7 Lower Willows Loop

SCENERY:

DIFFICULTY:

TRAIL CONDITION:

SOLITUDE:

CHILDREN:

DISTANCE: 4.2 miles round trip

HIKING TIME: 2 hours

OUTSTANDING FEATURES: Running water; people on horses; soft, sandy trail alternating with dry, dusty path; and dense willow thickets

The loop through the willows in this marshy area lures people by the thousands each season. Don’t come here looking for solitude, although you may find such serenity on a weekday or for a few moments within a dense willow patch that blocks the sound and presence of others. The trail on this easy hike alternates between muddy, sandy, and dust-kicking to the point of covering your nose and mouth with a bandana. The route’s qualities depend on weather and water flow, traveling through cool, shaded willow thickets, then out onto the Jeep road and past a historical marker. Typical desert oases make one think of palm trees, but this is an oasis of a different sort. The ever-present water and wooded landscape provide refuge to animals such as the red-spotted toad and such rare birds as the least Bell’s vireo.

Directions: From Borrego Springs, drive east on Palm Canyon Drive and turn left on DiGiorgio Road. Drive 5 miles till the pavement ends; then continue on the dirt road for an additional 5.6 miles to the large turnout on the left, just before the third crossing. If you cannot or choose not to drive all the way to this point, park at the first or second crossing, adding appropriate mileage to the hike (see the Coyote Canyon Introduction).

GPS Coordinates		7 LOWER WILLOWS LOOP
UTM Zone (WGS84)		11S
Easting		553631
Northing		3692616
Latitude–Longitude		N 33º 22’ 17.24”
		W 116º 25’ 24.48”

Leave your vehicle in the parking turnout on the left, just prior to the third crossing (see the Coyote Canyon Introduction). Walk northwest a short distance, and when you see the sign marking the third crossing, head across to the left. You can either ford the stream in its open part, where the vehicles do, or take one of the narrow, tunnel-like paths snaking through the willows. Once across, you’ll see the sign marking the entrance to Lower Willows. Turn right onto the dusty trail. This is the official trail opening and the logical way to go, but it’s also the busiest. For more solitude, take a less definable route (that leads to the same place) by continuing northwest from the third crossing sign. Instead of fording the stream, make a path of your own (very little of Anza-Borrego is off limits to those on foot), or follow meandering footsteps northwest for about 800 yards, where you can hook up with the official trail anyway. Both routes meet, then cross the creek and continue in the shade of dense willows rising like brushy walls on either side of the cool, shaded trail.

At approximately 0.5 miles, the path reaches a marker that reads “Lower Willows,” then bends on a more westerly route. Continue, moving out of shade now and likely encountering a dusty portion of trail that will have you covering your nose and mouth. If you have a bandana, here’s your cue to use it. Sunglasses help protect your eyes in the loose, well-churned silt that flies up and forms dust clouds with every step.

On my visits to Lower Willows, wildlife has been evident yet elusive. Early-morning or dusk hours offer the most promising opportunity for spotting animals in this area well trod by humans, but you’ll hear birds calling from the dense cover of the trees any time of day. And the tracks of bighorn sheep, coyotes, and raccoons mark their presence in this water-rich area.

At approximately 1.6 miles, you’ll find a marker post at the end of the strip of willows that crowd around Coyote Creek. Turn left here. The path moves southwest, connecting to another marker post less than 0.25 miles away. You’ll reach an open area and a line of posts on your right that closes off the protected Lower Willows area to vehicles. Cross the wide, sandy space and follow the pole arrows pointing southwest. The trail climbs a small bluff, connecting to the Jeep road at just over 2 miles. At the road, turn left and head east alongside the vehicle route, while enjoying long views of open desert filled with yellow-blooming creosote with its tiny fuzz-ball fruits.

Approximately 0.8 miles after turning onto the Jeep road, an 0.1-mile side trail leads to a historical marker offering information about Santa Catarina Spring, named by Juan Bautista. This explorer led the first overland route from Mexico to California, and his group camped by the spring during their journey. From the bluff where the monument sits, you can look out and search for the spring, but all that’s clearly visible is the dense strip of willows you encountered up close on the Lower Willows trail.

From the side trail, the Jeep road climbs some. Near its crest, be sure to look back to the west for a stretching view of Coyote Canyon framed by distant mountains. The vast space formed by this fault-line gap is breathtaking.