Borrego Springs and the Galleta Meadows is a Perfect Day Trip from the Coachella Valley

Galleta Meadows Estate

Borrego Springs, California

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.  

Borrego Springs Road
Borrego Springs, California, 92004
United States

33.2877, -116.3755

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The village of Borrego Springs is recognized as a designated International Dark Sky Community by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). 

There are no stop lights in Borrego Springs and nighttime lighting is kept to a minimum to protect the views of the night sky.

Borrego Springs is approximately 90 miles (140 km) from downtown San Diego and the lights of the highly developed California coast.

Borrego Springs was designated as California’s first International Dark-Sky Community by the International Dark-Sky Association. It is a center for public astronomy activities throughout the year.

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Borrego Springs is the center for the annual desert wildflower show when literally hundreds of people flock to town in spring.

Also, the home of over 130 metal sculptures commissioned by Dennis Avery, son of the founder of the Avery Dennison Corporation beginning in April 2008. Metal sculptor Ricardo Breceda constructed the sculptures, called “Sky Art” by the late Dennis Avery.

Most of the life-like metal sculptures are replicas of early Pleistocene animals that roamed this valley several million years ago based on the fossil record as described in the award-winning book Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert. 

Included are sculptures representing creatures not found here, such as dinosaurs and a fantasy dragon with a rattlesnake tail. An updated laminated map entitled Sky Art Metal Sculptures of Borrego Valley has details about each of the sculptures and is available online or in retail shops in Borrego Springs.

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NEARBY:

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Sprinkled throughout the small town of Borrego Springs are over 130 of these meticulously crafted metal sculptures.

Elephants, raptors, mammoths, sloths, and saber-toothed tigers prowl the desert off Borrego Springs Road north and south of the town proper.

From ground-hugging desert tortoises to rearing horses, each rust-colored sculpture is filled with intricate detail–from the curling eyelashes of 10-foot high elephants to the shaved metal fur of the equally imposing sloths.

As large as these sculptures are, they can be tricky to find. The Galleta Meadows Estate has Elephants, sloths, camels, and raptors that roam the roads north off Borrego Springs Road toward Henderson Canyon Road. South of Borrego Springs, Borrego Springs Road becomes S-3 as it slides toward Ocotillo Wells. Wild horses and raptors border the highway here before Yaqui Pass Road.

Know Before You Go

Borrego Springs is two hours east of San Diego. From North County, take Hwy. 78 east to the park. Printed maps are available from the Borrego Springs Library, The Anza-Borrego Foundation, and the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association.

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