Agua Caliente Park is a regional camping park located within greater Anza Borrego Desert State Park – about 100 miles northeast of San Diego City proper, but still within County boundaries.
It is best known for its geothermally heated hot springs that have been directed into three mineral water pools that are open to the public, Labor Day weekend until Memorial Day weekend, every year. The park is closed in summer due to extreme heat.
The park is also known for frequent bighorn sheep sightings, and panoramic vistas along miles of rugged trails that meander through the park's canyons and over its hillsides. Sorry, no dogs on trails!
Campers can book cabins, tent sites, a group caravan site and RV sites with full or partial hookups up to a year in advance at reservations.sdparks.org.
DID YOU KNOW?
The seismic activity that long ago shaped the Tierra Blanca Mountains – and created the spur of the Elsinore fault that runs beneath the park – also enabled water to come to the surface and form the park’s natural springs. In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza was the first European to visit the area, and centuries before, the Kumeyaay Indians were attracted to the springs for its abundant water source, which is why it is now called Agua Caliente or “hot water” in Spanish. In more recent times, the springs were used by pioneers, soldiers, and prospectors.
