4 Day Baja Ride Suggestions and Riders Welcome

[RockyMtnAdventures 0]

Hello All,

I'm currently in Idaho but will be meeting two other friends (All in our 30's) in San Diego on July 1st and trying to plan a 4 day ride starting the following morning.
We love if another rider or two joined us that have made a similar ride and can perhaps assist in route planning, border crossing, etc.  Though other riders are welcome too.
We'll be riding two KLR 650's and I have 2005 BMW F650GS.

We all are experienced riders though none of us have spent much time riding a fully packed adventure bike offroad.  Most of our experience comes on cruisers, sport bikes, and dirt bikes.
With that said we look forward to some off-road riding but would like to keep the trails somewhere in the easy to moderate range.  We prefer to skip single tracks and anything too technical.

We've discussed going down coast and coming back up the other but its looks like most of the cool terrain is between the coasts?

We are looking for suggestions on:

Routes and the appropriate gear for those routes.
Issues riding in Mexico and/or crossing the border (We know we need Mexican insurance and proof of ownership)
Useful publications or Websites
Gas Stops
Points of Interest
Accommodations
Nightlife (We don't get too crazy but we're all single and enjoy a beer)
Any of useful information.
 

Saturday July 2nd to Tuesday July 5th leaving from San Diego.

[Bp619 104]

Have a fun trip and stay cool the high Temps are coming 

[Dan Diego 40]

The below 3 or 4-day route is something I've been tossing around but I received a late night call from an out-of-town friend and thought I'd put it out there for thoughts. Maybe all cheap hotels so we can travel lighter, maybe all camping; maybe a combo.

This ride would be primarily on paved roads, with some unpaved sections towards the south end of Mex 5 before hooking up with Mex 1.

As a 3-day ride, it would be riding most of the day, stopping when desired, as a scenic, mostly highway touring type ride.  Best type moto would be a larger ADV.  Since the bigger bikes are not fun to ride in sand, this would mainly be a pavement and hard-pack dirt road ride. This could be easily extended to a 4-day ride.

I know the area below Ensenada over to San Felipe but I'm not familiar with good off road routes south of San Felipe, which would make it more of an exploring adventure. This is essentially the route laid out by Eagle Rider for one of their Baja rides (http://www.eaglerider.com/motorcycle-tours/guided-motorcycle-tour/8-day-baja-dual-sport-adventure-tour) but it won't cost you $2700.

This will be a fun route especially for riders that haven't been to these places.  Another thing I like about this route is it is a big loop, finishing near where we started (TJ/San Diego).  So, to clarify the planned route:

Day 1: We cross at TJ or Tecate; then south on Mex 3 to Ensenada. Continue south on Mex 1 to Santo Tomas where we hit dirt and ride the coast to Erendira/Coyote Cal's. We can rest and have a beer there then head south 3 miles and camp on the beach south of town. Or, even better, just stay at Cal's (dinner & bed for $14).

Day 2: We continue south – either along the coast or via Mex 1— to San Vicente where we take the graded dirt road over to Valle de la Trinidad.  It's taco time and we can fuel up. Then we head southeast on Mex 3 to San Felipe where we stay the night beach camping. 

Day 3: This route is new to me: We'll continue south on Mex 5 until the pavement turns to dirt south of Puertecitos.  We can camp on the beach at Bahía San Luis Gonzaga or we can stay at Alfonsina's. This is some prime Baja area as they're now paving it all and it won't be the same in 5 years.

Day 4: We’ll continue on Mex 5 south to Coco's Corner, then continue on a mainly dirt road to Mex 1 where we head all the way north to TJ, stopping wherever desired (which could be Catavina, San Quintin, Ensenada, Puerto Nuevo, the Bufadora, Rosarito Beach, etc.).

 

 

[RockyMtnAdventures 0]

Great info. Any other suggestions on places to eat or stay along the way?  We're planning on finding accommodations so we don't have bring so much gear from out of state.

[Dan Diego 40]

The thing about Baja....

 

is is that you can pretty much play it by ear...go with the flow.  

 

If if you want to plan a semi-rigid schedule, you can do that, too...planning where you'll stop each night.  The food is good pretty much anywhere. When you fill up at the ubiquitous Pemex, you can ask the workers where they recommend.

Once you get your schedule down, some research will get you where you need to go.  A GPS will help.

