Road Report Feb. 2017: Mexicali to Loreto + many side roads!

Just back last night from a 10-day trip to check both roads and points of interest.

HWY. 5: Mexicali to San Felipe: Excellent

HWY. 5: San Felipe to Puertecitos: Fair, some new potholes, and the many steep dips. Keep it under 55, or 45 in an RV or towing.

Hwy. 5: Puertecitos to End of Pavement: Excellent
Paved driving still ends at the same place since winter 2013/14, 20 kms (12+ miles) south of the Gonzaga Pemex. The final Km. marker is wrong, being Km. 170, as it should be Km. 167 (being one kilometer south of Km. 166).

Unpaved section to Hwy. 1, Laguna Chapala: Better than previous trips perhaps due to construction activity back on? The 10 miles to Coco's Corner mostly good. The remaining 12+ miles to Laguna Chapala begin as very rough just beyond Coco's but only for 2 miles. The new highway route is reached about 4-5 miles from Coco's and the road is not too bad. I still thing bug RVs should avoid unless they know that the nearly 23 unpaved miles must be taken very slowly.

HWY. 1: Laguna Chapala to Paralelo 28 (State Border/ Eagle Monument): VERY POTHOLED, almost like the road was in the 80's.

HWY. 1: State Border (near Guerrero Negro) to Loreto and south to Ligüí: Very Good! The washouts from last September's flash floods are mostly repaired. They are widening the highway to 4 lanes just south of Loreto for about 2 miles.

SIDE ROADS:
Flash floods from last summer and perhaps previous chubascos have done a number on many of the dirt roads of central and southern Baja.

Mission San Borja: both roads (west road from Nuevo Rosarito and north road from L.A. Bay highway have rough conditions in parts. The west road is by far the worst, with most of it rocky. The north road is rocky on the half closest to the mission and fast on the half closest to L.A. Bay road. RVs should probably avoid, but if you just have to go (and it is great to go), use the north road both directions... at least until we hear the west road get graded again.

Punta Chivato road (Km. 155.5): Rough for about 4 miles, then smooth.

San Nicolas road (Km. 62), south of Bahia Concepcion: pretty good graded road, maintained, has kilometer markers along it, too. 10+ miles in.

San Isidro/ La Purisima road (Km. 59+): Great for the first few of the 32 miles, then it just goes to hell. 2 hrs. 45 min. in my Tacoma. All big rigs and RVs should avoid, IMO.

San Juanico/ San Basilio road (Km. 48.5): 13.4 miles of average Baja road... small campers probably okay, 4WD best. The unsigned fork for San Juanico fishing village (left) or San Basilio camping beach (right) is 10.3 mi. from Hwy. 1.

Mission San Javier road: All good paved with a dirt detour around a new roadbed on the mountainside about halfway in. No problem for any vehicle.

4 miles north of San Javier is the unsigned road to the Comondu's (between Km. marker 27 & 28): Fair Baja road for 9 miles, then a steep climb up and a steeper drop down, 6 miles best driven in a 4WD truck or SUV. Rough!
The final 10 miles is a pretty fair dirt road. Almost 2 hours to drive 25 miles.

Comondu to La Purisima: Begins rough with a long climb out of the palm canyon and across lava hills and picks up speed the closer you get to San Isidro/ La Purisima. The paved road begins in San Isidro, 21 miles from Comondu. 1-hour drive.

Look for photos and the full trip report, coming soon!




[Edited on 2-10-2017 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by Frank

Thanks David! Can you tell me the approximate drive time from Mexicali to Gonzaga? I was thinking of staying at Alfonsina, but it looks like they don't allow pets, any other suggestions? Your trip report comes at a great time, Ive been wanting to go south along this route for a long time. 2 years without a Baja fix!