24 Highways OCTOBER 2010 OCTOBER 2010 Highways 25

Escape the coastal crowds on Mexico’s far-western peninsula and hit the trail to three mountain oases

Baja’sBackcountry

Less than two hours’ drive from the neon-lit streets of

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico’s rugged Sierra de la Laguna range

is home to a rich diversity of eco-regions, endemic plants and wildlife.

Although more than 28,000 acres were designated a UNESCO World Heritage

site and National Biosphere Reserve in 1994, the region remains poorly mapped

and largely untouched, a mystery to all but the most intrepid travelers and a

handful of local rancheros.

BY LAURIE WEED PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAK WONDERLY

OCTOBER 2010 Highways 27 Highways OCTOBER 201026

A few adventure-tour companies offerguided trips into the highlands, but youdon’t need a guide, a four-wheel drive ora mule train to experience Baja’s Sierra.The lower elevations are strewn withgentle walking trails, particularly on theeastern slopes. With a handful of gov-ernment maps, some good local adviceand a 20-year-old camper van, we set offto find three easy walks with big rewards. Venture inland from Highway 1 and

within a few miles, southern Baja’s familiar coastal scrub gives way to dryforest, then subtropical coniferous forestand woodlands. As you drive, themountains beckon with cooler temper-atures and a refreshing change of scene.Dotted with tiny ranching communi-ties, the foothills of the Sierra havemuch in common with southern Mex-ico, where the best trails often lead towater. Follow our trail to one of theselovely mountain oases—just don’t tryto see them all in one day.

Cañon de La ZorraCañon de la Zorra waterfall, also called Sol de Mayo or just La Cascada, is easy tolocate once you have clear driving directions. A good dirt road leads to the park-ing area, and from there a 10-minute walk along thecanyon rim offers wonderful views over the valley. Thetrail also provides a good vantage point for photograph-ing the 30-foot cascade and watching hawks circle over-head. To access the water garden below, you descend ashort, steep staircase carved into the rocks. Bring a picnic and bask on warm, flat slabs of granite

after a swim in the invitingly clear green lagoon. Asandy floor and shallow edges make this swimminghole a good choice for all ages. It can get busy on holi-days and summer weekends, but during the week youmight have it all to yourself, as we did. Wildflowersflourish here after the midsummer rains, and birdwatching is good year-round. For a longer walk, a well-used section of trail contin-

ues beyond the top of the steps for another 2 to 3 miles,traversing shallow streams through a lovely woodlandcanopy and eventually leading to other waterfalls.

TIME: From Santiago, drive 20 minutes, then walk 10 minutes.

Cañon SanBernardo Baja’s cavernous SanBernardo gorge bisectsthe Sierra from east towest, providing a criti-cal water source for thesurrounding area. De-pending on the seasonand rainfall, its carvedgranite pools may fillup to 30 feet, deepenough for a real swim. Local guides will give

hiking directions to thepools from Miraflores;however, it’s a long, hotwalk, and there’s roadaccess directly into themouth of the canyon.The drive-in route isused mainly by an ad-venture-tour company,but it isn’t a privateroad. From the end ofthe road, a five-minutestroll brings you to thelower pools.Take care getting in and out of the water—it’s often

brisk, and the bottle-green color comes from a slipperylining of moss. The surrounding forest serves as a coverto raptors and other wildlife, which you might spotwhile you’re floating.

TIME: From Miraflores, drive 30 to 40 minutes, then walk five minutes.

Cañon San DionisioIn theory, you could cross the entire mountain range on this trail,although it would take a couple of weeks. From the wide, shallowbasin above Rancho San Dionisio, it’s easy to imagine that cattle-rustling banditos once did just that, using the stream to watertheir stock and taking advantage of long lookout views down theriverbed. Fortunately, there are no banditos here now, just apeaceful and scenic oasis.Following the driving directions to the last ranch at the end of

the road, you’ll find the trailhead to the left of the gate. An un-demanding, well-marked path meanders through lush mixedforest of pine, oak and cactus. About a mile in, a clearing on theright leads down to the arroyo, where you can splash in thesparkling creek or soak your feet in shallow pools.Banked by soft, flat sand studded with boulders, the dry riverbed

is perfect for picnicking and bird watching, offering spectacularcanyon views in both directions. Enormous date palms and rockformations stand out dramatically against the pine-covered hills,and the valley is alive with winged things, from hummingbirdsand butterflies to herons, ducks, cardinals and woodpeckers. Al-though we didn’t see any mammals during our visit, we did spotnumerous fresh paw prints around the watering holes: raccoon,deer and bobcat. Shortly beyond the oasis, the trail becomesrough and crosshatched with cow paths, so don’t continue toofar without a compass and some serious hiking shoes.

