BajaNomad

San Diego to Scorpion Bay

SD.Surfer - 10-8-2021 at 12:24 PM

Hey Everyone,
I’m going to be making my first trip down to scorpion bay at the end of this month and just had a few questions:

Has anyone recently traveled to there? How was the road, military checkpoints, overall trip?

Is taking the 5 still the safest option? Heard about the surfers that had their trucks stolen so I’m wondering if there is still activity going on in that area.

Thank you so much!

JZ - 10-8-2021 at 01:01 PM

What are you driving and which route into SB do you plan to take?

I'm driving down to BCS in a couple weeks and will take the 5 for sure.


SD.Surfer - 10-8-2021 at 01:10 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
What are you driving and which route into SB do you plan to take?

I'm driving down to BCS in a couple weeks and will take the 5 for sure.




I have a Tundra with 4x4, plan on taking the north road in

[Edited on 10-8-2021 by SD.Surfer]

willardguy - 10-8-2021 at 01:15 PM

Quote: Originally posted by SD.Surfer  
Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
What are you driving and which route into SB do you plan to take?

I'm driving down to BCS in a couple weeks and will take the 5 for sure.




I have a Tundra with 4x4, plan on taking the north road in

[Edited on 10-8-2021 by SD.Surfer]


end of july their beaches were CLOSED. check for updates before you go;)

David K - 10-8-2021 at 01:21 PM

As long as Covid is running wild, some public areas are off limits. Consider Bahía Asunción, but check with Nomad 'Shari' who runs the Inn there, and many tourist related activities too, and whale watching tours, in season.

Bob and Susan - 10-8-2021 at 01:51 PM

you havent been here for awhile...

covid is not running wild...

everywhere is open...

boats take tourists out everyday....

David K - 10-8-2021 at 02:09 PM

Bob, it was a follow-up on Willardguy's reply. Blanca also reports on many of the locals getting Covid, in La Bocana.

Speak out if you live in Baja Sur!

SFandH - 10-8-2021 at 02:13 PM

According to the BCS state gov website, the number of COVID-19 active cases in BCS is one-tenth of what it was toward the end of June. Numbers have decreased every week since then.

Has the north road into Scorpian Bay had any rainfall lately? Might make things a bit mucked-up.

BajaBlanca - 10-8-2021 at 07:31 PM

There are cases of Covid but the general rule is that you do not go out at all if you have it.

Nothing is closed here - all is open from hotels to supermarkets to the beaches.


This is for La Bocana, I have no idea about S Bay.

mtgoat666 - 10-8-2021 at 08:26 PM

Quote: Originally posted by SD.Surfer  
Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
What are you driving and which route into SB do you plan to take?

I'm driving down to BCS in a couple weeks and will take the 5 for sure.




I have a Tundra with 4x4, plan on taking the north road in

[Edited on 10-8-2021 by SD.Surfer]


You don’t need 4wd. Any suv or truck is capable.

Tak high (east) road. A bit more washboard, but avoids mudflats that get muddy after high tides or rain storms.



Trunkrack - 10-9-2021 at 08:18 AM

Hi SD.Surfer, a friend of mine came through Scorpion Bay on his way home from mainland mex (via ferry) in August, camping and beaches were open even back then. High road is trouble free because you don't have to worry about tides/mud, but if you prepare right and create some basic gps tracks to follow, the low route is much better. On the low route you get more smooth lakebeds so you can either drive a bit faster, or at least not rattle along. I've driven the low route a handful of times, and conditions were different each time in that we had to detour a little due to high water, but was easy to navigate on the fly with roads that skirt the wetland areas. No 4wd needed, just aired down for the sandy sections.

I guess it's fair to point out that the high road is a bit more scenic with the buttes and more vegetation, so there's that. The first time we went to Scorpion Bay we took the high road in, and the low road back, and since then have taken only the low road. Maybe try both on your trip and see what you like best.

surfhat - 10-9-2021 at 08:20 AM

I first went to Scorpion Bay in the mid 70's and watched perfect 1' to 2' waves roll in the first time.

It would serve you well to know the degree angle of the predicted swell before heading out there if surf is the main intent. It is a narrow window that can make it in there.

I always carried a short wave radio so i could track hurricanes and have an idea of where the best and largest waves could be found in BCS.

When you catch the Bay going off, it is a blast. I have been privileged to be there when it was overhead and larger. Enjoy the rock dance. haha

I recall camping on the bluff, that is all there was at the time, and watching 1' to 2' perfection roll in and knew it was time to head south to the East Cape. A day later, I was surfing double and triple overhead waves on the same swell.

Even without surf, it is a great destination to hang. I once caught a nice size flounder from my board that barely fit in the fry pan. Hard to beat that.

I have not been back for years, make that decades. To think there are now bathrooms and showers available is a definite plus. The new houses, not so much. Glad I knew it when.

I would never consider the north route in without 4wd. Having sand tracks, with or without a 4wd is my sop.

You go ahead and go 2wd goat.
Somebody will come along eventually and help you out. When was the last time you drove that north road with a 2wd? Ever?

