# HWY South From San Felipe



## Wanna'Go (Dec 14, 2009)

Hello
Does any one know
Condition of
HWY south from San Felipe to the junction with HWY 1 at Laquna de Chapala ?


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

San Filipe? In what state?
There is no "Highway 1" at Lake Chapala.
So, if you can give us more information about where you would like to cross into Mexico, I'll be glad to give you some suggestions.
In general, the 'autopista' toll roads in Mexico are excellent, although quite expensive. The parallel free roads, 'libres', will take you through towns and villages and can also be very good. In either case, there are occasional construction zones or stretches with potholes.


----------



## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

San Felipe and Laguna de Chapala are in the state of Baja California and Hwy 1 is the main north-south road on the peninsula. Sorry, don't know about the road conditons. Someone from Baja may be able to help.


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Thanks, Makaloco. I thought they were looking for Lake (laguna o lago) Chapala, in Jalisco.
Everything west of the Sea of Cortez is almost a different country to those of us on the 'mainland'. Different rules, different people, etc. It confuses us!


----------



## mexliving (Mar 30, 2009)

free roads? when traveling through mexico, you should avoid the free roads.... you will encounter a lot of semi-trucks and buses that dont follow the rules... they will try to pass on a blind turn that can lead to a serious accident..... 
sure you can have an accident on the toll roads, for the fee's they charge, it includes a special insurance blanket....
4 most dangerous roads in mexico..................... that means a lot of people have died in horrific car accidents.... one of the top 4 routes is the free road from GDL to MAZATLAN.............


----------



## Wanna'Go (Dec 14, 2009)

mexliving said:


> free roads? when traveling through mexico, you should avoid the free roads.... you will encounter a lot of semi-trucks and buses that dont follow the rules... they will try to pass on a blind turn that can lead to a serious accident.....
> sure you can have an accident on the toll roads, for the fee's they charge, it includes a special insurance blanket....
> 4 most dangerous roads in mexico..................... that means a lot of people have died in horrific car accidents.... one of the top 4 routes is the free road from GDL to MAZATLAN.............


Thank you for the FYI


----------



## pablorapido (Mar 31, 2010)

Wanna'Go said:


> Hello
> Does any one know
> Condition of
> HWY south from San Felipe to the junction with HWY 1 at Laquna de Chapala ?


san felipe and HWY 1 are both in baja norte. Hiway one goes frim Tijuana to La Paz. most of the two lane is okay. there are some detours due to bridge washouts still but not really a problem....you wont ket to Chapala that way though unless you hop the ferry in La paz


----------



## pablorapido (Mar 31, 2010)

pablorapido said:


> san felipe and HWY 1 are both in baja norte. Hiway one goes frim Tijuana to La Paz. most of the two lane is okay. there are some detours due to bridge washouts still but not really a problem....you wont ket to Chapala that way though unless you hop the ferry in La paz


sorry I had never heard of Laguna seca de chapala until i looked it up.


----------



## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I first drove from San Filepe in 1971, and have driven it in 1972, 1975, 1981, 1986 and 2002...It has always been dirt and graded, with always the promise of paving it some day. More and more gringoes are building casas all along the east coast of Baja in that area...there may be some short sections that are paved,I know the vados are cement now...from Puertocitos to Laguna Chapala it would probably take 5 hours to drive...there used to be some deep sandy stretches that I believe are bypassed now...there are no toll roads in Baja except 60 miles between Tjuana and Ensenada and along the border from Tijuana to Mexicali.


----------



## Wanna'Go (Dec 14, 2009)

*Drive*



chicois8 said:


> I first drove from San Filepe in 1971, and have driven it in 1972, 1975, 1981, 1986 and 2002...It has always been dirt and graded, with always the promise of paving it some day. More and more gringoes are building casas all along the east coast of Baja in that area...there may be some short sections that are paved,I know the vados are cement now...from Puertocitos to Laguna Chapala it would probably take 5 hours to drive...there used to be some deep sandy stretches that I believe are bypassed now...there are no toll roads in Baja except 60 miles between Tjuana and Ensenada and along the border from Tijuana to Mexicali.



Sound like it should be same thing we do as a ride trip in the pick-up. But not when we are moving the boat and 5th wheel to Baja. 

Thanks for the FYI


----------



## howardF (May 20, 2010)

*From one Lago de Chapala to another*

I live in Ajijic, Jalisco on the shores of the REAL Lake Chapala (grin) and was surprised to come upon another, albeit dry Lake Chapala in the middle of Baja California. We decided to take the Mazatlan-La Paz ferry and drive the Baja instead of chance a scary tip through Sinaloa as we headed north for a Southern California vacation. It was a magnificent trip.

Now, as we consider our trip back from Las Vegas to Ajijic in a few weeks, I am intrigued about taking the road south from San Felipe that rejoins Highway 1 at Laguna de Chapala. I've read several reports about this road and note that the paving of that road is progressing, but don't know how passable the remainder of the road is. Does someone have up to date info on this road?

