Now’s the time to camp and hike in the desert. Plus, the Carlsbad flower fields are about to open.
Near the end of the loop, hikers can take a quick detour on a short path, just north of the main trail. This is the Trail Report, a weekly email newsletter from reporter Maura Fox about hikes and San Diego County’s outdoors.
I’ve dedicated the better half of my Hike of the Week columns this month to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, stemming from a camping trip I took early this month. Late winter is the best time to camp in the desert, in my humble opinion. Daytime temperatures are milder, and the evenings are brisk. Before this trip, it had been months since my last one. As I’ve grown older, I’ve better understood how much I need to be outside regularly — and enjoy the benefits that come with it: that first cup to camp coffee in the morning, admiring a cozy campsite from my seat by the crackling campfire and the mere knowledge that I get to spend all day and night under the sky. It’s powerful stuff. My hike this week isn’t too far from the Vallecito County Park, where I camped, but there’s something about the 1.5-mile loop that I found quite charming. Anyone who has taken a walk around their campground after setting up their site knows the sense of ease that comes with it, along with the promise of a good weekend ahead. Get out to the desert while you can. Vallecito County Park is only open through May and is closed for the summer months. Farther north, Yosemite is poised to receive a swell of visitors this summer — perhaps too many — after the Trump administration last week. Environmental groups and elected officials raised alarm over the decision, saying it’ll lead to chaos for visitors and pose risks to the park’s natural resources. It’s not the only national park going that route, either. Arches in Utah and Glacier in Montana also won’t require reservations this year.of a region of the Milky Way, captured by a telescope in northern Chile. The pinks and purples and reds of the cosmic gases seem to dance across the galaxy. As one researcher told the Associated Press: “It’s a place of extremes, invisible to our eyes, but now revealed in extraordinary detail.”Trump administration eliminates reservations at Yosemite National Park this summerHike of the week: Rainbow Canyon lives up to its name as a colorful destination in Anza-Borrego ‘I planted that tree’: In this South Bay school district, kids are a ‘voice of leadership’ on the environmentFive potential buyers bid on Padres as club’s sale reaches next stageThis San Diego company says it’s building the next BoeingProposed ballot measure that would heavily tax thousands of second homes in San Diego clears critical hurdleBig changes are coming — again — to Balboa Park parking. Here’s what to expect, and when.
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