Have you thought about visiting Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, or have you already been there? Do you wonder if ghosts haunt the desert?
I’m always down for a great ghost story!
We’ve traveled here a couple of times, and it’s one of my favorite places in California. I have written blog posts about van camping in a couple of different places.
I’m not sure if we ran into any ghosts, but on one occasion, something or someone brushed the van in the middle of the night. Ugh…
Anza-Borrego Desert haunts
The ghost stories about this California state park make it intriguing. Articles and blog posts about ghostly encounters fill internet search results.
For the adventurous traveler, Ghost Mountain Trail leads up to Yaquitepec, a home built by Marshal South. You can hike up Ghost Mountain and check out the remains of his once-simple lifestyle.
Television personality Huell Howser traveled and reported on interesting people and places in California’s Gold. He made a special episode called The Ghost Mountain, which discusses the South family’s plight.
Some people have claimed to have seen the Yaqui Well Ghost Dancers and the Ghost Lights of Borrego. There are YouTube channels devoted to chasing ghosts and telling these stories.
Given that many people have traveled through and died in the desert, finding ghosts or unsettled spirits may come as no surprise.
When we camped in Anza-Borrego Desert, the stars glowed brightly against the dark sky. The howling wind whipped tumbleweeds in the distance.
It was so quiet we felt compelled to whisper. I did get the feeling something was out there.
Campground ghost story
Once, as we explored Anza-Borrego, we saw RVs, vans, and trucks parked far off the road. A few campers hunkered down in the far distance.
On our way out of the state park, we found a primitive campground away from where we had van camped.
It had only a few campers in trucks and tents. Huge boulders formed rugged mountains around the campground.
They gave people lots of privacy. But at night, there’s no telling what could lurk in and around them.
I think this was the place… hmmm…
Before this trip, I stopped by the travel agency to get some maps. The guy who helped me asked me where I planned to travel.
His eyes grew large when I told him we’d like to take a road trip to Anza-Borrego. Then he warned me about camping in the desert and ghosts.
Shaking his head while pulling maps for me, he paused. And then he shifted in his chair.
He said he had camped several times in the state campgrounds and off the backpacking trails. This desertland was one he knew very well.
What’s out there?
On one particular trip, he and his friends camped in a state campground up a mountain without hookups, he said. They hunkered down in tents and out of their trucks.
The guys experienced something strange in the evening as they relaxed around the fire pit.
With only the sounds of the campfire cracking and their voices, they enjoyed the quietness of the campground. Then, strange sounds echoed in the distance.
The crying and moaning of unsettled spirits…
His dog barked at a shadowy figure lurking in the darkness. But this desert land doesn’t have bears.
Hmmm…
What was it? A sheep… deer…
Anyway, he swore they had run-ins with ghosts in Anza-Borrego more than once. This particular time, they stayed awake all night.
Thinking about the shadow…
I always felt like something else could be out there. Despite our exploring, I have yet to run into that something else.
You can read about my van camping experience at the state campground and one of the private RV parks. I’ll update the blog as I continue my research on ghosts in this desert state park.
But hey… have you experienced ghosts or other anomalies while camping in the Anza-Borrego Desert? I would love to hear your stories.
