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Anza Borrego Desert State Park > The Northeast >The Thimble Trail
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The Borrego Badlands in Anza Borrego Desert State Park may be viewed from a distance along parts of S22 and CA 78 but for a close-up look, the shortest route is the Thimble Trail - 2 miles to the edge of the formations or 3.5 miles to Mal Pais Vista, an elevated, more central viewpoint. The trail is actually a vehicle track, mostly flat though not suitable for 2WD cars as some parts have soft sand, including the section up a steepish ridge quite near the start.
The Trail: A round trip walk to the first overlook takes about 2.5 hours, across gently rolling ground mostly covered in whitish sand with just a few exposed rocks and not much vegetation - landscape on a rather smaller scale than the Santa Rosa Mountains that rise sharply to the north. After 2 miles, the track divides at a T junction; straight ahead the land rises to a low ridge, far side of which stretch the barren hills and ravines of the badlands - a great expanse of grey, red, black and brown colored earth. Mal Pais Vista is reached by following the right fork of the track, left at another junction after 1 mile then a little way further to the roads end. |
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