The Slot Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

The Slot in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is one of the must see destinations when visiting this area.  Anza-Borrego is an incredible day trip destination, worthy of taking a full day excursion, as it’s just a 1 hour 45 minutes drive from San Diego. Check out our blog post on Anza-Borrego for a bigger picture view of the outdoor adventures you can find in this area.

This very short (0.8 miles) hike is suitable for all skill levels, and the only thing that will get tired is your fingers from snapping so many photos!  Our kids were mesmerized, and declared this one of their all time favorite things we’ve ever done!  Let’s show you our time at The Slot in Anza-Borrego, and at the end we’ll give you all the details and logistics you need to know.

From the parking area, you’ll head down into the canyon – it’s a narrow, yet steep trail (don’t worry, it’s not too bad) that goes right into it.  You’ll immediately be walking through The Slot at it’s widest part.  Tons of fun climbing areas, Sydney and Grant had tough decisions on which part to climb first!

As you can tell from our attire, we chose an unusually cool day to visit Anza-Borrego.  You know those rare days where your iPhone weather app doesn’t show a sun or clouds, but just shows wind?  Yeah, doesn’t happen that often.  Well, we brilliantly had planned our day trip on this day but we decided not to let the wind stop us.  It was a wind can actually knock you over kind of day.  WHOOPS!  To make the most of the situation, when we got there we bought the kids sunglasses at the Visitor’s Center to keep the dust out of their eyes.

As you continue down the path, then it starts to get narrow.  This is where it’s time to suck in that belly!  This is where the kids started freaking out (with joy) and said this was even better than Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona!

It was nice because even though we were there on a holiday, it wasn’t very crowded at all.  Most of the time we had The Slot to ourselves, with the exception of the occasional passerby which we then took the opportunity to ask them to take a family photo of us.

Once you get through the smallest of The Slot, it starts to open up again towards the end.  Which kind of makes you sad because you know it’s coming to an end.

As we got towards the end and the kids were getting super fired up about how much fun they were having, Grant did The Slot happy dance!

You know you are towards the end when you pass under this slanted rock bridge overhead.  It’s very cool looking and still going strong, although I’ll admit we walked under it quickly!  Hey, you never know!  The Slot then opens up to a wide dirt path.  You could continue down the road and loop back to your car, which is about another mile.  Or you can do what we did, retraced our steps, giving us the opportunity to enjoy The Slot again from a different vantage point.

Need to Know

Getting there:

The Slot is located in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, but is a little difficult to find if you don’t know what you are looking for.  Our recommendation is to go to the Visitor’s Center to get your bearings on the area, as well as directions to The Slot and anywhere else you plan to visit during your day trip.  We recommend continuing after The Slot to check out the incredible Wind Caves trail.

This is the map we received at the Visitor’s Center.

It’s an easy drive from the Visitor’s Center (about 20 minutes) but the dirt road leading to it (Buttes Pass) is very easy to miss so keep your eyes peeled!  The dirt road to The Slot is about a mile long.  It’s bumpy but a low-clearance vehicle could do it (we saw a Toyota Prius when we were leaving!).  Ideally though, especially if doing other amazing trails in this area such as the Wind Caves, you’d have a high-clearance vehicle.   There is a small parking lot right at the trail head, can’t miss it!  Take note of which dirt road you arrived on, as we were slightly confused when we left as there were a couple of paths to take.

Allow an hour or so to enjoy walking through The Slot.

What to wear and bring:

Definitely wear something you don’t mind getting dirty, with some sturdy shoes.  Especially if visiting during the warm season, bring a LOT of water.  Don’t bring anything too bulky to carry as The Slot can get narrow in some parts.  Oh, and hey, leave Fido behind as dogs are not permitted on the trail.

When to go:

Anza-Borrego is best in the Winter and Spring.  During the Summer and Fall it’s doable, but very hot.  The most beautiful time is mid-March when the desert wild flowers are in bloom, which you won’t see much of in The Slot but will in the surrounding area.

There you have it.  The Slot.  Do it.  It’s a must see treasure of this area.

Have you been?  Do you have any questions or comments?  Write them in the comments box, we’re listening.

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