One of the best trips I’ve had in Borrego, and certainly the best mountain bike ride I’ve ever done, a group of friends and I rode one way from Anza, CA into Borrego Springs. The ride was about 32 miles, and included sections of bushwhacking, deep sand, and off trail riding. The route follows the original route used by settlers moving into what is now Northern California from Mexico in 1774, and boasts top-shelf scenery the entire way. We celebrated with the locals (including the former city mayor) at Carlee’s, the center (and possibly only) of nightlife in Borrego Springs.

The following morning, after most of the other bikers went home, I met a few other friends in town to squeeze in some desert sight-seeing. We scrambled up the East Butte of Borrego Mountain, checked out some slot canyons in the area, and visited the west shores of the Salton Sea. A weekend in Borrego never disappoints…