23 Torote Canyon

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DIFFICULTY:

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DISTANCE: 3.2 miles round trip

HIKING TIME: 2–3 hours

OUTSTANDING FEATURES: Sandy wash, columnar barrel cactus, smoke trees, jackrabbits, quail, and quiet

A few steps into the canyon on this relatively short hike bring peace, quiet, and a sense of distance from the world. In the wide, sandy wash of Torote Canyon, walk along with an ease that requires little attention to your steps—making this an excellent day hike for solitude lost in thought, or for sharing uninterrupted conversation with a companion. A narrower offshoot gorge requires more careful footing, delivering you to a wide, rocky bowl—either a turnaround point or the climbing gateway into surrounding desert.

Directions: Where CA 78 meets County Route S2 (the Great Overland Route of 1849), head south on S2 for 28 miles. En route, you’ll see the sign marking your entrance into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park at approximately 4.4 miles. After 21 miles, veer left to continue on S2. A sign marks Indian Gorge at approximately 28 miles. Turn right, driving 1.8 miles to the Torote Canyon trailhead on the right.

GPS Coordinates		23 TOROTE CANYON
UTM Zone (WGS84)		11S
Easting		571576
Northing		3637197
Latitude–Longitude		N 32º 52’ 14.0299”
		W 116º 14’ 5.7057”

You’ll see a dilapidated marker at the trailhead (no writing remains on its face). Park here, and walk northwest into the narrow canyon mouth. Almost immediately, you’ll see elephant trees—also known as torote—clinging to the canyon walls. Torote is Spanish for “to twist,” which appropriately describes the tree’s twisting branches. After approximately 0.5 miles, the chasm widens, the trees disappear, and desert lavender scents the air. As you move along, your footsteps sink into the soft, sandy wash—perhaps startling jackrabbits from beneath the fragrant brush. Tumbled rock lines the route, gilded with dark desert varnish on the north side.

At a little more than a mile, the route forks, and you’ll veer to the right into a narrower side gorge. The path climbs a little but remains a fairly easygoing trek and flattens again after a short ascent. Continue north toward the now-visible end of the canyon, moving past some good-sized columnar barrel cactus—abloom in spring—growing beside one another like field goals along the path.

The path ends in a bowl of sorts that’s lined with various-sized boulders and spiny cholla cactus. There are stretches of rocky, packed sand in between. If you want to, you can climb out of the bowl, traveling without too much difficulty a few more miles across rock-studded terrain into the Canebrake area. Scrambling a few yards up the rocks for a perching spot is usually enough for me. The view down canyon is a pretty reward.

This is a good place to sit and eat lunch, reflect, and contemplate the stark beauty of the desert. Take a few moments to listen to the breeze, let the sun’s warmth caress your skin, and enjoy the vast blue sky. You may see busy hummingbirds, meandering quail, or grazing jackrabbits that frequent Torote Canyon.