If there is one thing I have learned since my first Baja trip almost fifty years ago, it is to be cautious of where and when I go where whatever my vehicles capability can get me out of.

Peace. love, and fish[flounder] tacos.

surfhat - 10-9-2021 at 08:23 AM

Thanks Trunkrack. I stand corrected. Happy trails to all.

Trunkrack - 10-9-2021 at 08:29 AM

Surfhat, you bring up a good point, although I've never used 4wd on either route, it's been pointed out many times here that conditions change from year to year, so you never know what you're going to find. My wife and I learned this the hard way a few years back when a route in 7 sisters we'd driven with ease became almost completely unpassable (even with 4wd) after heavy rains. I was stupid and wanted to press on, and we barely made it through. Looking back, it was a stupid call, but made for a good story I guess. Always good to get some intel here, or even stopping in San Ignacio on your way down to ask any locals that may have driven through lately for latest road conditions.

David K - 10-9-2021 at 08:49 AM

Did the low (Salina) road in August 2017, as noted above, there is a choice to keep along the edge of the salt flats vs. short-cutting straight across them. The risk of mud traps on the short cuts is high, so keep to the edge, if you use the Salina (El Dátil) route.

The high road that year was not advised as it was damaged from an earlier storm plus the sever washboard.
The following year, we learned that the high road was re-made, and fast! The now preferred route... well in 2018, anyway!

Both routes are almost exactly the same distance, only a couple miles different.

AKgringo - 10-9-2021 at 08:59 AM

The first time I headed south on the "low road", I was following Score race course markers. At one point, some of the pre-runners took a wrong turn across an arroyo and suddenly the most traveled road was the wrong one!

I made it through the water crossing in 4wd ok, but had a few close encounters with silt trying to find my way back to the real main road.

When I gave up and backtracked to the marginal crossing I just drove through, there was a local produce truck that got stuck doing the same thing!

I spent the next hour helping them dig, and pull with my little truck until they got back to the main road. There had been a fairly stiff onshore wind that had drifted sand across the course, so it was hard to see.

motoged - 10-9-2021 at 09:12 AM

The high road has some wicked silt beds around Cuarenta.... especially just south of the ranchero that sometimes requests financial assistance.... have seen locals stuck there .... and I broke a leg in the silt when on 690 moto.... (pics available on request :biggrin: )

Skipjack Joe - 10-9-2021 at 10:35 AM

The low road is paved from San Ignacio to about the "D" in Road on DK's map.

JZ - 10-9-2021 at 11:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Trunkrack  
Hi SD.Surfer, a friend of mine came through Scorpion Bay on his way home from mainland mex (via ferry) in August, camping and beaches were open even back then. High road is trouble free because you don't have to worry about tides/mud, but if you prepare right and create some basic gps tracks to follow, the low route is much better. On the low route you get more smooth lakebeds so you can either drive a bit faster, or at least not rattle along. I've driven the low route a handful of times, and conditions were different each time in that we had to detour a little due to high water, but was easy to navigate on the fly with roads that skirt the wetland areas. No 4wd needed, just aired down for the sandy sections.

I guess it's fair to point out that the high road is a bit more scenic with the buttes and more vegetation, so there's that. The first time we went to Scorpion Bay we took the high road in, and the low road back, and since then have taken only the low road. Maybe try both on your trip and see what you like best.


Great post. Good advice.

JZ - 10-9-2021 at 11:18 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  

You don’t need 4wd. Any suv or truck is capable.



You are gonna get someone stranded with your bad advice on here.

I see very little evidence you actually travel to Baja, or at least have in the last 10-15 years.

David K - 10-9-2021 at 12:06 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Skipjack Joe  
The low road is paved from San Ignacio to about the "D" in Road on DK's map.


Which map, what D?

The paving south of San Ignacio, in 2017, ended 30 miles south of San Ignacio, almost to Km. 48 (if there was a Km. 48 post). This was 10 km/ 6 miles north of the shore of San Ignacio Lagoon.

Here is the map that shows where the pavement ended on my trip. Has it been extended??

Skipjack Joe - 10-9-2021 at 12:38 PM

There was only one map posted when I commented.

“Salina (low) Road”.

Ateo - 10-10-2021 at 09:46 AM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  

You don’t need 4wd. Any suv or truck is capable.



You are gonna get someone stranded with your bad advice on here.

I see very little evidence you actually travel to Baja, or at least have in the last 10-15 years.


Calm down JZ....:LOL:

I've driven non 4x4 vehicles in there since 1993. The locals do it all the time. 4X4 is best though.

bajajoaquin - 10-14-2021 at 07:59 PM

I haven’t been going as long as some, and I had a bit of a hiatus there for a while. But I have been going to Baja for 20-odd years. Except for exploring, I had never really needed 4x4 on any of dozens of trips. I had an extra cab 4x4 truck and camper that was getting a bit small for my family and I decided the extra expense of a new 4x4 truck wasn’t with it. I wasn’t exploring with them anyway. I’d go with what I had then buy a nice 2wd double cab.

