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11-23-2009, 09:39 AM
Baja Malibu
Wallow in connect-the-dots tube rides at this beach break 15 miles south of th border. Drop in, watch the lip heave, and fly out to the hoots of your buddies on the shoulder. Not for beginners, this potent wave works summer and winter, and it's best at medium to low tide. Take the Baja Malibu exit from the toll road and park on the dead-end street on the north side of the Baja Malibu housing development.
Calafia
Six miles south of Rosarito Beach on the free road (Old Highway 1), this right point reels on a south. It's worth checking during a big north, too. Booties will help you painlessly navigate Calafia's sharp rocks. You'll surf beneath the terraces of the Calafia Resort, which offers ocean-view dining and lodging. To reserve a wave-front room for approximately $55 per night.
Salsipuedes
Salsipuedes, which boasts a right point and a bowly reef peak, has the best camping and gnarliest access road north of Ensenada. Both waves break on any swell direction, but the point needs six to eight feet to work. Five bucks a night gets you camping in a grove of olive trees that feels like it's a million miles from the nearest fax machine. Located 51 miles south of the border on the toll road, take the Salsipuedes exit onto the tortuous dirt road to the beach. Leave if you can (sale, si puedes) when it's raining. It's not worth checking if the surf is small.
San Miguel
A crowded, thrillingly racy point break, San Miguel is one of Baja's premier waves. This right-hander is best during a west or northwest swell. It's more hollow but more sectioned at low tide. The San Miguel turnoff is immediately after the last toll booth before Ensenada, 61 miles from the border. Pitch a tent on the beach for $10 a night. For the same cost, RVs can plug into one of 30 hookups. Hot showers take the grunge out of camping here. There's also a bar and restaurant on the point, but it's worth driving the eight miles south for Ensenada's culinary riches.
Punta San Jose
True Baja begins south of Ensenada. To taste its desolate beauty, spend a few days at Punta San Jose, a series of reef breaks that becomes one sweeping right when a swell fires. It's best on a south or a huge west swell, when the prevailing wind is offshore. To get there, drive south from Ensenada through the verdant Santo Tomas wine-growing valley. Twenty-nine miles beyond Ensenada, turn west onto a dirt road at the town of Santo Tomas. (If you need food or water, buy it here, because there's nothing but surf and star-filled skies at Punta San Jose.) Fourteen miles from Santo Tomas, bear right at a fork in the road and drive 10 miles to a lighthouse. Local fishermen collect $5 to camp, and will sell you fresh lobster for about the same sum.
Wallow in connect-the-dots tube rides at this beach break 15 miles south of th border. Drop in, watch the lip heave, and fly out to the hoots of your buddies on the shoulder. Not for beginners, this potent wave works summer and winter, and it's best at medium to low tide. Take the Baja Malibu exit from the toll road and park on the dead-end street on the north side of the Baja Malibu housing development.
Calafia
Six miles south of Rosarito Beach on the free road (Old Highway 1), this right point reels on a south. It's worth checking during a big north, too. Booties will help you painlessly navigate Calafia's sharp rocks. You'll surf beneath the terraces of the Calafia Resort, which offers ocean-view dining and lodging. To reserve a wave-front room for approximately $55 per night.
Salsipuedes
Salsipuedes, which boasts a right point and a bowly reef peak, has the best camping and gnarliest access road north of Ensenada. Both waves break on any swell direction, but the point needs six to eight feet to work. Five bucks a night gets you camping in a grove of olive trees that feels like it's a million miles from the nearest fax machine. Located 51 miles south of the border on the toll road, take the Salsipuedes exit onto the tortuous dirt road to the beach. Leave if you can (sale, si puedes) when it's raining. It's not worth checking if the surf is small.
San Miguel
A crowded, thrillingly racy point break, San Miguel is one of Baja's premier waves. This right-hander is best during a west or northwest swell. It's more hollow but more sectioned at low tide. The San Miguel turnoff is immediately after the last toll booth before Ensenada, 61 miles from the border. Pitch a tent on the beach for $10 a night. For the same cost, RVs can plug into one of 30 hookups. Hot showers take the grunge out of camping here. There's also a bar and restaurant on the point, but it's worth driving the eight miles south for Ensenada's culinary riches.
Punta San Jose
True Baja begins south of Ensenada. To taste its desolate beauty, spend a few days at Punta San Jose, a series of reef breaks that becomes one sweeping right when a swell fires. It's best on a south or a huge west swell, when the prevailing wind is offshore. To get there, drive south from Ensenada through the verdant Santo Tomas wine-growing valley. Twenty-nine miles beyond Ensenada, turn west onto a dirt road at the town of Santo Tomas. (If you need food or water, buy it here, because there's nothing but surf and star-filled skies at Punta San Jose.) Fourteen miles from Santo Tomas, bear right at a fork in the road and drive 10 miles to a lighthouse. Local fishermen collect $5 to camp, and will sell you fresh lobster for about the same sum.