Hike Coyote Mountain Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA

Feb 22, 2024 — Coyote Mountain is a relatively popular desert peak in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It's approached from various directions, but the standard route seems to use its southeast ridge. A very good social trail has been formed, making this ascent a nice hike up a steep desert slope. To reach the trailhead, head north on the graded Rockhouse Canyon Road here (33.29418, -116.29022).

We started west toward the southeast ridge through some rocky terrain since we saw no clear trail. We avoided large black boulders, sticking to cleared spurts along the desert floor. A major canyon drainage from the summit was a good landmark to head toward initially, since the ridge begins on its eastern bank. We dropped into the wash formed by the drainage and located a clear social trail on its opposite side, which we followed as it wrapped around a rockier slope and ascended more tamely directly from the south.

Once on the southeast ridge, we had no trouble keeping to the social trail. Despite the remote vibe of Coyote Mountain, it gets enough traffic that even during mid-week we saw a party on our way down. The grade is moderate as far as desert peaks go, but pretty sustained. The hike resembles the standard route to nearby  Villager Peak in all ways except in length, a peak which was ever-present on the horizon along this hike. In contrast to many peaks nearby, Coyote Mountain offers notably stable footing, facilitating rapid elevation gain more easily. There were short spurts of rockier terrain, but cairns helped mark the way if we were ever unclear as to where to go.

The trail became a little less clear for the last few hundred feet to the top. The summit of Coyote Mountain is wide and flat, but the views toward the other major peaks of Anza-Borrego, such as Rabbit Peak and Indianhead, were clearly visible around us from this high-prominence point. We backtracked the same way we came up.