Unincorporated Town, San Diego County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 92004
Desert
town in east San Diego County. Unincorporated.
Resort-retirement country. SANDAG in 2006 tallied 3,364 for the region. www.mccormacks.com
Borrego
Springs is surrounded by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, 600,000 acres. It
attracts thousands annually for its sunshine, year-round springs, wildflowers,
bird watching and other delights, and is especially popular in winter when
Canadians and Midwesterners tire of cold and snow.
Click for regional or detailed map
In the
summer ... different story. Temperatures on hottest days soar above 115 and one
day in 2005 hit 118. Dry heat, excellent for drying your hair but for the
tourist trade, put-offish. Residents rise early to get chores done or postpone
them to evening, newspaper reported.
Nonetheless,
Borrego Springs has its year-round devotees, many of them retired. Median age is 46. Those over 65 make up
29 percent of population. Those under age 18 number 633, about 19 percent of
town.
Of the region’s 3,013 housing units,
1956 are single homes, 290 are multiples and 767 mobiles. About half the residents
own homes elsewhere, newspaper reports. Single homes are scattered around the
countryside.
Crime not
tracked by FBI but probably very low. Borrego Springs almost never makes the
headlines. www.mccormacks.com
School
rankings go from the 30th to sometimes the 90th percentile. Borrego Springs
School District — one elementary, one middle, one high — enrolls
about 480 kids and at some grade levels fewer than 40 students are tested. If
several kids score very high or very low, the scores will fluctuate sharply. See Schools.
Wealthy local
residents put up the money to build a gym for high school and a middle school.
Restaurants,
hotels, motels, RV sites. Resorts. Golf courses. Four country clubs. Golf is
popular pastime. Trails. Skatepark. Annual art show. Brilliant sunsets.
About 90 miles
from downtown San Diego. Two-lane road leads to Salton Sea (fishing) and to
Palm Springs, more golf, casinos, resorts, shows.
Chamber of
commerce (760) 767-5555.
• San
Diego Gas & Electric wants to build a power line through Anza Borrego State
Park. Many opposed but utility insists the power is needed. The project is
called Powerlink. www.mccormacks.com
• Between
1942 and 1944, the Army trained in the desert for invading North African.
General George Patton polished his tactics here. Hikers in the training area
frequently report finding bombs, rockets and shells. No one injured. Almost all
the stuff is “dead.” But don’t mess with it; call authorities. In 2006 and
2007, the Corps of Engineers will hike the area and remove what it finds.