TIME: From Santiago, drive 45 to 60 minutes, then walk 25 minutes.

Some of the most inviting water in Baja’sSierra de la Laguna runs through Cañon

San Dionisio and, left, Cañon de la Zorra.

Highways OCTOBER 201028 MAP BY DONNA SCHMIDT

WHERE TO STAYWhile any of these walks would make a good day trip from Los Cabos,we preferred the tranquil beach towns of La Ribera and Los Barriles.Both offer RV facilities and water activities, particularly sport fishing.Los Barriles is also a well-known windsurfing and kite-boarding desti-nation. The town offers all the necessary services and several goodrestaurants, including the friendly Roadrunner Café. Of the many RVparks, we chose Playa Norte RV Haven (www.playanortervpark.com)for its quiet location on a long stretch of beach, away from the mainroads and still convenient to town. La Ribera is a much smaller place, with only a few services and a

rambling, often empty beach. Its single RV campground, La Trinidad (www.latrinidadrvranch.com), is well worth seeking out. Both therestaurant and the engaging owner have a loyal following. Though notdirectly on the beach, the park is only a half mile from the sea, and thepath winds through a salt marsh favored by nesting herons. The restau-rant is open on weekends only, when folks come from miles aroundfor barbecue and surf-and-turf nights, some-times accompanied bylive entertainment.

Good Sam ParksThe Trailer Life RVParks and Camp-

grounds Directorylists another 30 places tostay in your RV in Mexico’sSouth Baja.

Cañon San Dionisio

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DRIVING DIRECTIONS AND TIPSDirections are given from the closest towns, Santi-ago and Miraflores, which are easily located fromHighway 1. When the pavement ends, dirt andgravel roads are passable by your dinghy or tow ve-hicle or camper van but aren’t built for larger RVs.Be sure to check the weather before you leave—athundershower can significantly alter road condi-tions. There’s a park fee of $6 per person, per day.

Santiago to Cañon de la Zorra or Cañon San DionisioFrom Highway 1, take the exit for Santiago. Just be-fore you reach the center of town, near the Pemex,turn right onto the paved road leading north, thenzero your odometer. Go straight on this road untilthe pavement ends at the edge of town. Continuestraight ahead on the dirt road and up the small hill.To continue to La Zorra waterfall, take a left at

the top of the small hill. (If you go straight here,the road leads to Cañon San Dionisio. The rightfork goes up to a cell-phone tower). Stay on the dirtroad for .3 miles, then turn right. In another 1.5miles, turn right again. You should pass small bluesigns for La Cascada (the waterfall), but they’reeasy to miss. The road ends at a parking area 6.3miles from where you zeroed your odometer.To continue to Cañon San Dionisio, go straight

at the top of the small hill. This dirt-and-gravelroad runs directly toward the mountains, thenrounds a bend and goes straight into the canyon.Used mainly by local ranchers, the road is moder-ately challenging in parts. Drive slowly and checkthe weather before you leave—mud could makethis route impassable. About 13 miles from whereyou zeroed your odometer, the road dead-ends ata private gate. There’s no official parking area. Justpull off the road and avoid blocking the gate. Thetrailhead is off to the left.

Miraflores to Cañon San BernardoFrom Highway 1, take the exit for Miraflores and stayon the same road all the way through town. Whenthe road dead-ends at a T, turn right. Follow the signs

for Ecoadventures and the small village ofBoca de la Sierra. On the left-hand side, justas you reach the village, there’s a gate with asmall kiosk manned by the Ecoadventuresgroup. Explain that you’re on a private tripto the pools, and the guard will let you in.Follow a winding, rough gravel road forabout 2 miles, passing through the Ecoad-ventures base camp and rounding a bend tothe right. The road ends at a small parkingarea. From here, it’s a five- to 10-minutewalk to the lower pools. Look for the trail-head at the far end of the turnaround.

Don’t drive anything larger than a camper vanwhere the pavement turns to dirt or gravel.