Coco's Corner to San Felipe?

I was just reading a thread about this road from april 2007. Don and I are thinking about taking it when we drive up to Montana in a few weeks, and crossing at Mexicali. It sounds like the road was in fairly bad condition at that time, and I'm wondering if any Nomads have driven it recently.

Has it improved or become worse?

We'll be going up in a Honda CR-V, and taking our dog who doesn't tolerate heat well. The AC in the car is fine, but we wonder about finding a dog-friendly hotel in San Felipe. He can't spend the night in the car in the heat. He's a really pampered pooch but he does just fine on bumpy roads

Paula, It's a ruff road, but if you aren't in a hurry and willing to go about 10mph for miles, a neat trip. From Puertecitos north it's OK. Plan on about 3 hrs. from HWY1 to Gonzaga and 4 hrs. from Gonzaga to Puertecitos.

Thanks, Cypress, this is the kind of information we are looking for. Someone said it hadn't been graded in several years, and I wondered if it had been since April 2007. Vut the driving time involved will make the difference. Our thought is to go from Guerrero Negro to San Felipe in one day. It sounds as though that could take about 9 hours

Price, it's good to hear of a dog possibility, thank you!

It was smooth in July of '05, then the Baja 1000 and flash floods came after... "06 was rough and last time over (Feb. '07) was still very rough from about 8 miles south of Puertecitos to Gonzaga Bay (40 miles).

San Felipe to Puertecitos (55 miles) is well paved, but mostly slow because of the insane dips in the highway.

Gonzaga to Hwy. 1 (36 miles) is a better graded road... so only 40 miles will be very slow driving for you.

Photos of the '07 trip on that road start at http://vivabaja.com/207/page3.html




[Edited on 7-14-2008 by David K]

David, thank you for the info! That report was fun to read, and I loved the picture of your footsteps with Elizabeth in the sand.

I have a pretty good idea of how the road was last year at this time now, but I still wonder if it has been graded since the race last fall, and if the big washouts have been fixed? It looks reasonable as it was then, but if it has gotten worse I'm not sure we'd want to do it in the late July heat.

Soooo... has anyone driven it this year? I'll offer homemade chicken mole and a pitcher of margaritas next winter to anyone who has driven the road since last december or so

Wow, so nice Paula!!! Thank you!!

I drove the road south just over a week ago and north two days ago...same-same-same...it's a rough road for any stock vehicle.

We drove it in a built off road car with suspension and it was still jarring, but stock trucks & cars are beaten and shaken brutal by that road.

There is no one at Coco's Corner...no one to ask anything.

If you venture on that road in the summer time you should bring mucho water in case of a problem for all passengers including the dog...just south of Puertocitos there is heavy construction on the highway that is being paved which will open up the road all the way to Hwy 1. The pavement now goes south of Puertocitos on a raised high speed American style highway...they are making amazing progress. Sooner than later there will be a Starbucks at Punta Bufeo...Allen will soon have many neighbors and travelers near his remote beach villa...

The rocks are sharp and the washboard road is brutal..I know Mike H. is pointing his finger at me now, but anyone going down that road should carry two spare tires...I know Mike H. never carried a spare. RIP brother!

IMHO, in a few years, when that road is completed the trip from San Felipe to Guerro Negro will be a mere 6.5 hours and the Pacific side of the peninsula will suffer from the loss of the traffic. I never thought I'd say this but San Felipe will no doubt be a serious hub of travel, as is Ensenada now, in the not so distant future.

My recommendation if you are not a hard core desert traveler / survivor versed in "just in case situations" is to wait until the fall when the temperatures subside.

In both our trips up and down that road within the past 9-days, we saw only one vehicle on the road between Puertocitos and LA Bay in two complete trips...so you are on your own.

Travel safe