Full Version: El Gulfo Info
Can anyone give me some information on El Gulfo? How do you get there, whats there and how far can you cruise the Beach? Someone told me you could make it all the to Rocky Point...
Sure I can help ya out!
Getting there is pretty easy. Just take Hwy 95 south out of Yuma to San Luis and cross over into Mexico. Once you're in San Luis mexico follow the signs leading south out of town for El Golfo - it's pretty hard to miss as it's the only road out of town going that way.
Once you're out of El Golfo it's about an hour drive down a two lane country road with lots of farm equipment and a small town or two. Be sure to follow the speed limits in the towns - the local Policia are always on the lookout.
There's one Federale checkpoint you'll pass through more or less half-way there. As long as you don't have any guns or drugs you should have no problems. If you're driving a Dodge be prepared for a thorough inspection on the way out. (I'm usually the only one in my group who gets the full search unless someone else drives a Dodge down with us![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Once you get there around the middle of the town the road turns to sand and dirt and basically just leads out to the beach. You can either follow the signs for beach access or take the path we normally do and stop at El Capitian for some food, beverages and to air down your tires. Also check out the tide chart to help you figure out how close to the ocean you can safely camp and wether or not you'll have problems getting up and down the beach at certian times.
This past memorial day were the highest tides anyone in my group had ever seen. For several hours a day there was no beach to drive down! Exploring further down ment you had to time your trip so you wouldn't get stranded by the tides.
Watch out for the bogs as well, when the tide goes out it leaves behind what looks like nice flat hard ground to drive on. But in some places it's basically quicksand. One of the worst is at the first big bend in the shoreline where you'll probably see parts of a shirmp hatchery over the hills. Again El Capitian has maps on the walls showing some of the things to watch out for.
We drove almost 40 miles down the beach this memorial day. That got us more than half-way to Rocky Point (assuming you mean Puerto Penasco - apparantly there's a rocky section of beach just south of El Golfo that's also sometimes called Rocky Point...maybe 10-15 miles down the beach.)
Where we were was on the other side of a small bay from Rocky Point but as far as I know unless your vehicle is amphibous you won't make it any further down the beach. It turns into a marsh kind of area and you can't go any further. There are trails further inland that lead all the way there and my friends have taken them before - but you better go prepared because it's not easy going and there's no traffy to speak of.
Hope that helps! If you have any other questions feel free to ask!
Getting there is pretty easy. Just take Hwy 95 south out of Yuma to San Luis and cross over into Mexico. Once you're in San Luis mexico follow the signs leading south out of town for El Golfo - it's pretty hard to miss as it's the only road out of town going that way.
Once you're out of El Golfo it's about an hour drive down a two lane country road with lots of farm equipment and a small town or two. Be sure to follow the speed limits in the towns - the local Policia are always on the lookout.
There's one Federale checkpoint you'll pass through more or less half-way there. As long as you don't have any guns or drugs you should have no problems. If you're driving a Dodge be prepared for a thorough inspection on the way out. (I'm usually the only one in my group who gets the full search unless someone else drives a Dodge down with us
Once you get there around the middle of the town the road turns to sand and dirt and basically just leads out to the beach. You can either follow the signs for beach access or take the path we normally do and stop at El Capitian for some food, beverages and to air down your tires. Also check out the tide chart to help you figure out how close to the ocean you can safely camp and wether or not you'll have problems getting up and down the beach at certian times.
This past memorial day were the highest tides anyone in my group had ever seen. For several hours a day there was no beach to drive down! Exploring further down ment you had to time your trip so you wouldn't get stranded by the tides.
Watch out for the bogs as well, when the tide goes out it leaves behind what looks like nice flat hard ground to drive on. But in some places it's basically quicksand. One of the worst is at the first big bend in the shoreline where you'll probably see parts of a shirmp hatchery over the hills. Again El Capitian has maps on the walls showing some of the things to watch out for.
We drove almost 40 miles down the beach this memorial day. That got us more than half-way to Rocky Point (assuming you mean Puerto Penasco - apparantly there's a rocky section of beach just south of El Golfo that's also sometimes called Rocky Point...maybe 10-15 miles down the beach.)
Where we were was on the other side of a small bay from Rocky Point but as far as I know unless your vehicle is amphibous you won't make it any further down the beach. It turns into a marsh kind of area and you can't go any further. There are trails further inland that lead all the way there and my friends have taken them before - but you better go prepared because it's not easy going and there's no traffy to speak of.
Hope that helps! If you have any other questions feel free to ask!
