Agua Caliente Park

Love this place!!! Been coming to this campground since the 80’s when I was a kid. Great for kids, pet friendly, awesome trails & places to explore. Pools are kept clean, bathrooms take the edge off ruffing it too much ;-) the little store is super convenient incase you run out of beer or if you forgot your toothbrush ~

Really nice overall. Pleasant desert setting. Very friendly, helpful staff. Didn’t get to try the hot springs unfortunately because they weren’t open the hours we were there. In fact, that might be our main complaint.
The spend don’t open until 9:30 in the morning, and for early risers this can be a long wait. And then they close in the evening time, which is bad news for late arrivals.
Two more small things: the light from the bathrooms and Springs building are a little bright and take away a bit from the desert ambiance.
Also beware: sites are all pretty close together and you can hear pretty much entry conversion and screaming child in the whole campground.
Besides that, very pleasant campground :)

Awesome place to camp. Super clean facility’s and camping area. Pools were well maintained and Rangers were very nice. Top it off with some awesome friendly off road trails that were super safe and easily a viable with 2×4 vehicles

For swimming the day use fee is $ 3 per person. It’s open every day except during the summer when it’s too hot. There are 3 pools, one of which is for children (although that one is undergoing renovation and is currently closed, as of the date I wrote this). The two outdoor pools are cool and the indoor «therapeutic» pool is hot, about 102 last time I was there. It has jacuzzi jets all along the wall, but the pool is so big those jets hardly make a ripple.
The water is very nice, as it comes from a natural mineral spring right there on the property — but unfortunately they add chlorine to it. I guess that is necessary considering how many people use this place. You can take a shower after swimming, to rinse off the chlorine as best as you can. There are private shower/​changing rooms. Even with the chlorine, the water feels very therapeutic, and soaking for an hour in the jacuzzi will leave you relaxed and refreshed — very much worth the $ 3. There have been a few visits where the water didn’t seem entirely clean though, with numerous very tiny bits of unknown materials floating around.
The big disadvantage here is the overcrowding on weekends — don’t go here on a Saturday or Sunday. The echo inside the indoor pool room seems to amplify the voices and on a weekend it is an absolute cacophony of noise — not relaxing at all. The outdoor pool is also a madhouse of screaming kids. Go here only on a weekday and enjoy the relative peace and quiet. On some days I have been lucky to have the outdoor pool to myself for a bit, for unencumbered swimming. Even on a weekday, if only 2 or 3 people are having a conversation in the indoor pool, the echo seems to make their voices fill the building. If you want true quiet you will need to bring ear plugs.
This park is in a remote desert location, about 25 miles south of Highway 78 or 22 miles north of Interstate 8, in a relatively unspoiled area of Anza-​Borrego Desert State Park. There is no cell phone service and no wi-​fi. You’ll be pretty much cut off from the world here, but that’s an advantage. Nearest gas station is in Ocotillo, 22 miles away, and it’s expensive there, so fill up well before driving to this park. Enjoy the relatively pristine desert scenery of the area, especiallly at sunset.

Went there a couple of days ago and it was great! We had taken a teenager and two younger children and they all enjoy themselves. The pools and play area is a nice twist to camping. The adult indoor pools was also amazing and yet calming at the same time. We had stayed in tents and when we went the storms of winds were very powerful. We will be staying in a cabin next time we go. This would be my only problem was the winds and the fact that sand was flying everywhere. We will be going back in the future !

Campground now has cabins for $ 75 a night. Comes with a very spacious cabin that includes a sink, table with four chairs, two wooden queen size beds, night stand and lamp, large roomy porch, indoor toilet (no shower) and outdoors your own fire ring. The cabin has temperature controlled by the ranger station and it seemed adequate. Very cool is it appears that the cabin is ran by mostly solar utilities and power.
Nothing else has changed with the park, still incredible views and still people with loud radios who have no consideration of their camping neighbors and the park rangers who turn and eye to it. I understand yes this is a time to have fun and for kids to make noise, etc but I am talking about radios and shouting matches well after quite time which every person is made well aware of when they enter the park. just my two cents.
I really enjoyed the cabins if I couldn’t get a reservation for a cabin I would probably be camping up the street at my secret campground.

Spa + Camping = Genius! I’ve been here several times, sometimes just for the day and other times camping. There are more primitive camping sites not far from here that we prefer because the families that camp here have kept us up all night. Once there was a family reunion next to us and the next time there was a guy next to us who talked all night but in his megaphone voice. I decided he must be a little deaf… anyway we will never camp here again because it’s not for us. If you are a family or have an rv or something then it’s great! The pools are what I go for. Love going for a long morning soak, hiking around, going for an afternoon swim, then taking a final evening soak. I’m just a water baby!

