Heading down later this week and trying to decide whether to take the route through Bahia de Los Angeles or the "smoother" route through El Arco. I'd
like to stop and see a friend in BoLA, but if the road is in rough shape I'd rather not start my week down there getting beat up. (We have a 4x4
truck, but the kidneys can only take so much...)
Has anyone traveled the road from BoLA this spring? This will be my first trip this season.
Thanks in advance!TMW - 5-10-2016 at 08:37 AM
We were on the road 2-3 weeks ago and it was in good condition. There are a couple of slow spots but nothing to worry about. There was no 4x4 areas. sbsyncro - 5-10-2016 at 08:54 AM
Ask around in Bay of LA the locals will have the best and up to date info.
Thanks. Reached out to two friends that live down there but neither has traveled the road yet this Spring. One thought that it had been recently
graded, but not sure.OCEANUS - 5-10-2016 at 03:09 PM
I was on the road about a month ago, leaving Las Animas when I passed a road grader. They were working the northbound side of the road just after it
rounds the mountains and before the Animas junction.
I can't speak to the conditions north of there, but the section we traveled was in good shape.bkbend - 5-11-2016 at 08:53 AM
We were on the road 2-3 weeks ago and it was in good condition. There are a couple of slow spots but nothing to worry about. There was no 4x4 areas.
Thats great to hear. How was the washboard?
I also drove from B de LA through El Arco to Hwy 1 about a month ago. The worst washboard was El Arco to Hwy 1. I've been passed by TMW on the dirt
before so I know any road is "good" to him. Actually, it was bumpy but not washboarded and in pretty good shape after the first 5-6 miles out of
Bahia. I was driving a 1-ton pickup so I may have had a few more slow spots. BajaRun - 5-11-2016 at 03:23 PM
I went through there 2 weeks ago (camped on the beach at Poncho's) and the road was in pretty good shape. I wouldn't go around.sbsyncro - 6-3-2016 at 11:50 AM
Finally getting back to post a follow-up after our trip. We took the BoLA road on the way out and then came back via El Arco. The trip from Bola
took us just over 2 hours, and the road was in very good shape. There was only a short rough section about 2/3's of the way to PSFO around
28°22'49.0"N 113°07'08.6"W. It was all passable in a 2wd vehicle with decent clearance but this particular section might have required a bit of skill
to navigate in a Honda Accord. We did it all with our gear and a 55 gallon drum of gasoline in the bed of the truck without any issues, albeit it was
a 4x4 F250.
The road out via El Arco was likewise in really good shape, but a bit more washboarded in several long straight stretches. Toward the last 1/3 there
is a long straight stretch running alongside a ravine and the roadbed is crumbling away into the ravine, with a number of wash-outs that could easily
suck a car into the ravine if you get too close to the right side of the road (while traveling to El Arco).
At 4:22 my gut tells me it took about an hour longer to travel the El Arco route from PSFO to the BoLA turnoff versus the BoLA road, but I didn't keep
accurate records of the trip from BoLA. (figure 1 hour on the hwy to BOLA then another 2:20 or so on the dirt road)
[Edited on 6-3-2016 by sbsyncro]Barry A. - 6-3-2016 at 12:57 PM
Great report ABSyncro---------many thanks. Love that loop trip you took.
AKgringo - 6-3-2016 at 01:34 PM
Roads like that are one of the things I look forward to on my trips SOB! It sounds about like I expected it would be, which is better than the last
time I drove it (post Norbert and Odile).
I love the remoteness, and the scenery on that road, best viewed in morning light! Thanks for the update.David K - 6-3-2016 at 04:09 PM
Roads like that are one of the things I look forward to on my trips SOB! It sounds about like I expected it would be, which is better than the last
time I drove it (post Norbert and Odile).
I love the remoteness, and the scenery on that road, best viewed in morning light! Thanks for the update.
Some of the Best of Baja!
From around Cuesta de la Ley to Pta San Francisquito to near San Rafael...
hurleyskis - 7-20-2016 at 01:04 PM
Wanting to head out this way after Coco's heading to San Ignacio and the n San Juanico in this rig.....Opinions? Think i'll have any trouble getting
through?
Done it a few time but always on motos and taking single track...never taken the road through to El Arco side.
elgatoloco - 7-20-2016 at 01:25 PM
Make sure you have spare parts for trailer axles, etc. hurleyskis - 7-20-2016 at 01:54 PM
Of course! Baja tends to break every/anythingbkbend - 7-20-2016 at 04:50 PM
The stretch between bahia San Rafael and San Francisquito has some washed out vados with steep entry/exits that may or may not cause you problems.
The rest of it is easily passable but may shake a trailer apart.
