Seventeen Palms Oasis

"Cool little oasis in the middle of the desert. High clearance vehicle not only recommended but in my opinion required. Your ribs will hurt from the bouncing I promise lol. Amazing place. Photographers dream"

Justin Laughlin

"Seventeen Palms Oasis is a nice hidden oasis in the middle of the desert. It is only accessible via a 4wd vehicle due to the few miles of dirt road to reach it through a large wash with soft sand in the middle of the desert. It is quiet the detour to reach, but the adventure to reach it makes the journey better. Worth the adventure if wanting to find more isolated locations in Anza Borrego State Park."

Brendan Kiely

"Very cool! Worth the drive, no water there but we're at the very end of the dry season, wet season hasn't really started yet so it makes sense.

First things first, getting there:
Getting there 100% requires 4wd, decent tires and +8in of ground clearance bare minimum. Simplest way to get there is go from the Arroyo Salado Campground and follow the road (aka the wash/canyon) for about 3.5-4mi and at the end go to the right around a bend and there's a small parking lot with a couple signs and markers. Super cool seeing these palms out there. FYI, you could take Truckhaven Trail if you want to do about 11mi of "off-roading" instead of 4mi as Truckhaven does intersect the 17 palms "road" near the end. We started going to the Truckhaven Trail for about a mile, but the turned back and went the way I said first in this review. If you decide to go the Truckhaven Trail route make sure you have at least +11in of ground clearance, proper A/T tires minimum or better, 4wd and 4wd Lo w/ a locker would make things a lot nicer as Truckhaven Trail becomes full of boulders and large rocks on the road which serpentine down and up the canyon walls that becomes a little technical, again doable but won't be a quick 30min drive, it's going to take time, proper vehicle & some skill. Fyi we did this in a new Toyota 4runner with Bridgestone Dueler H/T with 4wd (it works, better tires would give you more confidence, but these tires honestly did pretty well). We went at the beginning of October and everything was hot, dry, & pretty compacted. Very few people were seen along the Boulevard through the park, encountered only 1 person during all 3 "off roading" drives over several hours when we were in the park, so be prepared. If you get a flat or run into other car troubles there's a good chance there won't be anyone around to help you so be prepared, be smart, it was nearly 100F and with high level UV, not a place you want to be stranded and unprepared.

Secondly,
Super neat really cool coming up on an oasis in the desert! Seeing wild palms that are untrimmed and covered by their old fronds looks neat too. Parking area is sufficient. There is a plaque that says no drinking the water, if there was water there I'd believe it though probably stagnant and gross. A couple flies and some ants were most of the wildlife you'll find. However some of my family members said they saw a big jackrabbit that was about the size of a 35lb dog near the parking area. If you come during the wet season or cooler time of year there might be a little more vegetation and wildlife.

Overall,
If you have the time and proper vehicle I would totally do it again! Beautiful drive, awesome to get away and drive into the interior of the park a little to this neat hideout. Would definitely recommend!"

Rob