficult to find if you don’t know what you are looking for. Our recommendation is to go to the Visitor’s Center to get your bearings on the area, as well as directions to The Slot and anywhere else you plan to visit during your day trip. We recommend continuing after The Slot to check out the incredible Wind Caves trail.
This is the map we received at the Visitor’s Center.
It’s an easy drive from the Visitor’s Center (about 20 minutes) but the dirt road leading to it (Buttes Pass) is very easy to miss so keep your eyes peeled! The dirt road to The Slot is about a mile long. It’s bumpy but a low-clearance vehicle could do it (we saw a Toyota Prius when we were leaving!). Ideally though, especially if doing other amazing trails in this area such as the Wind Caves, you’d have a high-clearance vehicle. There is a small parking lot right at the trail head, can’t miss it! Take note of which dirt road you arrived on, as we were slightly confused when we left as there were a couple of paths to take.
Allow an hour or so to enjoy walking through The Slot.
What to wear and bring:
Definitely wear something you don’t mind getting dirty, with some sturdy shoes. Especially if visiting during the warm season, bring a LOT of water. Don’t bring anything too bulky to carry as The Slot can get narrow in some parts. Oh, and hey, leave Fido behind as dogs are not permitted on the trail.
When to go:
Anza-Borrego is best in the Winter and Spring. During the Summer and Fall it’s doable, but very hot. The most beautiful time is mid-March when the desert wild flowers are in bloom, which you won’t see much of in The Slot but will in the surrounding area.
There you have it. The Slot. Do it. It’s a must see treasure of this area.
Have you been? Do you have any questions or comments? Write them in the comments box, we’re listening.
There isn't much more manly than facing the elements and exploring the world beyond the confines of the paved roads. Unfortunately, unless you are with an instructor or first experience it as a passenger, this can be a challenging task that you might not feel comfortable exploring. However, there are trails in Southern California's Anzo Borrego Desert that are perfect for learning the basics of off-road adventure.
Anza Borrego Slot Canyon Dogs For Sale
While most people think about San Diego as being lush palm trees blowing in a cool ocean breeze, on the other side of the mountain - less than a two-hour drive is a harsh desert that is perfect for a guys weekend adventure. This is your opportunity to explore new terrain, learn new skills, and frankly escape from technology for a while since your mobile phone is almost certain not to work except at the resort itself! For our adventure, Jeep provided Greg from Suburban Men and I with two vehicles - a Jeep Wrangler and a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk - which was surprisingly capable and we hope to do a full review in the future.
Galetta Meadows
The desert in Southern California is a weird place where artists imaginations somehow manage to give life to fantastic artwork in the middle of seemingly nowhere. That's true for Borrego Springs as well and Galetta Meadows is one of the coolest places you will find anywhere. It also provides you with a great opportunity to test your wheels since there are paths to and through the sculpture gardens where if for some reason you get stuck - the road is withing just a few yards.
In total, there are approximately 130 metal sculptures representing everything from prehistoric animals that once roamed the terrain, to more modern subjects representing the people and culture of Borrego Springs today. They are mostly located along Borrego Springs Road but can be easily missed if you drive too fast.
Borrego Badlands at Font's Point
This trail starts off of the S22 Borrego Salton Seaway about 17 miles north east from La Casa Del Zorro and there's a loop to turn around in overlooking the badlands. It's an easy mixture of hard and deep sand that will allow you to test your skills in four-wheel-drive. This trail is mostly flat, so clearance isn't as much of an issue as traction since there are pockets of very soft sand that tend to shift around.
The Slot Trail
This is about 8 miles south east from the resort. It is mostly hard packed sand initially, but will get progressively more challenging. At The Slot, there is a short hike in rugged terrain where you will want to have proper gear despite it being a short path through a narrow slot canyon. This trail could be done in good weather without a 4x4 but as always, when you leave pavement it's good to have more capabilities than you think you need.
Fish Creek Wash and Split Mountain
Further down the road from The Slot is Fish Creek Wash, leading into Split Mountain. The trail starts about 21 miles from the resort off of Split Mountain Road. This is actually a fairly long trail that gets progressively more challenging. As always, only go as far as you feel comfortable and keep an eye on both time and gas since you are a long ways from a cell phone signal.
Once again here you will find large sections of very soft sand as well as some small rocky areas and larger rocky areas if you want to play around but not damage the vehicles. It's an easy drive, but be very aware of weather since a sudden storm even miles away can lead to a flash flood very quickly and in parts of Split Mountain, there is really nowhere to go.
Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area
Finally, once you've had the chance to get some dirt on the wheels, it's time to see what the car can do in a 'safe place' and take your new skills to the next level. Personally, I'd rather test going over a large obstacle where I knew people (including rangers) are near, rather than find out miles from civilization.
The Ocotillo Wells SVRA is 14.8 miles from the resort, just past Split Mountain Road off of CA 78. You will also find a ranger station here and maps to tons of other trails throughout the park.
Return to La Casa Del Zorro!
After a long day off-roading, being able to head back to La Casa Del Zorro for a dip in the pool, a burger, and then some star gazing! This road is really amazing, with a variety of accommodations ranging from rustic casitas with private pools that are perfect for a small group of guys to luxury hotel rooms where you can walk out to a shared pool.
It's in a great position to access a ton of off-road trails, while only being a few hours away from downtown San Diego.