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

Howard

PS: Hola, RVGRINGO


----------



## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

well it kind of depends what type of vehicle you are driving, 4WD,truck or van would be OK, 2WD, low slung sedan might get stuck in sandy parts of the road, also a good set of tires ( sharp volcanic rocks) with portable air pump would be good to have,maybe 2 spares...if you ever see pictures of the Baja 1000 race and the scene is a race car/truck with a dusty rooster tail about 100 yards long,that is the silt laden dry Laguna Chapala.. You remember when the REAL Lake Chapala was drying up about 8 years ago, could have turned into a dry lake also(grin)....


----------



## howardF (May 20, 2010)

chicois8 said:


> well it kind of depends what type of vehicle you are driving, 4WD,truck or van would be OK, 2WD, low slung sedan might get stuck in sandy parts of the road, also a good set of tires ( sharp volcanic rocks) with portable air pump would be good to have,maybe 2 spares...if you ever see pictures of the Baja 1000 race and the scene is a race car/truck with a dusty rooster tail about 100 yards long,that is the silt laden dry Laguna Chapala.. You remember when the REAL Lake Chapala was drying up about 8 years ago, could have turned into a dry lake also(grin)....


I have an ex 4WD (bad transfer case) Isuzu Trooper. Plenty of clearance with decent Michelin tires. One spare only. I'd be up for the adventure, but I think my wife would freak out. Silly question but any idea if and when the rest of that road will be paved?


----------



## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Back in `72 when Highway 1 was completed promises were made to pave that road next, haven't got very far have they.....your vehicle should be fine.........


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Hi, Howard. Good to see you here.


----------



## claudioc (Jun 23, 2010)

@WannaGo. The road conditions might not be as smooth as the higways in the United States. But you can drive down south no problem.

I recommend a SUV to go further south. This does not mean that the roads are in OFF ROAD conditions, just that you can save yourself some trouble.

A great place is Bahia de Los Angeles near there as well, also you can try crossing by the Tijuana border and go through the Free Road from Ensenada to San Felipe.

Make sure you get travel insurance.

Have a safe trip and share your photos.

Cheers.

Claudio.


----------



## Wanna'Go (Dec 14, 2009)

Thanks for the heads up, sounds like this is something we should do when we want to go on a road trip and check it out. First time down the boat going and the fifth wheel.
We are driving from Idaho to Yuma AZ cross at Tecate Mexico. Work our way down Highway 1, to The Cove Community is located on San Lucas Cove about eight miles south of Santa Rosalia.
We have 145 days to go, before the trip starts, but who's counting.
Mexico consulate in Boise, Idaho is working on or FM 3. We are to go back in September to Boise Hopefully to pick –up the FM 3. 
We started on cleaning out our garage last weekend to get ready for the big garage sale and the list’s goes on from there. Please keep in touch. any advice out there from all of you who have been there done that we would like to hear from you.


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Your consulate probably is unaware that they can no longer issue immigration visas. You must enter Mexico on a 180 day FMM and apply for your 'no inmigrante' visa (as the old FM3 is now called) online, either just before you come to Mexico or after you get here. Report to INM with the paperwork created online and the required documents within 30 days of the online visit. They won't see you without those completed 100%. The new process is faster and simpler, although the website for INM is not yet in English, so you may need to use a machine translation or a bilingual friend, if you don't speak Spanish.
The old system ended on May 1st, 2010. The new system issues a card; no more booklets.


----------



## Mikewo (Sep 1, 2009)

Wanna'Go said:


> Thanks for the heads up, sounds like this is something we should do when we want to go on a road trip and check it out. First time down the boat going and the fifth wheel.
> We are driving from Idaho to Yuma AZ cross at Tecate Mexico. Work our way down Highway 1, to The Cove Community is located on San Lucas Cove about eight miles south of Santa Rosalia.
> We have 145 days to go, before the trip starts, but who's counting.
> Mexico consulate in Boise, Idaho is working on or FM 3. We are to go back in September to Boise Hopefully to pick –up the FM 3.
> We started on cleaning out our garage last weekend to get ready for the big garage sale and the list’s goes on from there. Please keep in touch. any advice out there from all of you who have been there done that we would like to hear from you.


The road to and South of San Felipe is under construction right now. I don't expect it to be completed for a long time. If you are towing a 5th wheel you want to stay off the dirt washboard roads as much as possible. The likely outcome of many miles on washboard road towing anything is broken welds, bolts and lots of wear and tear to both vehicles. From Tecate take the 2 HWY south to Ensenada through Valle De Guadalupe, it's a great drive and drops you few kilometers North of Ensenada. Follow the signs to San Quentin, that will keep you on the paved road out of Ensenada. The Hwy 1 is paved all the way down and crosses between the Pacific and Sea of Cortez a couple times and you will pass through Santa Rosalia. The best advice I can give anybody driving the baja is this, don't be the lead car when driving in canyons and mountains, secondly, slow down when you see a sign that says "curva peligrosa" the turns don't bank in some instances and if you take them too fast you will be carried right off the road. I've seen it happen many times. Lastly, don't drive late at night, cattle is all over the road.

Hope this helps.

Mike


----------