Been camping here as a family for 4 years now, have never had loud noisy neighbors and the Rangers there keep a lid on any craziness. Great place for kids during the winter with warm weather swimming pools, frogs, great hiking and beautiful stars at night.

Love it! Three dollars per person. Ladies at the front gate super friendly and helpful. Nice fella down the road at the little store fun to talk to. Very knowledgeable about the area. Pools are unadorned, but worth a quick stop by. Thank you, Agua Caliente!

I enjoyed visiting Aguascalientes. We camped over the weekend and ut was beautiful. I definitely recommend camping here. The desert is full of natural wonders. I enjoyed the pools and the campgrounds. I also recommend Vallecito campground a few miles down if you want a more mellow campsite with more trees. Also make sure to wear closed toed shoes! I accidentally stepped on a cholla cactus… it was the most painful thing that has ever happened to me.

Attention Campers!!!
Looking for a chance to get away from the rat race and venture way out into nature (desert) to plan some fun with the kids? Then DON’T bother with Agua Caliente Hot Springs. Even though 50 miles from «civilization» the Nazi run camp staff will quell any sense of freedom or fun you might think possible (out in the desert). The raw tent camping is supported by public bathrooms and showers in the main facility, however the totalitarian park management ride around in golf carts with poor attitudes and disposition to finding any and all infractions. This park treats its patrons as GUILTY until proven innocent, and have no problem speaking harshly to your kids.
Rules:
Park you car incorrectly… Move it,
Don’t place your tent in the right spot… Move it.
Want to use the pool… oh, its now closed.
Additional cars in your group… «oh we’ve got a fee for that»
Move a rock w/​i the campsite… oh that will get you repremanded
Planning of being adults after 10pm, forget about it
Want to have you fire past 11pm, forget about it.
RULES are OVER enforced with no lee-​way. The Hotsprings are truly swimming pools which are poorly run and again plagued with rules that make them almost impossible to enjoy. Many of the $ 8/​hr employees have God complexes making it extremely uncomfortable to co-​exist within the confines of the park. Separation of campsites is almost non-​existant. The Campsites are so close to each other that it is almost impossible to have different groups with competing agendas. The camp staff make no effort to separate large groups from weekend retirees. Poorly run, and unfriendly. I’ve been to this camp over 6 times, but after the last debacle with their facility I will not return, ever!
It’s really too bad there are fewer and fewer places where you can get away for some good ol’ fashion fun with the family and friends.

Been there two years in a row now and LOVE Agua Caliente.
I have to laugh at the people who proclaim with disgust that the pools are CONCRETE and children, children were PLAYING at this campground! And other people were making NOISE!
First, have you ever been to a natural hot spring? There is no way to clean or maintain it, they typically have muddy bottoms with sharp objects, high bacterial counts, etc. If you were seriously expecting a county park to be hosting a muddy, bacteria-​infested, algae-​crusted hot spring for hundreds of visitors, you are kind of an idiot and obviously have no experience with hot springs. If you want the natural kind, be prepared to buy a guidebook and hike into one. And don’t be upset when it’s muddy and full of broken glass.
To the people who complain about kids playing and making noise at the campground… sorry. There are a ton of adult-​only hot springs and spas, if what you want is unbroken silence and meditation. I only know of a handful of hot springs that my kids are even allowed to visit. They have the right to run around, ride bikes and enjoy their vacations too. They had a complete blast at Agua Caliente. I won’t pretend that they were silent during the day, but at night they were, and that’s the only reasonable expectation.
We stayed for five days straight and we did not experience any rude neighbors (on the contrary, everyone was as nice and friendly and polite as could be), any loud music after hours, any uncleanliness… we had no problems whatsoever. The pools were clean and well-​maintained. The bathrooms too.
The grounds are gorgeous, the scenery is spectacular. There are two fabulous hiking trails right there in the campground that rival anything else in the surrounding vicinity. You can hike and explore your heart out without ever leaving the park, if you so desire.
Campsites have plenty of space for privacy if you pick the right one. We actually enjoyed our neighbors, and had them and their kids over to our campfire for marshmallows and wine.
The rangers are helpful and friendly. Partial hookup sites are a total steal at $ 25 a night. You get water and electricity right there. At other places I have paid $ 35 for a weedy site with a rusted out fire ring, no nearby water, no electricity, and bathrooms a mile away.
Yes, you will hear birds in the morning, and maybe frogs at night. I love that! I didn’t come to the desert to be in a sterile environment with no contact with living things. I came to see the flowers and birds and mountains, to soak in hot water, to let my kids free-​range and play a bit, to get out of my ho-​hum routine and clear my head, play board games with my husband, etc. Agua Caliente totally did the trick. We love it and we’ll be back next year too.

