BajaNomad

Driving from Todos Santos to Punta Conejo

Disastrogirl - 12-21-2018 at 12:23 PM

Hi. I’m driving through Baja in my 4x4 Bronco over the next couple weeks. If you see a grey-haired lady with a brown dog in a lifted OJ special be sure to say howdy!

I’m wondering if there is a route along the ocean from Todos Santos to Punta Conejo. I am a beginner 4x4 driver so I don’t want anything too difficult.

AKgringo - 12-21-2018 at 01:15 PM

I poked around out there for a couple of days about five years ago. Yes, you can make it from near Todos Santos to Conejo on back roads, and it can be done in two wheel drive.

I suspect that the road maintenance is done by, and for the ranchers in the area, and the 'most traveled' roads frequently dead end at ranches! Back tracking to take the road less traveled ate into my limited gasoline capacity, but I enjoyed the outing.

The beaches I found access to were fun, but soft and required airing down quite a bit, so if you do not carry a compressor, it will be a long drive to re-fill your tires.

I look forward to exploring the area some more, and wish I was there right now. A GPS, or phone app may help you find the right connections, but at one point my Garmin showed me just offshore, trolling along parallel to the beach front road I was on.

David K - 12-21-2018 at 03:00 PM

Having a tire air compressor pump is an absolute must in Baja!

Not only to refill the tires after airing down for soft sand or any dirt road driving but to refill a flat tire that you just repaired... so you want to have a tire plug kit, too!

I drove over 12,000 miles in Baja last year, and never once had to take my spare out. Besides the many places I aired down for dirt road driving, I also fixed three flats and refilled the tires with my MV-50 air pump.

Disastrogirl - 12-21-2018 at 03:42 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Having a tire air compressor pump is an absolute must in Baja!

Not only to refill the tires after airing down for soft sand or any dirt road driving but to refill a flat tire that you just repaired... so you want to have a tire plug kit, too!

I drove over 12,000 miles in Baja last year, and never once had to take my spare out. Besides the many places I aired down for dirt road driving, I also fixed three flats and refilled the tires with my MV-50 air pump.


Thank you for the advice! I have both of the those! So far I haven’t needed them but I try to be prepared.

I love your travel posts. Inspirational and so much great info.

David K - 12-21-2018 at 04:59 PM

Thank you!
I wish you a wonderful trip full of adventure!
I stayed with Rob and Baja Linda (she replied in your other post) at their Playas Pacificas development (Rancho La Aguja). The beach there was great. I drove down the coast from Punta Conejo. You will need to contact Linda in advance, to open the gate. This coastal road was the main road to La Paz before the 1950s and more recently, the Baja 1000 course. It is slow driving.
See photos and details beginning on Day 9 of my Trip #6 Report, here:
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=87323

TMW - 12-21-2018 at 10:10 PM

The 2007 Baja 1000 ran the coast line which included Punta Conejo to just north of Todos Santos. The map, Google Earth file and GPS files are at http://www.murdocknav.com/mapsmex1.php

2007 was the last 1000 to go to Cabo. Several including last years go to La Paz but they turn away from the coast further north in the La Aguja and El Cedro areas shown in the almanac.

gnukid - 12-22-2018 at 07:10 AM

It can be very remote, if you break down. The sand and silt in some areas is very deep so you need to really power through which is hard on the vehicle. You may enjoy using the freeway and taking visits down to the beach then head north and south to explore. Or expect to have issues and work through it, but it would be better to have 2 vehicles and some friends to help dig you you or pull you out or go get replacement parts if needed. I also have driven it in a bronco which was awesome but a lighter weight car is probably better in the deep sand and silt, like Toyota old school truck.

wilderone - 12-22-2018 at 09:13 AM

"The sand and silt in some areas is very deep"
Si - I explored some roads heading to the beaches south of Todos Santos, and found myself squirrling around in deep sand or inching around eroded, 12" deep ditches in the more solid spots, no place to turn around, so I had to forge ahead - more deep sand. Made me very nervous and was not fun. Take gnukid's advice. As you learn what you and your vehicle can handle, you can expand on your adventures.

David K - 12-22-2018 at 09:41 AM

Last year, after staying in La Paz with 4x4abc, I drove from Hwy. 1 to Punta Conejo, then south on the Baja 1000 course to La Aguja (Playas Pacificas). Explored around Punta Marquez and Ejido Conquista with Nomad 'rob' then back to La Aguja for more of Linda's great cooking.

There was no silt (dust bowls) in that stretch but the road surface was very rough (ledges) and slow to drive.



Km. 79.5 Punta Conejo road west. Dirt road, no typical government signs.

0.0 Highway 1
9.1 Fork, left for Punta Conejo and south.
9.4 Fishing camp, Punta Conejo. I was last here in 1985 and not much has changed!
9.7 Punta Conejo Lighthouse, shoreline. The sea water is so clear!

The road south is very rough on jagged rock face much of the distance south.

0.0 Punta Conejo Lighthouse
0.4 Ranch driveway
0.9 Beach access (0.1 to west)
2.3 Road to beach.
6.2 Abandoned ranch
10.0 Playas Pacificas (La Aguja) entrance gate.


Punta Conejo road, just off Hwy. 1 (Km. 79.5)




Punta Conejo





You can't get the feel of a road in photos, always. The Baja 1000, since 1979 has used this road when it has run to La Paz. The first 1000s (1967-1972) used Mex. 1, and was paved from Constitucion south to La Paz.


Rob and Linda have done much work to secure this land and have water rights and electrical power from La Paz.

