404 Firewater Trail Julian, CA 92036

Shelter Valley has a Julian zip code, Julian mailing addresses and is part of the Julian School District. Students ride a bus to school. This corner lot is in an area where there are several undeveloped lots. Great views of Granite Mountain and the surrounding Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Close to Blair Valley and Yaquitepec the home of author Marshall South and his family. Well and septic needed in order to build. Come build your dream home! Shelter Valley is a unique small community on the west side of Anza Borrego State Park in San Diego Co. It's about a 1.5 hour drive from San Diego, 15 miles from Julian. It can also be reached coming from the San Bernardino area off Hwy 15 through Warner Springs, up from Ocotillo Wells on Hwy 8 or through Cuyamaca State Park or up from Ramona.It's a high desert retreat from the city closer and cooler than Borrego Springs. Shelter Valley is surrounded by Anza Borrego State Park so no further growth is possible. Shelter Valley is close to Blair Valley and Yaquitepec the home of author Marshall South and his family. It is a high desert environment though in centuries past was more habitable as shown by Indian relics found in the area. The ecology is dominated by cactus and open chaparral. Anza Borrego wildflowers in the spring are sensational. The old Butterfield Stage Coach route passed through Shelter Valley on the leg between Yuma and San Bernardino. John Butterfield Co. ran the overland trail from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco from 1857 to 1861. Afterwards local stage companies and the Wells Fargo Co used the old trail. At Scissors Crossing the S-2 Hwy doglegs around San Felipe Creek near where the adobe building that once was the San Felipe Station stood. Only a historical monument now marks this spot. The San Felipe Station was between the Vallecito Station 18 mile 'SE' and the Warner Ranch Station 16miles 'NW'. There are a few lost treasure stories associated with this route. Julian was once a prosperous gold mining area and where there were gold and stage coaches there were outlaws. One story tells of 'The Lost Treasure of Mission Ysabel' being hidden on top of a hill near the San Felipe Station. Of course this hasn't yet been found.