The Slot in Anza-Borrego

There is so much to like about this hike.  It is easy to get to (no 4WD needed) and it’s an easy hike once you get there.  Many slot canyons require that you either walk a long way to get to it or require some type of rock climbing/repelling skills and/or equipment.  Not this one.  It’s an easy 2.5 mile round trip hike.

And this is a true “slot canyon”. It has the high canyon walls and narrow places where you’ll have to turn sideways to get through that are typical of a slot canyon.  The geology here is also unique.  What you’ll see in the narrow part of the canyon is quite different than what you’ll find once the canyon opens up.  Just a short distance from the end of the “slot” part, there are some beautiful wind caves.

There is such a big pay-off for such little effort here – no wonder it is so popular!  And it’s so near other attractions, too.  If you’ve got a 4WD, high clearance vehicle, why not include the Borrego Mountain Loop Road Trip.

Getting to the trailhead of this hike is possible with any type of vehicle but, if you want to include it with the Borrego Mountain Loop Road Trip, you’ll need 4WD and high clearance.

Start your trip at Christmas Circle in the center of Borrego Springs.  Reset your odometer to zero and go south on Borrego Springs Road (Hwy S3) for 5.1 miles.  When Hwy S3 bears right, continue straight ahead.  In 11.5 miles, the road will end and T into Hwy 78.  Turn left.

The turn-off for the dirt Buttes Pass Road is located 13 miles from Christmas Circle, on the left side.  If you’re coming from Ocotillo Wells Ranger Station and Headquarters, go west on Hwy 78 for 3 miles.  The turn-off is then on the right.

Be aware that this turn-off is easily missed.  Every time we’ve used this road, we’ve passed by it and had to turn around.  Since traffic on Hwy 78 moves fast, take special care if you have to turn around like we did.  At the turn-off there is a small sign just off the pavement that reads Buttes Pass.

After traveling a mile from the pavement, a fork in the road is reached.  Go straight a short distance (about 0.8 mile) to the parking area for The Slot.  From the parking area, walk north (towards Borrego Springs which is visible in distance) to a point where you can overlook The Slot below.

Depending on your hiking skills, you can either scramble down here or hike east (up from the parking area) and look for a brown sign marking the beginning of the official trail.  This trail leads away from The Slot for a bit and is a little longer but is an easier route to get into the canyon.

Once down into The Slot, the approximately 3 mile round trip is easy.  Walk downstream (west) as the canyon meanders back and forth.  Take some time to inspect the canyon walls here.  There are lots of sedimentary layers of different grades of sand and rock that were deposited over millions of years.  Thanks to the power of the water that flows down this canyon, centuries of erosion has exposed these layers for us to see.

After about a quarter of a mile, the canyon narrows and its walls become increasingly rugged and ribbed.  This rib-effect was created when softer material (soil) was washed away while the stronger, more hard-packed material (mudstone) stayed intact and is left protruding out.

Narrow Section

Somewhere between the quarter and half mile mark, the canyon lives up to its name.  It narrows to the point where, in some places, you’ll need to turn sideways and squeeze through.  You’ll also need to watch for the overhangs that stick out so you don’t hit your head on them.  Again, like earlier in the hike, take time to inspect the canyon walls here.  You’ll discover a different geologic composition in this section.  It’s mostly mudstone as opposed to the sedimentary layers you saw earlier.

Towards the end of this narrow section, look up to see a high column of mudstone that arches over the entire canyon.  Some people like to call this a “natural arch” but it really looks more like a column that became dislodged, fell over but didn’t fall apart.  We don’t known which is correct but regardless, it is definitely one of the highlights to see in The Slot.

Past the arch/fallen column, the canyon widens.  Here, with the steep, narrow walls gone, you can get a sense of just how deep in a canyon you really are.  Continue walking down-canyon and be sure to look up at the high walls.

Borrego Mountain Wash

In about three quarters of a mile from the trailhead, the canyon opens up and becomes more rounded.  Many hikers turn around at this point because the “slot” part is over but there’s still plenty to see so keep going!

High up on the left (west) side of the canyon, you’ll notice vehicle tracks descending into the canyon.  This is a one-way 4WD trail into the canyon known as the Borrego Mountain Wash drop-off.  As you walk further down canyon past this drop-off, the combined drainages form the Borrego Mountain Wash.  The Slot is the largest tributary into the Borrego Mountain Wash.  Both the 4WD road and our hiking route follow this wash down canyon.

Wind Caves

You may have noticed the funny-looking, rounded rock formations in the distance when you exited The Slot.  These prominent formations are wind caves that slope up the right (east) side of the canyon.

To us, the wind caves found here are quite unique and are well worth the additional hiking time.  Unlike the wind caves of the Wind Caves of Anza-Borrego, which seem to be more randomly created, the wind caves here are horizontally layered and more uniform.

To get to them, walk down the wash another quarter mile or so from the start of the Borrego Mountain Wash (where the 4WD road meets our hiking route) and then turn right (east).  Hike cross-county up the gradual slope of the canyon towards the wind caves.  Their formations are fun to explore and the view of the surrounding area from the top of them is well worth the climb.

The wind caves area marks the end of our hike so, when you’re done, just retrace your route back to your vehicle.  You’ll enjoy walking through The Slot in the opposite direction and seeing things from a different perspective.

View into The Slot

After returning to your vehicle but before leaving the area, we suggest taking a short drive to enjoy a view down into The Slot (where you just hiked).  From the parking area, head west towards the Borrego Mountain Wash drop-off.  The road does not become rough until the drop-off so most vehicles can do this part.

Stop at a few places along the road about 0.2 to 0.4 miles from the trailhead and CAREFULLY walk towards the edge of the canyon to look down.  You can also easily drive about 1 mile from the trailhead to the drop-off where you can get a good view looking down the canyon of Borrego Mountain Wash.

When we first hiked through The Slot in the late 1990’s, we had the place to ourselves.  Those days are over.  The word is out about this great slot canyon and it has become quite popular.  So popular, in fact, that you may have to wait for others to pass through the narrow section before you can go.

But don’t let the potential for crowds scare you away from The Slot.  People or no people, it is a fantastic hike and the further you hike down-canyon, the less people you’ll encounter.

As mentioned in The Hike section, the first part of The Slot has some very obvious sedimentary layering that is fascinating to look at.  If you scrambled down directly from the parking area (rather than following the marked trail), take a few minutes and turn right (east) instead of left to start the hike.  You’ll find some very nice examples of the layering there.  These multiple layers of crushed rock and gravels are known as aggregate.

Each layer of aggregate is different because each of the large mudflows that happened here deposited its own unique collection of sand and rock over a large area.  Most likely, these mudflows occurred as the Colorado River inundated this area every year.  The volume and violent intensity of each of those flows was different, resulting in the different sized rocks and gravel you see in each layer.  This depositing action went on for millions of years.  Some geologists believe that much of what used to fill the Grand Canyon has been deposited into large areas around Anza-Borrego.

When walking through the canyon, notice that the layers are tilted at an angle.  These layers were originally laid down flat, one on top of another, over eons of time.  The fact that they are now angled suggests that some time later, perhaps up to 1-2 million years, faulting and earthquake action tilted up the layers.  These same actions most likely created Borrego Mountain itself through uplift and fault compression.  After being uplifted, water erosion cut through the layers and created what you see today.  So, a walk through The Slot is literally walking through a slice of geologic history.