Hey! ive been in AZ for about a week now. Im considering about going to El Golfo too. So how is the sand over there? Duner, when are u heading down there?
Jhitesman...Whats your phone #? I lost all the phone numbers that i got, or i think i left them all back in NJ. THankS!
Jhitesman...Whats your phone #? I lost all the phone numbers that i got, or i think i left them all back in NJ. THankS!
Not many dunes at El Golfo (though the surrounding desert has some incredible dunes - http://www.billcaid.com/TripReport.html )
The riding down there is mainly ocean beach (which means RUST!) and desert scrub. There's some good hillclimbs and a number of fun tight trails back from the beach.
The best part is just camping on the beach and waking up to the sound of waves crashing on the shore. That and chowing down on all the shrimp tacos you can fit in your face! Damn I love those things!
Own242 - I'll drop you an e-mail with my phone number again.
The riding down there is mainly ocean beach (which means RUST!) and desert scrub. There's some good hillclimbs and a number of fun tight trails back from the beach.
The best part is just camping on the beach and waking up to the sound of waves crashing on the shore. That and chowing down on all the shrimp tacos you can fit in your face! Damn I love those things!
Own242 - I'll drop you an e-mail with my phone number again.
Thanks for the info Jason, Very helpful. Own, not sure when we will be going, maybe in a few weeks. I'll let you know once we get our plans made. Sounds like it would be a good time...
Duner, no prob...just gimme an email at OWN2424@aol.com . Ill be in Arizona til Aug3, then im headed back to New Jersey.
Jhitesman...yea, ill read my email and give you a call tomorow...BTW im going back to buttercup tomorow. Thanks!
Jhitesman...yea, ill read my email and give you a call tomorow...BTW im going back to buttercup tomorow. Thanks!
Just to help get you guys hyped here are the photos from my first trip to El Golfo:
http://hitesman.com/jason/truck/elgolfo/
The photos from the year after that aren't suitable for public posting![[Wink]](wink.gif)
And I missed the year after that year, and this year I forgot the memory card for my camera...Doh!
Any images that don't load full-size just change the .JPG at the end to .jpg I missed some of them when I uploaded them.
http://hitesman.com/jason/truck/elgolfo/
The photos from the year after that aren't suitable for public posting
And I missed the year after that year, and this year I forgot the memory card for my camera...Doh!Any images that don't load full-size just change the .JPG at the end to .jpg I missed some of them when I uploaded them.
Yep that sucks
This past memorial day there were a jeep and a motorhome that both got stuck and swallowed by the tides at the "bog". The jeep didn't look that stuck but when the tide came in and went over sides - I doubt the owner was very happy.
The motorhome was stuck good, I was impressed that they got it that far out in the first place but it was SUNK. Then when the tide came in water was all the way up to the windows![[Frown]](frown.gif)
On other thing - watch your speed on the beach. The Federales will ticket you for reckless driving and racing (or at least charge you $50 ) and there are some nasty rocks you may not notice. Our second night there this year a friends wife hit a boulder at about 70 in their Blazer - destroyed two rims, shattered the rear brake drum, totaled the front caliper, broke of the shocks on that side - and only though extremely good driving did she keep it from flipping over.
This past memorial day there were a jeep and a motorhome that both got stuck and swallowed by the tides at the "bog". The jeep didn't look that stuck but when the tide came in and went over sides - I doubt the owner was very happy.
The motorhome was stuck good, I was impressed that they got it that far out in the first place but it was SUNK. Then when the tide came in water was all the way up to the windows
On other thing - watch your speed on the beach. The Federales will ticket you for reckless driving and racing (or at least charge you $50
) and there are some nasty rocks you may not notice. Our second night there this year a friends wife hit a boulder at about 70 in their Blazer - destroyed two rims, shattered the rear brake drum, totaled the front caliper, broke of the shocks on that side - and only though extremely good driving did she keep it from flipping over.
Yah I remember that bog very well. We had about 9 rails in our group one year and 5 of them were buried because they drove slow across it. Took us a good 3 hours to get out of it. Got it all on video.
Well, i went to El Golfo today. It was alright. The hill in the back was really fun. I just raced a raptor and z400 up it all day. Besides for the hill and the stuff behind it, you have to go slow near the beach area. I wish i had my knobbie's cuz i couldnt go past the hill cuz there wasnt any sand back there, it was just little pebbles. My paddles got chewed up a LITTLE. Duner, youll have fun!
Thanks for the info Owen... I looking foward to the trip myself, having a hard time coming up with a weekend all of the Boyz are free though!!!
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