Thanksgiving 2019 I went to the seven sisters area with my wife and two young daughters. It was awesome. Then it rained. A lot. We stayed an extra day to let the roads dry out a bit before driving home. For that first day, we couldn’t walk around our camp for the mud, much less drive out. There were still long mud pits along the way. It was the first time I have ever really needed 4x4 and it was on a well-traveled road.

People say you don’t need 4x4 because the locals get by. But if they get stuck, they wait. If you get stuck you miss the end of your vacation days or other obligations in the US. Don’t have those? Great. Go in 2wd. You’ll be fine. Have to be back on time? Take a 4x4.

After that trip, my wife said I could get any vehicle I wanted, as long as it was four wheel drive.

Ateo - 10-14-2021 at 09:29 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajajoaquin  
I haven’t been going as long as some, and I had a bit of a hiatus there for a while. But I have been going to Baja for 20-odd years. Except for exploring, I had never really needed 4x4 on any of dozens of trips. I had an extra cab 4x4 truck and camper that was getting a bit small for my family and I decided the extra expense of a new 4x4 truck wasn’t with it. I wasn’t exploring with them anyway. I’d go with what I had then buy a nice 2wd double cab.

Thanksgiving 2019 I went to the seven sisters area with my wife and two young daughters. It was awesome. Then it rained. A lot. We stayed an extra day to let the roads dry out a bit before driving home. For that first day, we couldn’t walk around our camp for the mud, much less drive out. There were still long mud pits along the way. It was the first time I have ever really needed 4x4 and it was on a well-traveled road.

People say you don’t need 4x4 because the locals get by. But if they get stuck, they wait. If you get stuck you miss the end of your vacation days or other obligations in the US. Don’t have those? Great. Go in 2wd. You’ll be fine. Have to be back on time? Take a 4x4.

After that trip, my wife said I could get any vehicle I wanted, as long as it was four wheel drive.


Good story. I see your perspective.

AKgringo - 10-15-2021 at 07:30 AM

I am off road a lot...almost daily! Four wheel drive is not just to keep from getting stuck, it helps to prevent damage to the road, or off road terrain you are driving on.

Bouncing and spinning tires to get up a grade is a terrible thing to do to a back road that only gets maintained after big storms!

David K - 10-15-2021 at 07:52 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
I am off road a lot...almost daily! Four wheel drive is not just to keep from getting stuck, it helps to prevent damage to the road, or off road terrain you are driving on.

Bouncing and spinning tires to get up a grade is a terrible thing to do to a back road that only gets maintained after big storms!


Exactly!!! Damaging roads from needless tire spinning is totally preventable by using four-wheel-drive (or all-wheel-drive).

'Washboarding' (corrugation) of graded roads is another type of damage caused by bad shock absorbers, I read somewhere.

David K - 10-15-2021 at 07:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Skipjack Joe  
There was only one map posted when I commented.

“Salina (low) Road”.


I just wondered where the "D in the road" was you mentioned, on the map? The pavement from San Ignacio ends well north of this map, so, I added the second map that shows where the paving terminated (north of the lagoon).

CaboHenry - 10-15-2021 at 06:02 PM

Hey David. I think Skipjack is referring to the 'D' in the word 'road' at the upper left corner of the map you posted here back on 10/09 @ 7:49am. Sounds like the pavement has extended much further than you previously noted. Can't believe it's paved that far out of S.I. now. Sure hope that paving slows down. Can only imagine one day it will be the preferred route to places south of Insurgentes. Hopefully not soon.

David K - 10-15-2021 at 09:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by CaboHenry  
Hey David. I think Skipjack is referring to the 'D' in the word 'road' at the upper left corner of the map you posted here back on 10/09 @ 7:49am. Sounds like the pavement has extended much further than you previously noted. Can't believe it's paved that far out of S.I. now. Sure hope that paving slows down. Can only imagine one day it will be the preferred route to places south of Insurgentes. Hopefully not soon.

Skipjack is likely confused. If they paved past the lagoon whale camps, someone would report that. It will also go via the high road.

"high" road

BFS - 10-17-2021 at 09:55 AM

I just drove a 2wd 4runner down for someone and a swell popped up on the radar so I took the "high" road from San Ignacio. It had some rough patches climbing into the ranches and across a few washes but was decent enough. Waves were packed...go figure.

David K - 10-17-2021 at 10:21 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BFS  
I just drove a 2wd 4runner down for someone and a swell popped up on the radar so I took the "high" road from San Ignacio. It had some rough patches climbing into the ranches and across a few washes but was decent enough. Waves were packed...go figure.


Where did the pavement going south of San Ignacio end?
Before the whale watching camps or south of the lagoon, past the village of La Laguna (Ejido Luis Echeverria)?
Thank you!

BFS - 10-17-2021 at 12:58 PM

hi, I took a sharp left off of the pavement to head due south. The pavement continued on straight (I think this would be west) so not sure where it ended.