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Borrego Springs: Oyster Shell Wash Lycium Wash Loop

Rating *****
length 4.9 mile - 2 hour (Return trip). Easy/Moderate.
Height 450 - 800 feet
Access Following the Fish Creek Wash. This road may be tricky because of the sand. You can sink in quite easily. An AWD is preferred
Other Trails C
Data To download these files, right-click the link and choose 'save as' |--| .GPX (GPS file) |-----| .KML (Google Earth file)

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    • A nice canyon wash hike.
    Look for the Elephant knees hike for a gps track of the road, leading here.

    At Ocotillo wells, take the Split Mountain rd south.
    Just before the mine take the wash to the right towards Fish Creek Camp.
    The road will be slightly different each year and a 4x4 is highly recommended.
    Keep on the tracks, the sand can be pretty loose in some places.
    So watch out where you park.

    Just past the wind caves turn right, following the Fish Creek Wash.
    We parked along the "road" as the rocks became too large for our taste.
    And it's only a short walk to the entrance of the Oyster Shell Wash.
    A nice wash, narrow, wide, narrow. One dry waterfall you have to pass to the right, but nothing too difficult.
    This is also the last vehicle point, not that you will encounter many.

    Follow the wash all the way to the end. It will take some climbing skills to get any further. We retraced a bit and just after the narrow part, go uphill, easy, to the "top" of the canyon. This is mostly sand and gravel.

    On top you get an impressive view of the surrounding area.
    Here you can follow the path along the rim, or go down as we did on the other side.
    The other side is a more sand/mud canyon.
    Follow this canyon to the left (south) towards the car.

    Hiking time 2 hours, but you can add as much as you like.





    2010_Efmer_Borrego_Oyster_Lycium

    Disclamer: Read this first before you start your hike.
    Contact: usa/at/e/f/m/e/r/.eu (leave out the /)
    All hikes recorded on pocket loox (pocket PC) using gpsTuner(.com)
    Hiking Oyster Shell Wash Lycium Wash Loop Borrego Springs Area (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park) California, Hike with gps, gpx and kml (Google Earth).