The pools, are overused, and full of some nasty floating materials (not cleaned enough). The campsites are too close together and not ideal for someone looking for a relaxing weekend. The ranger will come around at 11 to let you know of the fire curfew, but does not follow up on the noise coming from other campers. Quiet time is 10PM to 8AM, but not enforced. I had a party in the 5 campsites next to me up till 2AM, talking and shouting across sites, and up at 6AM. Then during the day, people are allowed to use music amplifying devices… needless to say you can here music from other sites across the campgrounds. Overall the scenery is beautiful, but the experience is lacking in the fact that the park ranger and camp hosts are so lax on rules.
I had reservations for Friday and Sunday night, and ended up leaving Saturday afternoon, due to complete irritation from the other campers.

Do your research folks, nobody ever said this was anything but a sometimes busy county park with spring fed concrete pools :)
Oh horror of horrors, a nice enough campground for a night or two of sleep and hot water to soak in when you are running around the desert all hot, sweaty and tired.
Literally and figuratively, relax everyone…

I was a bit disappointed with my visit, though I probably shouldn’t have been, based on others’ reviews. We stayed at site 118 and when we arrived around 8pm the frogs were shrieking so loudly we moved to 119 which was a tad bit quieter– the frogs got quieter as the night went on (and sleep was possible with earplugs) but initially we couldn’t actually hear each other talk over the noise… However, more than once I thought that I’d rather hear the frogs than the yelling kids that were still somewhat audible over them… There were kids everywhere– not rude or misbehaving but loud and being kids– riding bikes and yelling and definitely making their presence known.
The «Springs» were chlorinated, which I had not expected. Someone had mentioned sulphur which I didn’t smell at all– only the chlorine. The indoor pool was at 102 degrees but the outdoor pool which I thought would be in the 90’s based on reviews was freezing! I dipped in a toe but couldn’t imagine going in unless I was in the mood for a cool refreshing swim (The 3^rd pool ended up being a kiddie wading pool– it may have been warmer but I didn’t take the time to check–
All-​in-​all it wasn’t bad– a beautiful location surrounded by amazing rock formations and landscape– but not a particularly relaxing or restorative place to spend time.

One of my favorite places to get away and relax from the everyday hustle.
With nothing around you but desert and blue skies, a soak in the pools is a vacation in itself. Yes, they are swimming pools, but they are filled with naturally heated mineral water. The three pools (one enclosed and two outdoor pools) are a great treat during the spring months, with the enclosed heated pool a relaxing soak in the morning or evening.
This is a campground, and have both hook-​ups and non hook up camp spots available. With the hiking trails all around, this is the perfect weekend get-​a-​way. A note… the park is closed during the hot summer months of June-​Sept. and re-​opens labor day weekend.

These are just swimming pools that are heated by the hot springs. This is such a scam! We went there expecting to soak in some natural hot springs. Instead, we drove an hour from Julian just to see some typical swimming pools in the middle of the desert. Biggest waste of time EVER. DO NOT EVER EVER EVER come here unless you are passing by and need to go for a swim. It’s basically just a campground in the middle of the desert with a couple of pools. It SUCKS.

This county-​run hot spring is within the Anza-​Borrego Regional Park. It’s located south of the town of Borrego Springs. More information can be found onthe San Diego County Dept. of Recreation’s website –http://​www​.co​.san​-diego​.ca​.us/​p​a​r​k​s​/​c​a​m​p​i​n​g​/​a​g​u​a​_​c​a​l​i​e​n​t​e​.html .
Anza Borrego is phenomenal. There’s far too many geological formations and nifty box canyons to describe in anything less then a full book. One of the niftier geologic formations is Agua Caliente Hot Spring — if interpreted loosely since a ‘hot spring” is not technically a «formation.»
Anyway, the county run hot spring facility at the campground is clean and efficient. There’s two pools — a hot pool the size of a very, very large jacuzzi, and a warm pool the dimentions and size of a typical backyard pool. The tempuratures were perfect, and relaxing. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was not.
When we were there, several children were playing. While I can’t blame them or chide them from being kids, they didn’t help with the relaxation. Also, this hot spring had the most utilitarian feel that Iive ever had at a naturally occuring body of water. It felt like the pool and hot tub at a 24-​Hour Fitness, although the view outside was better then the office building at the 24-​hour Fitness near my house. However, they covered the hot pool with a roof. Oh, the horrors! Why, why, why?
The spring’s best qualities are that they’re free with the park admission. If they weren’t, they’d be getting fewer stars.
My advice is to go to Anza Borrego for everything else that the county park has to offer. Go during the late fall through early spring, as it gets bewilderingly hot htere. While there, use the hotsprings if you happen to be in the area. Just don’t go too far out of your way for them.