Borrego Springs is a small town in the Southern California desert that sits along a small section of the Palm Canyon Drive highway lined with tall, thin palm trees. The surrounding Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is California’s largest, a 500,000-acre expanse of flat desert punctuated by steep, sandy mountains. Pockets of ocotillo cactus dot the terrain. The park’s Palm Canyon Trail leads to a small oasis of palms growing in tiny pools of water, offering welcome shade after a two-mile hike through the arid desert. You might spot reptiles like desert iguanas and speckled rock lizards here, while bobcats and peninsular bighorn sheep occasionally make appearances in the distance.

Though the natural wonders are what attract most visitors to the region, the town of Borrego Springs is worth spending time in, too. The Arts Institute’s gallery features work by local artists as well as workshops and classes that visitors can join. You can pick up fresh local produce and prepared foods at the farmers’ market, and local restaurants tend to focus on Mexican American cuisine.

Borrego Springs is arid and warm year round. In the summer, the intense heat and dry weather can make outdoor activities more difficult. The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park’s Culp Valley is one of the few places that cools off this time of year, and climbing several thousand feet above Borrego Springs makes for fantastic stargazing at night. (Tip: The Milky Way is most visible during the summer.) Spring is warm and pleasant, and if you drive along Henson Canyon Road in April or May, you might see acres of desert sunflowers and orange California poppies.

The weather only starts to cool off in November, but if you’re visiting in October, you may catch the Borrego Days Desert Festival, which features live music, beer gardens, and arts and crafts. People from colder climates come here during the cool, comfortable winters to relax and spend time outdoors. During this time, the Borrego Springs Farmers’ Market runs every week, with vendors selling fresh flowers and produce.

Cleveland National Forest

The Cleveland National Forest, located about 30 miles west of town, covers nearly half a million acres and three mountain ranges — the Laguna, Palomar, and the Santa Ana Mountains. Miles of hiking and mountain biking trails snake through the park. One of the most rewarding day hikes is the four-mile Three Sisters Falls Trail, where you’ll pass pine trees and scuttling zebra-tailed lizards on your route to the Three Sisters waterfalls, which cascade into a natural rock pool.

Font’s Point

A drive through the winding, sandy roads in the Borrego Badlands takes you through dozens of miles of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Some of the best views of these dramatic landscapes are at the lookout areas on Font’s Point, 11 miles east of town. There, a section of wide rocks at the summit offers scenic panoramas of the sand-covered mountains and narrow canyons in the valley below you. On a clear day, you may be able to see the distant Salton Sea.

Galleta Meadows sculptures

The Anza-Borrego Desert’s Galleta Meadows section offers a self-guided desert walk or a short drive through its collection of metal sculptures, which range from a 350-foot-long dragon to 20-foot-tall mammoths. Some sculptures are an ode to ancient fossils found in the Borrego Springs area, while others portray its current wildlife — or imaginary denizens.