Desert View Tower

Jacumba, California, United States

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Public art

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Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A roughly 70-foot stone tower begun in 1922 by developer Bert Vaughn beside Interstate 8 in the In-Ko-Pah Mountains near Jacumba Hot Springs, with an observation deck, a museum (per Wikipedia) and the Boulder Park rock carvings; listed on the National Register in 1980.

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PLAN YOUR VISIT

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Desert View Tower

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Site-level location · 32.6183° N, 116.1878° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Climb a stone tower on a desert ridge and look out toward the Imperial Valley. Desert View Tower sits beside Interstate 8 in the In-Ko-Pah Mountains, at about 3,000 feet, where the old road crossed a steep pass between San Diego and the desert.

According to Wikipedia and Times of San Diego, the tower was begun in 1922 by Bert Vaughn, a San Diego real estate developer who owned Jacumba. Vaughn dedicated it to the pioneers, and highway and railroad builders who opened up the area. Times of San Diego gives its height as roughly 70 feet; Wikipedia describes five stories, with a museum inside and an observation deck on the upper level. It also served as a roadside advertisement for a restaurant and bar across the old road. East County Magazine reported in 2015 that a gift shop was added around the base in 1950.

Beside it is Boulder Park, where animals and other figures are carved into the natural boulders. Wikipedia says Merle Ratcliff made them over two years in the 1930s while unemployed in the Depression; East County Magazine dates their creation to 1933. Wikipedia notes his surname is spelled in different ways. The tower and Boulder Park were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 1980, as folk art environments.

The site stands on a historic route: Wikipedia notes that a plaque beside the tower marks the Mountain Springs Station, a stone house used from 1862 to 1870 as a store from which ox teams pulled wagons up a steep grade.

Times of San Diego said in April 2026 that the tower is typically open daily, though hours may vary, and that there is a small fee to climb the observation deck and Boulder Park. Confirm hours before the drive.

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PRACTICAL

Plan your stop

WHAT TO EXPECT

A stone tower with an upper-level observation deck and the adjacent Boulder Park carvings; Wikipedia says it houses a museum, and East County Magazine reported a gift shop at the base in 2015. Times of San Diego reported in April 2026 that it is typically open daily, hours vary, with a small fee to climb the tower and enter Boulder Park.

ACCESS

Beside Interstate 8 at the In-Ko-Pah exit, in the In-Ko-Pah Mountains near Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Times of San Diego (April 2026) gives In Ko Pah Park Road and phone (619) 971-2845.

COMMUNITY

Visitor Log

WHAT'S NEXT

Find another Big Thing nearby

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Roadside giants

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59 km away

TRANSPARENCY

Sources & research

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