Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is California's largest state park, spanning 650,000 acres across roughly a fifth of San Diego County. Created in 1932 and named after Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and the Spanish word for sheep, borrego, it was designated a Silver-tier International Dark Sky Park in 2018. The nearby town of Borrego Springs was recognised even earlier, becoming an International Dark Sky Community in 2008, the second in the world after Flagstaff, Arizona, and the first in California.

Why Anza-Borrego is a top stargazing spot

The park's dark skies are rated Bortle Class 2, dark enough for experienced observers to spot faint nebulae with a modest telescope, and zodiacal light is regularly visible on moonless nights. Sky quality meter readings around Borrego Springs measure roughly 20.25, still very dark by any standard. The Borrego Springs valley sits surrounded by mountains that block the distant light domes of San Diego and the Coachella Valley, though on especially clear nights the far-off glow of Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Springs and El Centro can still be picked out low on the horizon, a reminder of just how much light the surrounding peaks are holding back.

What you can see

On a clear, moonless night visitors can see faint nebulae with modest equipment and the soft glow of zodiacal light along the horizon, alongside the Milky Way and dense star fields typical of a Bortle 2 sky.

Visiting Anza-Borrego at night

The park runs monthly stargazing and moon-watching programmes, along with interpretive sessions on why dark skies matter and how they are protected, and each autumn hosts the three-day Borrego Springs Nightfall Star Party, where organisers enforce a strict dark-sky, red-light-only environment. The visitor centre has exhibits on the park's flora, fauna and history, a small theatre, a gift and book shop, and rangers on hand to help plan a night out. For an overnight stay, Borrego Palm Canyon campground offers 52 hookup and 65 non-hookup sites plus group sites for 9 to 24 people, with water, flush toilets, showers and fire rings, while Arroyo Salado is a free, primitive campground with just fire rings and vault toilets for those who want a simpler base. Visitors wanting more comfort can stay at La Casa del Zorro Resort and Spa, a restored 1937 property with two restaurants, six tennis courts, three pools, a fitness centre and a spa. As always, aim for nights near the new Moon, give your eyes time to adapt to the dark, and use a red light rather than white to keep your night vision intact. Check the official park site for programme dates before you travel.

Best time to go

At this northern latitude the Milky Way's core rises highest from roughly March to September, arcing across the southern sky on summer nights, though the desert's mild winters make the cooler months a comfortable time to view the brighter winter stars like Orion instead. The Perseids in August and the Geminids in December are the meteor showers worth building a trip around. Whichever season you choose, plan for the nights nearest the new Moon, allow twenty to thirty minutes for your eyes to adjust, and carry a red light rather than a white torch.

Getting there

The park sits inland from San Diego and the Coachella Valley, centred on the town of Borrego Springs in the Colorado Desert. A car is essential, and given the desert setting it is worth carrying extra water and checking road conditions before heading out after dark.

See your named star from here

A Bortle 2 sky like Anza-Borrego's is about as dark as it gets in Southern California, which makes it an excellent place to find a star you have named through Star Register. Look up its coordinates from your certificate, browse the star catalogue, and bring a stargazing app to help pinpoint it among the desert's famously clear skies, or check our observatories guide for nearby facilities.