Peg Leg

The north side area was full so we stayed on the south side. It’s calm during the week, chaos on the weekend. This is an OHV playground for the locals so you get what you’d expect.. We spent the first half hour cleaning up broken beer bottles. The locals next to us were only there a few hours but left behind cans of spray paint, empty oil jugs, a box of trash and burnt beer cans. Not sure how they were able to bring all of that with them but not able to take it back home. But hey, that’s just me. There’s a large OHV track at the back but they seem to prefer riding around the camping area and dusting everyone, so don’t plan on enjoying sitting around your campfire if you’re downwind.
There are bright spots. It’s calm during the week. And it’s a quick drive into Borrego Springs. Christmas Tree Circle has a Farmers Market and lots of green grass, shade and picnic tables.
Be sure to check out the art sculptures throughout the town and stop by Carmelita’s for great Mexican food. They allow dogs on their patio and Tubs laundromat is next door so have a margarita. while you wait for your laundry.
Sites are fairly level. Verizon and Visible service is good. Starlink cell had availability.
Would we stay here again? Yes. But only during the week.

We stayed on the north side of the road which is a small area that does have the historic Peg Leg marker and a vault toilet. The state park service cleaned the toilets regularly while we were here. It is easy access for any type of camper. There were a good number of rigs here during our stay so this is not a solitude type of place. It was quite enough though, even during the weekend. We have stayed closer to Truckhaven Trail before and the weekends are very loud day and night. It can be very windy here. There are some nice trails in the area and many folks take in the views at nearby Fonts Point.

We stayed at the Peg Leg Smith Memorial. As mentioned there are two spots - one on the north side of S22 where the memorial is located and the other on the south side where many off-roaders usually go. It was quiet on the north side with only one or two campers nearby during our entire stay. The south side was quiet during the week but on the weekend dozens of people showed up and road atv's and motorcycles all over, along with target shooting at midnight. Fortunately we were far enough away it was not an issue but it would have been annoying if we camped on the south side next to them. The camp was in good shape and relatively clean. It's not a huge area but certainly big enough for several large rigs. There are so many other locations nearby that are not shown on Campendium. The state park is one of a few that allows dispersed camping without any permit or fees so you can go just about anywhere.

You'll want to plan a trip into Borrego Springs. It's 6 miles down the road and there are good bike lanes all over the area. The town is small and the traffic is light but there are several nice places to eat or visit in town. The sculptures are scattered all over and makes for a great bike ride to see them.

AT&T was great with 62Mbps download and 10Mbps upload using the Insty Connect. T-Mobile was very poor. Good enough for phone calls but data is too slow.

Peg Leg has two areas to boondock. Both are accessible by pretty much any rig and both are free. On the north side of the highway is the Peg Leg Smith Memorial. This area is within Anza-Borrego State Park and is largely a gravel lot. There is a sign that states camping is limited to 14 days. On the south side of the highway is an area of desert which has been heavily used for camping. We stayed there and it will take any rig but be careful for soft sand. The best spot to pull into the area is where the sign announces that the land is for sale. It does appear to be private property that has entered the public domain. There is no camping limit and we saw one rig that was being lived in and did not look like it was going anywhere soon. It is a very large area so you can spread out and camp alone or pack in with 10-20 of your friends. It was quiet and pleasant during the work week and is convenient to Borrego Springs. The weekend is something else. It becomes a race track for off-road vehicles. Late night parties, including fireworks are the rule. If this is your ideal weekend, the south side is the perfect spot for you. Just throw your trash in with the piles left from last week's party. It's the desert, don't worry it will all decompose in a couple of hundred years. If you are looking for a more relaxing spot for the weekend I would suggest the north side of the highway if you want to stay at Peg Leg.

The Peg Leg Smith free camping area is located at grid coordinates 33.294971, -116.297546 and is just off of the intersection of California Route S22 and Henderson Canyon Road. New vault toilets have been installed on-site at this Anza-Borrego Desert State Park free camping area. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 108 Mbps download speed and 3.64 Mbps upload speed. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 16.4 Mbps download speed and and zero upload speed. The Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor Center and Borrego Springs are approximately 9 miles away from this big rig friendly free camping area.