Wine and Wilderness For the Three-Day Weekend

Looking for a fun and fitness-friendly getaway for the three day weekend?

Well set your sights south to one of California's less frequented but just as fabulous wine country destinations, Temecula.

Conveniently located just 45 minutes from an endless array of hiking trails in the Anza-Borrego State Park, this grape growing community is a great place to get the best of both worlds-good times and great workouts.

I'm somewhat of a wine tasting, trail blazing aficionado.

Having already conquered the weekend combos of Santa Barbara/Channel Islands, Paso Robles/Morro Bay State Park, Palm Springs and its surrounding sites, and many a quick trip to Malibu Family Wines in the gorgeous Santa Monica mountains, I decided it was time to try out Temecula.

It's the last frontier in my total domination of all wine country within 200 miles.

Though I hadn't heard of it before, Borrego Springs is apparently a hot spot for hikers.

Their hidden desert oases, intricate trails, and interesting rock formations make this state park an ideal spot to check a variety of outdoor amazingness.



When I went a few weeks ago, I spent my first day in Temecula and second in Borrego Springs.


We drove down Saturday afternoon and upon arrival hit our first trail of the weekend, the wine trail.


I suggest Miramonte, Palumbo, and above all the Doffo Family Winery.

At Doffo I tried three of the best reds I've ever had in my life. Though the bottles start at around $60 you can experience this magic for under $20 with their tasting menu.


After an afternoon of wandering the Temecula countryside we enjoyed an awesome dinner at Thorton Winery and hit the sack, so we'd be fresh for our next two days of trekking.


The next morning we grabbed some healthy trail mix, and packed a cooler with a bunch of sandwich stuffers for a quick lunch fix.


If you get to the trails early enough, your chances increase on seeing some big horned sheep, the areas main attraction.

We didn't see any unfortunately, but the rest of the flora and fauna was awesome enough.

The first tail we took was Borrego Palm Canyon.

It starts near the Anza-Borrego Park visitors center and features California's third largest palm oasis. It's about 4 miles roundtrip, which will take you under 2 hours and have you torching about 600 calories.


Don't stop when you get the the first mini waterfall; keep going for the main event.


Along the trail you'll pass many different rock formations, great places for photo ops.


When we finished we were starving and the sandies came in mighty handy.

After a lovely lunchtime picnic, we headed over to the day's second spot, The Slots.

To get there, take Highway 78 east from Borrego Springs Rd., and keep an eye out for the unmarked dirt road on your left near mile 87.

Follow this road, keeping to the left, to the parking lot. (Note: if you don't have an SUV, park on the side of the road before you go over the dip at the end. You will, I repeat you will, bottom out!)

When I entered the Slots, I felt like James Franco in 127 hours. It was awesome. You climb and squeeze your way through the canyon ridges for about a half a mile until it opens up to a large valley.


About another half mile down you'll find a large "mountain," with what looks like a ton of tiny caves carved into the side. Climb it for a beautiful view of the whole area.

Thoroughly exhausted from all our trekking, we headed into town for a bite at a cute Mexican restaurant. There's no real nightlife out here, so plan on spending the evening back at your hotel room.

We stayed at the Borrego Springs Resort and Country Club-which was a glorified Quality Inn-but the low price, jacuzzi, and the hilarious bikers we met that night made up for it.

The next day we hit up one last hike before we left, a 6 mile route ending in another gorgeous waterfall. I can't recall the name but there are so many great routes, you can't go wrong.

For a treat on the drive home we stopped in Julian, an old fashioned town in the mountains with more wine tasting, horse drawn carriages and legendary apple pie.

Someone was clearly grateful for the delicious detour!


Some things we didn't do that I would recommend if you go:

1. Check out Old Town Temecula. I heard there are great bars and restaurants and a fun atmosphere if you come with a group.

2. Bring lots of water on the hikes. It gets hotter than you expect.

3. Bring your own espresso to Borrego. Unless you like cowboy coffee you will be hard pressed to find a good cup of joe in this town.

Happy Hiking!