Visitor Center Interpretive Trail

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The Visitor Center Interpretive Trail is a flat, wide, paved trail across the desert plains, making it an ideal trail for handicapped, mobility challenged, baby strollers, and other similarly limited people, to get outside and enjoy the desert on the trails. Although the trail is short (round-trip it is 1.4 miles), there are many descriptive placards along the way, so one can easily spend an hour or more on the trail. MAKE SURE TO TAKE PLENTY OF WATER. This is a hot, sun-baked desert, especially in the middle of the day. Early mornings can be cool, very pleasant, and less crowded, a very nice time on this trail.

The Visitor Center Interpretive Trail starts at the Anza-Borrega Desert State Park Visitor Center. Close to the Visitor Center, along this trail, there are indigo bushes that are covered with little dark purple flowers in the spring. From here, the trail goes north, over flat desert plains, with a nearby desert mountain range to the left of the trail. There are cholla cactus along the trail and dispersed across the desert. In the spring, the desert plain is covered with light yellow wildflowers, a very pretty sight.

The Visitor Center Interpretive Trail ends at the Palm Canyon Trail in a drive-in campground. Thus, if one wants to hike to Palm Canyon, the Visitor Center parking area is a parking alternative to the Palm Canyon parking area at the campground.

Inside the Visitor Center are several interesting displays, making it quite worthwhile to spend some time here. One can learn about the plants, animals, and people who lived in this desert. A short .25 mile Nature Trail loop also starts and ends at the Visitor Center. This Nature Trail has a larger variety of the plants of the desert, on a shorter trail than the Visitor Center Interpretive Trail.