Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Enjoy bird and wildlife watching in the desert at Agua Caliente County Park's Squaw Pond

With nothing civilized around it for miles, Agua Caliente County Park/Campground feels like a true oasis amid the vast and desolate dry lands of the Anza-Borrego Desert. Tucked against the skeletal Tierra Blanca Mountains, the site contains several springs and seeps and thickets of vegetation that rely on the year-round presence of surface water. One of the springs yields mineral-rich, warm water that is piped into an outdoor pool. An indoor pool lies nearby, with its water temperature boosted sufficiently to enervate any human body immersed in it for long.

Mini cave, Squaw Canyon

Sponsored
Sponsored

With its small network of trails, Agua Caliente is also a good spot for casual hiking. A short and easy walk, excellent for bird and wildlife watching, leads from the campground to a marshy area politically incorrectly named "Squaw Pond."

Start at the campfire circle near the county park's entrance. Wend your way over a low ridge, passing a spur trail leading to an overlook point a little higher on the ridge, and then descend to a sandy wash -- Squaw Canyon. Turn left and make your way past thickets of mesquite -- now wearing a leafy mantle of narrow green leaves and soon to be festooned with creamy yellow-green flower spikes. Mesquite makes a good living in sandy washes such as these by sending down deep roots that tap into permanent water below. The nutritious pealike pods of the mesquite ripen in September and are eaten by various mammals.

Ahead lies Squaw Pond -- not so much a pond as a soggy, squishy area with several large willow trees and some small palm trees. At least one diamondback rattlesnake makes a living on the small furry creatures who come here to drink. Coyotes and bobcats also frequent this little oasis. On the nearby hillsides you can admire thickets of glistening teddy-bear-cholla cactus and the stout, erect columns of barrel cacti.

Just beyond the "pond," in a jagged ravine to the south (the main Squaw Canyon), is a tiny cave and a usually dry waterfall. Further exploration, by boulder-hopping and sometimes dicey scrambling, is possible up any of the several branches of the canyon.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Next Article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

With nothing civilized around it for miles, Agua Caliente County Park/Campground feels like a true oasis amid the vast and desolate dry lands of the Anza-Borrego Desert. Tucked against the skeletal Tierra Blanca Mountains, the site contains several springs and seeps and thickets of vegetation that rely on the year-round presence of surface water. One of the springs yields mineral-rich, warm water that is piped into an outdoor pool. An indoor pool lies nearby, with its water temperature boosted sufficiently to enervate any human body immersed in it for long.

Mini cave, Squaw Canyon

Sponsored
Sponsored

With its small network of trails, Agua Caliente is also a good spot for casual hiking. A short and easy walk, excellent for bird and wildlife watching, leads from the campground to a marshy area politically incorrectly named "Squaw Pond."

Start at the campfire circle near the county park's entrance. Wend your way over a low ridge, passing a spur trail leading to an overlook point a little higher on the ridge, and then descend to a sandy wash -- Squaw Canyon. Turn left and make your way past thickets of mesquite -- now wearing a leafy mantle of narrow green leaves and soon to be festooned with creamy yellow-green flower spikes. Mesquite makes a good living in sandy washes such as these by sending down deep roots that tap into permanent water below. The nutritious pealike pods of the mesquite ripen in September and are eaten by various mammals.

Ahead lies Squaw Pond -- not so much a pond as a soggy, squishy area with several large willow trees and some small palm trees. At least one diamondback rattlesnake makes a living on the small furry creatures who come here to drink. Coyotes and bobcats also frequent this little oasis. On the nearby hillsides you can admire thickets of glistening teddy-bear-cholla cactus and the stout, erect columns of barrel cacti.

Just beyond the "pond," in a jagged ravine to the south (the main Squaw Canyon), is a tiny cave and a usually dry waterfall. Further exploration, by boulder-hopping and sometimes dicey scrambling, is possible up any of the several branches of the canyon.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Next Article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.