Fill the tank before you leave the border. Top off any time you’re at half.
MEX-5 the whole way. Return on the same highway.
South of San Felipe the tourist strip runs out, the pavement narrows, and the Gulf coast gets interesting. This route is the corridor’s wild side: Puertecitos, the funky retiree outpost whose hot springs sit in the tide rocks and are only usable when the Gulf’s huge tides say so; the volcanic point country of the old coast road; and the main event for the off-road crowd — Matomí Wash, a legendary sandy canyon route climbing from the coast into the boulder country of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir’s rain shadow.
Members read the full route guide
The complete story, trip vitals verified by members who drove it, and the GPS file to take with you — every route in the library. $40 a year.
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Members get this for every route in the library — a growing library of Baja trips — plus the camping, fuel, and checkpoint notes that go with them. The file loads straight into Gaia GPS, OnX Offroad, or a Garmin. $40 a year.
RV TravelersThe easiest way into Baja there is: two hours of paved highway from the border to a beach town built for exactly this trip. If you've never taken the rig to Mexico, start here.
OverlandersWhere the pavement gets interesting: south of Puertecitos the Gulf coast empties out, and the road delivers you to one of Baja's last great beach outposts.
Baja changes. Roads wash out, camps close, a Pemex that was there in March can be dry in November. Everything on this page came from members who actually drove it, on the date stamped at the top — but conditions on the ground are yours to verify.
The GPX track is a planning aid, not a navigation authority. Don’t follow a line on a screen into terrain you can’t see. Carry paper backup, tell someone your plan, and turn around when the road tells you to.
Mexican auto insurance is required by law and your U.S. policy doesn’t cover you. If something goes wrong without it, the situation gets much worse very fast. Get a quote before you cross.