See their web site for more details: www.playaspacificas.com

JoeJustJoe - 12-22-2018 at 10:18 AM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Having a tire air compressor pump is an absolute must in Baja!

Not only to refill the tires after airing down for soft sand or any dirt road driving but to refill a flat tire that you just repaired... so you want to have a tire plug kit, too!

I drove over 12,000 miles in Baja last year, and never once had to take my spare out. Besides the many places I aired down for dirt road driving, I also fixed three flats and refilled the tires with my MV-50 air pump.


Will a truck fix-a-flat work temporarily?

I don't want to be sexist, but I don't think too many grey-haired ladies, would be comfortable jacking up a big SUV, and fixing a flat tire out in the desert.



David K - 12-22-2018 at 11:16 AM

Quote: Originally posted by JoeJustJoe  
Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Having a tire air compressor pump is an absolute must in Baja!

Not only to refill the tires after airing down for soft sand or any dirt road driving but to refill a flat tire that you just repaired... so you want to have a tire plug kit, too!

I drove over 12,000 miles in Baja last year, and never once had to take my spare out. Besides the many places I aired down for dirt road driving, I also fixed three flats and refilled the tires with my MV-50 air pump.



Will a truck fix-a-flat work temporarily?

I don't want to be sexist, but I don't think too many grey-haired ladies, would be comfortable jacking up a big SUV, and fixing a flat tire out in the desert.





?? There is no jacking up to plug repair a tire... you just roll the vehicle to where the hole can be reached with ease, insert the plug, add air!

StuckSucks - 12-22-2018 at 12:46 PM

Here's a photo sphere taken at Punta Conejo - take a look around. The hippy chick lives in that building over yonder.

StuckSucks - 12-22-2018 at 02:06 PM

The road from Punta Conejo continues north along the coast 40km to the farming community of Estero Salada -- from there it's an easy graded dirt road to Highway 1. Be prepared for occasional silt beds beginning where the road trends inland 20km north of Conejo, with possible bigger silt as you approach the Estero. I've done this solo, but would feel totally comfortable with a second vehicle.

TMW - 12-22-2018 at 02:31 PM

I hope you have some type of communication device such as a Spot, inReach or a satellite phone for emergencies.

pacificobob - 12-23-2018 at 08:01 AM

Quote: Originally posted by gnukid  
It can be very remote, if you break down. The sand and silt in some areas is very deep so you need to really power through which is hard on the vehicle. You may enjoy using the freeway and taking visits down to the beach then head north and south to explore. Or expect to have issues and work through it, but it would be better to have 2 vehicles and some friends to help dig you you or pull you out or go get replacement parts if needed. I also have driven it in a bronco which was awesome but a lighter weight car is probably better in the deep sand and silt, like Toyota old school truck.

this is good council. some of those tracks are super deep/soft sand. bring lots of water, you might need it if you bury the truck.

[Edited on 12-23-2018 by pacificobob]

chippy - 12-23-2018 at 08:29 AM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
Quote: Originally posted by gnukid  
It can be very remote, if you break down. The sand and silt in some areas is very deep so you need to really power through which is hard on the vehicle. You may enjoy using the freeway and taking visits down to the beach then head north and south to explore. Or expect to have issues and work through it, but it would be better to have 2 vehicles and some friends to help dig you you or pull you out or go get replacement parts if needed. I also have driven it in a bronco which was awesome but a lighter weight car is probably better in the deep sand and silt, like Toyota old school truck.

this is good council. some of those tracks are super deep/soft sand. bring lots of water, you might need it if you bury the truck.

[Edited on 12-23-2018 by pacificobob]





Or beer!;D

pacificobob - 12-23-2018 at 03:59 PM

i like beer as much as most guys. but when i am sweat soaked, shoveling sand under a mid day sun, i choose water..... liters of it. i am often surprised how little water people have on hand given their location, and the possibility of having your machine quit on you.

gnukid - 12-23-2018 at 04:13 PM

Out there they are fisherman and not particularly good with cars or mechanical stuff, it's kinda spooky too, the road to Conejo is sometimes hard rock, washboard and later you find deep narrow lateral ruts or mini arroyos along the coast, some paths look good but they are narrow used by quads. Surprisingly as the crow flies it's a very short distance, but driving on roads or paths is a long way. Once in a while, I loose patience and drive at full race speed 4x4 and you can get from conejo to La Paz in no time like 45-60 minutes, or break steering arm or drive shaft and get towed out in 5 hours.

bajalinda - 12-23-2018 at 08:56 PM

It's 10 miles from Rancho la Aguja to Conejo - about 25-30 careful minutes on a road that varies from short destroyed stretches (thanks Baja 1000) to pretty good to stony hilltops. There are no "paths used by quads" if you stick to the road. Never had an issue in any vehicle in 20 years - even towing UTVs back from Conejo.

gnukid - 12-23-2018 at 09:16 PM

I'm talking about exploring all over off the road Linda not staying on the regular road -we're talking adventure-I don't know if the trails are made by animals, quads, motos or arroyos but there's lots of little ruts to explore, narrow, too narrow for full size Bronco really. Here's some of the easy stuff...











[Edited on 12-24-2018 by gnukid]

bajalinda - 12-24-2018 at 07:42 AM

OK gnukid - good to clear that up. Apologies if I mis-read what you wrote. Right - if you stick to the road, you'll be fine.

Actually, last Saturday on my way back from La Paz I crossed some Canadian surfers on that road who were coming south from Conejo and they had had no problem. Quite a few surfers as well as fishermen use the road.