Desert Highways and Roads Anza-Borrego Desert South Region

ANZA-BORREGO SOUTH : ROADS County Road S-2

Photo of Bow Willow taken from Egg Mountain in morning light
Bow Willow from Egg Mountain — Sombrero Peak in the Distance

In Anza-Borrego South, County Road S-2 is known as the Sweeney Pass Road from Indian Gorge to the southern border of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park at the county line, and as the Imperial Highway from the county line through Ocotillo to Highway 98.

ANZA-BORREGO SOUTH : ROADS Interstate 8

Photo of Interstate-8
Interstate 8 At Mountain Springs.
traffic heads east Down In-Ko-Pah Gorge
and comes westward up from Devil's Canyon

Area entrances and exits include:

Jacumba: Food and gas. Round Mountain. Old Highway 80.
In-Ko-Pah: Old Highway 80. Table Mountain. Desert View Tower. Smugglers Cave. Valley of the Moon.
Mountain Springs: Mostly private property. Stagecoach Station Ruins. Trails into Jacumba Mountains. More.

Highway 98: Yuha Desert. Jacumba Mountains Wilderness. Crucifixion Thorns. Signal Mountain. Calexico. Details.
Ocotillo: Food and gas. Old Highway 80 (Evan Hewes Highway). Shell/Fossil Canyon. Painted Gorge. Plaster City OHV Open Area.
Dunaway Road: Access to the east side and the rocky north side of Yuha Basin. CAUTION: The sand in the basin can be deep. More.
El Centro: Highway 86

ANZA-BORREGO SOUTH : ROADS Highway 80

Painted Gorge

Historic Old Highway 80 linked San Diego and Yuma. In San Diego County, it can be driven from Jacumba to Alpine. Interstate-8 has replaced it from the In-Ko-Pah on-ramp to Ocotillo, where it is known as the Evan Hewes Highway.

Jacumba: Food and gas. Interststate-8. More.
In-Ko-Pah: Interststate-8. Desert View Tower. Table Mountain. Army-Stagecoach Trail. More.
Ocotillo: Food and gas. Painted Gorge.

ANZA-BORREGO SOUTH : ROADS Highway 98

Highway 98 is a two-line blacktop highway that runs from Ocotillo to Calexico. Points of interest include:

Clark Drive – Turn south to Davies Valley in the Jacumba Wilderness.

Coyote One Road(BLM Road EC 274) – Turn north past the microwave tower to the Yuha Basin and Anza Monument.

BLM Road EC 282 – Turn south to the Crucifixion Thorns area.

Roy's Road– At the edge of Pinto Wash. Stop to look for wildflowers in season.

Mount Signal Road– At the edge of the desert, just before the agricultural area. Turn south for a closeup view of El Cerro Sentinala.

Calexico – At Imperial East Road (Highway 111), turn south to the border or north to return to your starting point via Interstate-8, Highway 78, or Highway 86.