Anza-Borrego North: Rattlesnake Spring

Rattlesnake Spring

From a distance, Rattlesnake Spring seems an odd place in the mountains above Rattlesnake Canyon with chalky stuff on the rocks and a little greenery. Sheep can get there easily. People can, but with difficulty. For the adventurous, that's all the reason for trying.

If you go, you will enjoy good mountain views, of course. Don't be surprised if you come across a nesting Common Nighthawk, the bones of a Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, or rattlesnakes. The biggest problem is choosing the right way up and down. It's a day hike, but start early and bring your flashlight. It may be dark before you find your way back to your car.

If you skip the spring and remain in the canyon, it's narrow, rocky, quiet, a little hard to get into in spots, and the site of a former Indian village. The canyon makes a pleasant destination for a short hike, perhaps with a stop for lunch on one of the larger rocks. Peak-baggers and cross-country hikers use Rattlesnake Canyon as an access point to the mountains, including Villager Peak. It is less travelled than the route up the ridge to the west and that, for some people, is an attraction.

Getting to Rattlesnake Canyon. Drive 10 miles east from Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs onCounty Road S-22 and park near Call Box S22-319. Walk north toward the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains. You will pass the long Lute Fault Scarp on your left, and a couple of hundred yards beyond that you will come to Rattlesnake Wash at the base of the mountains. Follow the wash to the right, and follow it as it bends toward the mountains and enters the canyon.