We are from Colorado and booked an AT. ride here with my daughter and granddaughter who live in…read moreCalifornia. We were meeting them in Indio. I thought this place was close to Indio. When I realized it wasn't I was able to explain my situation to them and they got me a refund. They were understanding and great to deal with.

1.13.23. First time ATV'ing at Dezert Adventures. We had 3 experienced riders and 1 scared newbie…read more Our Guide, Bob, was very accommodating. He took us on a nice easy ride, then let the experienced riders go on by themselves to have fun. He took the newbie to a beautiful spot and gave her the option of going on or stopping to wait for the others. Entire staff is very friendly. Would recommend Dezert Adventures to everyone.

After a short Yelp search I found academy rentals. My 11 year old son constantly talks about…read morewanting to go dirt bike riding so I found us a rental place and scheduled it. Online scheduling is fast and easy you can pay for your tours or rentals online. Or you can call in or text and and schedule them that way. I did a little of both on this visit, our second visit. I went online on a Friday and scheduled for one father and son to go ATV riding and take a sand dune tour from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Later the rest of the family decided they wanted to go. So I sent Academy Rentals a text and said 5 will be showing up instead. 2 parents and 3 kids ATVs. They texted back right away, no problem see you on Sunday. We went on a tour with four other folks that we didn't know and it was a great time! Our tour guide Chris was awesome! He was full of energy smiling and happy and was perfect with our three kids 9, 11, and 13. He gave the adults some opportunities to push their limits on their ATVs but always left a safe option for the kids. You can pay credit on the spot when you get there if you choose. Helmets gloves and goggles are provided if you don't have your own. Make sure you bring 8 bottles of water for each person and some snacks. It is very hot and sunny out there during some times of the year, so it's best to be completely covered arms and legs no shorts no tank tops. This was our second trip to Academy and it also was an awesome one! I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to do a bachelor party, at bachelorette party, or just get out of the city unwind and detach for some good old-fashioned Southern California fun!

Chelsea and Chris were extremely nice throughout the entire process. The ATVs were in great…read morecondition and very fun to ride. Definitely recommend for first time riders!!

Gifted the painted gorge tour to my husband for his birthday. He called me on his way home talking…read moreabout how much fun it was, and how he'd enjoy doing it again. He had so many great things to say about Chris; he enjoyed his personality during the tour. He also mentioned how informative the tour was. I made all of the arrangements with Chris, and he was very accommodating. Think I'll gift this to my husband every chance I get!

Great experience!! Highly recommend for going into the desert and riding ATVs. Really friendly…read morestaff and you can explore on your own. I'll be back!

The Desert View Tower, built in the 1920's, offers a stunning view of the Anza Borrego Desert. It's…read morealso currently available on a short-term rental website listed as "Lighthouse in Jacumba, CA"! If you're driving by, it's worth a stop. Free to look around the grounds and giftshop; but there is a fee to climb to the top for the best and most expansive view ($9.50 as of this writing). The tower is next to "Boulder Park" featuring some truly hideous sculptures created by an unemployed engineer during the depression. The boulders are much more notable for what may be cupules created by Native Americans, cups that are carved out of rock as part of ceremonies and rituals. A smattering of animals live on the grounds including chickens and peacocks. Free parking.

I've been trying to figure out what to write about this fun little stop an hour east of San Diego…read more It's a wonderful piece of history and definitely worth exploring. My husband and I enjoyed our visit quite a bit. We paid the fee to climb to the top of the tower and go exploring the boulders on the property as well. The tower interior is home to a magical shop full of antiques and second-hand treasures. The boulders next to the tower are fun to explore and have lots of animals painted onto the boulders in the shapes of various animals. As you can tell we really enjoyed our visit BUT... The one road in and out of the Desert View Tower property is absolutely littered on both sides with (maybe) abandoned motor homes, shanties, and whole collections of god-only-knows-what! And the road itself is like driving on the surface of the moon. I felt like I was driving into a scene of "The Hills Have Eyes" (kids ask your Gen X parents about that one). Seriously... I thought we might be murdered and eaten! But if you're feeling brave, come well-armed, and are willing to pop a tire and ruin your suspension, it's a GREAT place to visit!

Great shore dives as first timers in Bonaire. Our guide, Nicole, was amazing. She was patient…read morewith us. It has been a year and a half since we last dove...so this was appreciated. In addition, she took extra care to lead me by hand into the water (surges were present) and I was racked with sea sickness on the second day. Despite my shame, was kind, helpful and attentive. Learned lots about the environment and the fish. Highly recommend this outfit.

VIP never disappoints. From check in, to the welcome coffee, to the A+ service on land, in the…read moretruck and in the water. We just completed five days of two nitox tank dives per day. All the guides and staff are great but a special shout out to Nicole who went above and beyond to help us with EVERYTHING from gear adjustments, to assisting throughout the "getting ready" process to "getting out." She was expert at finding many creatures and helped us to enjoy the best of Bonaire's reefs. She found octopus, turtles, eels and squid among many small and delicate sea life. Guided shore diving is the way to go when you want to concentrate on enjoying your dives and not on navigating them! And VIP is by far the best. Top notch equipment, fully stocked dive shop, beautiful place to begin and each dive journey. Great place for beginners to learn and for experienced divers to advance.

Sheri has been amazing. She has given riding lessons to our children and helped transport several…read morehorses. Honest and professional! 5+ stars.

Kenny was extremely helpful and patient. The tour was amazing and will definitely come again !read more

I was excited to find a new place to have a picnic and see wildlife in our area. We packed our…read morepicnic basket and drove the 5 minutes to check it out. There is a Facebook page and the government has a website with information about the Fig Lagoon. It's very easy to follow the map they provide. They explain that the lagoon is a unique habitat for the creatures in the area. They give a list of the animals you can find there-including the vermillion flycatcher, whose numbers have decreased seriously some places but is fairly common in the Imperial Valley where Fig Lagoon is located. In fact, we see them daily around Drew Lake-on the opposite side of the lake from Fig Lagoon. We followed the map, and it was on our GPSand even saw one sign for Fig Lagoon. Unfortunately, there was no sign at the turn but the GPS signaled we were there. We pulled in the drive and saw an old mattress and other things dumped on the side of the road. We got closer to the parking area where we were considering parking to see the water...until another car zips in and parks in front of us. We weren't that excited about the view so decided to leave and go somewhere else. We were very disappointed with Fig Lagoon. It is a dirt driveway that blows dust as you pull in. The view is nice at the end but the garbage you see alongside the road makes the idea of a picnic less appealing. It would be a good spot to view wildlife but not the lagoon picture that I had when I first read about it.