ANZA - BORREGO DESERT
STATE PARK
Overview
With over 600,000 acres, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park includes
washes, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and sweeping vistas of the
Colorado Desert. The park office, visitor center, and three of its
campgrounds have many accessible features described below. Many
visitors approach from the east or west via Highways S22 and 78.
Highway S2 enters the park from the south off Interstate 8.
Camping
Borrego Palm Canyon Campground.
Three campsites are designated accessible. All are accessibly furnished
and located. Tent sites are 12'x 12' on soft sand. There are 48
sites with full hook-ups, many of them level and generally accessible,
though they are not so designated. Restrooms with showers: Five
accessible unisex toilet rooms with separate showers are dispersed
through upper and lower ends of campground with some near tent sites
and some near sites with RV hookups. Routes of travel from sites
to restrooms are accessible. There is one accessible parking space
adjacent to each of the accessible restrooms.
Tamarisk Grove Campground. Two
campsites are accessible. Restroom: A new accessible restroom and
shower building is adjacent to one of the accessible campsites.
An accessible parking space is adjacent to the building. The campfire
center has been made accessible.
Bow Willow Campground. There
are two accessible campsites and an accessible non-flush restroom
at this remote and undeveloped campground.
Trails
The .75-mile All-Access Trail
near the Visitor Center has been improved and now connects the Visitor
Center to the Borrego Palms Campground. Interpretive panels focus
on area plants and animals and include Braille text keyed to alternate
senses.
Exhibits/Programs
Anza Borrego Visitor Center.
The Visitor Center is generally accessible and includes automatic
doors at the entry. Exhibits are generally accessible. Assistive
listening devices are available. Exterior accessible restrooms off
the parking area are available. Parking includes four designated
accessible spaces with one van accessible. Route of travel from
lot to Visitor Center entry is 300 feet, but path is paved and generally
accessible.
Other Information
An accessible mounting ramp is available at the Horse Camp
OCOTILLO WELLS STATE VEHICULAR
AREA
Overview
Adjacent to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Ocotillo Wells State
Vehicle Recreation Area is a motorcycle, four-wheel drive, all-terrain
vehicle, and dune buggy use area.
The park has pay showers, picnic tables, shade structures, fire
rings and a dump station available, but no water. Access is via
Highway 78, about 35 miles east of Julian or about 20 miles west
of Highway 86.
Camping
Holmes Camp. Camping is permitted almost anywhere but there is one
designated accessible site beneath a shade structure at this popular
camping area. The cook stove and picnic table are designed accessible
but firmness of sand depends on weather. Individual site parking
and tent space are not defined anywhere in this campground. Restroom
with showers. The accessible toilets permit side transfers. Showers
are generally accessible. Four additional vault type restrooms in
Holmes Camp accommodate side and front transfers. Routes of travel
to all restrooms, showers and trash traverseunstable soft sand,
and wheelchair users may need to drive or be dropped off.
SALTON SEA STATE RECREATION AREA
Overview
One of the world’s largest inland seas, Salton Sea was created
by accident when a dike broke during the construction of the All-American
Canal in 1905. The resulting 360-square-mile basin became today’s
Salton Sea State Recreation Area. It provides a unique desert oasis
for boaters, water-skiers and anglers. Visitors glimpse how the
ever-increasing salt and nutrient content in this basin with no
outlet threatens the existence of the systems within the Sea.
Camping
Varner Harbor Campground has one site designated accessible near
the harbor that is generally accessible. It has an accessible table
and fire circle on a concrete pad beneath a shade ramada. Restroom
and shower. The restroom near the harbor is usable. Showers have
dual heads and are generally accessible. Parking. Accessible spaces
are available at the restroom. Route of travel from site and parking
to restroom is accessible.
Picnic Area
One accessibly designed picnic site is on a concrete pad at the
jetty at Varner Harbor. There is an accessible table with a post-mounted
grill. No water is available at the site. Restroom: An accessible
portable toilet is nearby. Parking: One designated accessible space
is available. Route of travel between parking and portable and picnic
site is generally accessible.
Fishing
There are no developed fishing facilities in the park, but many
visitors fish from the Varner Harbor picnic area. A concrete pad
at the accessible picnic site reaches nearly to the waters edge,
permitting persons with mobility impairments some opportunity to
fish. There are neither railings nor edge protection. Restrooms,
parking and routes of travel are accessible as described in Picnic
Area.
PICACHO STATE RECREATION AREA
Overview
In the 1800s, what is now Picacho State Historic Park was a gold
mining town with 100 citizens. Today the site is used by boaters,
hikers, anglers and campers. The park’s remote location requires
visitors to drive over 18 miles of dirt roads that are passable
for cars and vehicles with trailers and motorhomes, but can be impassable
in summer thunderstorms. Travelers on this road should carry extra
water and other essential supplies. Located 24 miles off Interstate
8, north of Winterhaven, just east of Yuma, AZ .
Camping
The main campground has a designated accessible campsite located
between sites 20-22 near the restroom and shower building. The table
and fire ring are accessibly designed and are on a dirt surface.
Other sites are flat and large with firm pads and are usable. Restrooms
and showers: An accessible portable toilet is opposite the designated
accessible campsite. Route of travel from the campsite to the restrooms
is across a hard packed dirt camp road that is generally flat and
accessible.
Picnic Area
Upper and Lower Dock Boat Launch Area have designated accessible
picnic sites, some with shade structures. There are accessible tables
and cooking grills. Restroom: An accessibly designed portable restroom
is available at the Upper Dock area. Parking is in unpaved lots,
which are usable. Routes of travel: The paths from the parking lots
to the picnic sites are unpaved, but usable.
