Elephant Tree Trail

Located south of the town of Ocotillo Wells and along the eastern border of Anza-Borrego State Park, a series of trails takes you to visit some of these rare trees.  The shorter and more popular loop trail, known as the Elephant Tree Discovery Trail, is guided with numbered posts and is 1.5 miles in length.  It leads to a lone elephant tree and also points out other plants that thrive in this part of the desert.  A longer trail, which is about 6 miles roundtrip and a little more difficult to follow, leads into an area where more elephant trees can be found.  It is the area labeled as “Elephant Tree Area” on most topography maps.

Start out at Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs, reset your odometer and head south on Borrego Springs Road.  Continue past Yaqui Pass Road.  Turn left (east) onto S.R. 78.  About 18 miles from Christmas Circle and as you come into the small hamlet of Ocotillo Wells, look for Split Mountain Road and turn right (south).

Continue south on Split Mountain Road.  The trailhead will be reached in just under 24 miles from Borrego Springs.  Park your vehicle in the small parking area off the road.  The entire trip to the trailhead is on paved roads.

• See directions to trailhead on Google Maps

The loop trail is an easy 1.5 mile-long walk.  The longer hike begins somewhere along the shorter 1.5 mile trail.  We didn’t hike the longer trail, so we don’t have any information on it.

Before starting your hike, be sure to pick up a trail guide in a brochure dispenser at the trailhead.  Taking the guide with you on your hike is a must as it explains what there is to see near the 17 numbered markers along the way.

The trail climbs a gradually sloping alluvial fan.  This is ideal soil and growing conditions for many of the desert plants common to the Anza-Borrego desert region, so many excellent specimens can be found along the trail.  The brochure will point out many of these plants.  During the winter and early spring months, this area is also prime wildflower habitat.  Halfway through the trail, you will see the lone elephant tree.  More elephant trees can be seen on the longer trail.

Elephant trees (botanical name Bursera microphylla) typically grow to a height of about ten feet.  The name comes from the peeling parchment paper-like bark on its wrinkled limbs.  Their leaves are small and similar to a mesquite bush or ocotillo, which can handle the rays of the harsh desert sun.  The trees are common in Baja California but their range barely reaches north over the border into California.  Thus, seeing these trees in California are rare but their existence is certainly not endangered.

In the Anza-Borrego area, Elephant trees are more common near in the mountains and canyons near Mountain Palm Oasis and Indian Gorge.  In Indian Gorge specifically, there are many Elephant trees clinging to the side of the canyon.