Anza-Borrego Desert: Golden Queen mine lake loop

Rating *****
length 5.6 Mile - 3 hour (Round trip), Easy/Moderate.
Elevation 4630 - 4880 feet
Access All Cars, along the 79 at mile 15.

Go over the gate or to the left and move around the fence.
This is the upper part of the closed Mason Valley Truck road.
Follow the dirt road up to a view of an unnamed pond, a flat rock with many morteros.

Head towards the chimney of the old Golden Queen homestead.
Now head south picking up a very faint old road, that will be nearly impossible to find without a GPS.
A couple of short stretches of scrubs.
The road / route follows a drainage, with open areas and more dense vegetation.
Head west on an old fire break that eventually leads to a more open area with drainages leading into lake Cuyamaca.
Now the terrain is easy except for dense grass and uneven terrain underneath.
Cross the S1.

The lake itself is closed with an old fence and owned by the water district.
Water is generally far away to the west.
Follow the old fence North, until it meets a drainage and cross the S1.
This drainage is often dry with pools of water.
The pond seems to be a reliable source of water, hike around it, enjoy the scenery and head back towards the car.
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Hiking the Borrego Springs Area (Anza-Borrego Desert SP, Cuyamaca Rancho SP, Imperial Sand Dunes (Algodones Dunes), Jacumba, Laguna Mountain, Warner Springs) California, Hike with gps, gpx and kml (Google Earth).

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