[paulmbowers 236]

14 hours ago, Dan Diego said:

Day 1: We cross at TJ or Tecate; then south on Mex 3 to Ensenada. Continue south on Mex 1 to Santo Tomas where we hit dirt and ride the coast to Erendira/Coyote Cal's. We can rest and have a beer there then head south 3 miles and camp on the beach south of town. Or, even better, just stay at Cal's (dinner & bed for $14).

Day 2: We continue south – either along the coast or via Mex 1— to San Vicente where we take the graded dirt road over to Valle de la Trinidad.  It's taco time and we can fuel up. Then we head southeast on Mex 3 to San Felipe where we stay the night beach camping. 

Day 3: This route is new to me: We'll continue south on Mex 5 until the pavement turns to dirt south of Puertecitos.  We can camp on the beach at Bahía San Luis Gonzaga or we can stay at Alfonsina's. This is some prime Baja area as they're now paving it all and it won't be the same in 5 years.

Day 4: We’ll continue on Mex 5 south to Coco's Corner, then continue on a mainly dirt road to Mex 1 where we head all the way north to TJ, stopping wherever desired (which could be Catavina, San Quintin, Ensenada, Puerto Nuevo, the Bufadora, Rosarito Beach, etc.).

 

 

Hmmm.

Noted.

[Covered in Dust 162]

Did someone say African Twin?

 

[Dan Diego 40]

55 minutes ago, paulmbowers said:

Hmmm.

Noted.

I look at Baja differently than many other folks. But about the same as Baja residents, I suppose. It's in your blood or it's not.

You've gotta respect the country or there are severe consequences. One wrong decision can be disastrous.

But on the other hand, there's a safety net all around you: The locals are there if you need anything at all.

And always, always is malasuerte on the sidelines. There's so much gray area, unbelievably so. If you understand that, then Baja is the magical land that has never been conquered.

And it waits for you, encouraging you to conquer it.

[paulmbowers 236]

9 minutes ago, Dan Diego said:

 

And it waits for you, encouraging you to conquer it.

As fond as I am of Baja, were I to conquer a country Mexico might not be my first choice.

[Dan Diego 40]

2 minutes ago, paulmbowers said:

As fond as I am of Baja, were I to conquer a country Mexico might not be my first choice.

Me, either.  But all the other countries were already conquered...?

[paulmbowers 236]

1 hour ago, Dan Diego said:

Me, either.  But all the other countries were already conquered...?

Might consider Greece if I could wipe out the debt.

France has good food and not much of a defense.

[NOMAD5326 0]

Lurking....

[ellingsen 0]

I may be able to make this trip.  Do you have more ideas on routing?  The east coast of baja is pretty warm this time of year.  San Felipe should be 90s to 100 ish. 

[RockyMtnAdventures 0]

For those interested here's what we have for an itinerary. If you're interested send me a message.

July 2nd - Saturday - 8am (ish). Leave San Diego and head to Tecate to cross the border. From there we'll head to ensenada and spend the night and enjoy the town.

July 3rd - Sunday - We'll head to to Mike's Sky Ranch (I have a reservation for 3 but doesn't sound like they will be too busy) We booked two nights to give us options.

July 4th - This day is open.  We can do day rides from Mikes, or head to San Felipe, or possibly El Rosario.

July 5th - Tuesday we'll head home.  Good chance we'll do Highway 1 up the coast to Tijuana unless we end up in San Felipe.

There's a good chance we'll hit La Bufadora Either on the 3rd or on the 5th.

 

Route Options  

We can figure 2 hours to get back into the U.S. is what I'm reading.

 

SD to Tecate to Ensenada to Mikes (2 days) to SD  (My Vote)

https://goo.gl/8v9Usk  This leave south on new road and catches a lot of extra highway on highway 1.  (6 hrs road time on the way home.) Hits San Quentin which has been recommend on several trips.

https://goo.gl/tm3nTh   This leaves north on the same roads back through Ensenada then Highway 1 on the coast to TJ.  (4.5 hrs)

 

SD to Tecate to Ensenada to Mikes to San Felipe to SD (4.25hr road time to SD)

https://goo.gl/Hqzs4D

 

 

SD to Tecate to Ensenada to El Rosario to Mikes to home (4.5hr road time to SD)

https://goo.gl/BzvcVn

[Dan Diego 40]

Unsure how you're planning to get to Mike's from Ensenada, but there is a nice dirt road crossing from San Vicente on Highway 1 (35 miles or so south of Ensenada?) to Valle de la Trinidad on Hwy 3 just north of Mike's.  

Among other things, it's referred to as La Calentura.

Cool option.