More La Paz Beaches

Part 2 in our series about the beaches in and around La Paz, BCS, Mexico

In La Paz it’s never a case of “just another day at the beach”!

by Sue Bell

In our last post, we shared a list of beaches that can be reached from the road that runs along the Malecón and heads north and east out of town:

 

In this post, we share information about beaches in the city of La Paz, as well as some located North and West of the city. They are all located within a 5-45 minute drive of La Paz. As with our previous post, each of these beaches is named, has a brief description of what you will find there, and what you can expect with regard to services, as well as a link to a pin to help get you there.

First, here is a map of the beaches we will be talking about in this post, so you can get a sense of where they are in relation to you.

 

In the city of La Paz:

 

The beaches along the Malecón – http://t.ly/YTWZ3

Over the past few years, La Paz has been upgrading its Malecón, adding sand to form more small beaches along the boardwalk, and enhancing the beaches themselves with new palapas and beach volleyball nets. The Malecón stretches for over 5 km along the waterfront in the center of the city. You can park nearby, bring a picnic lunch and spend the day. There are two or three locations for public washrooms along the Malecón though some of them do charge 10 pesos to use them (this helps pay to keep them clean and provide toilet paper and paper towels). There are playgrounds, palapas, piers, and much more to add to the interest of the beaches along the Malecón. The water along the Malecón is not recommended for swimming, since many boats are moored here and the water quality isn’t great, but it’s fine for wading, paddleboarding and kayaking. You can rent paddleboards and kayaks at Harker, just across the street.

Playa Alika http://t.ly/kyoRJ

This is a small, sandy beach next to the City Hotel, right on the Malecón and the bike path, so it can easily be reached on foot or by bicycle. The water is quite shallow initially and it has a windbreak on the west side. There are no services and no convenient parking closely, but families can be seen there often on hot days, enjoying the water. Lovely for swimming and wading.

Playa La Posada http://t.ly/61SBS

This beach has a split personality. It starts in front of the La Posada Hotel and Beach Club at the northernmost end of Calle Nueva Reforma (turn towards the water at the corner of Donaldo Colosio and Abasolo) with a broad, sandy area in front of the hotel. That part of the beach is lovely for setting up chairs and an umbrella. The water is fairly calm and shallow. There are often weddings, gender reveals, engagements, and other celebrations held there in small tents and romantically lit tables. The area is big enough to have two beach volleyball nets and still plenty of space for other activities.

The other part of La Posada beach stretches out for almost 1 km to the west where it is narrower and more hard-packed. This part of the beach is frequented by dog walkers and families alike. While it is still made of sand, it is not soft, rather it is hard packed. The water here can be a bit more cloudy so it may not be as nice for swimming, but it is a great place to launch a paddle board or kayak to go explore the mangroves on the Mogote Peninsula or the Sand Island located to the west. There are several points where you can access the beach along Calle Brecha California. Other than at the hotel, there are no services along the beach.

Playa Cet Mar http://t.ly/Ni59t

The main part of this beach is located in front of the CETMar High School at the end of Brecha California, pretty much where playa La Posada’s hard packed walking beach ends.  The beach in this area is also fairly hard packed. It then extends to the west along the edge of the mangroves when the tide is out. There are no services at this beach either. Many families come down to this beach every evening to enjoy the sunset and camaraderie with friends and neighbors.

North and West of La Paz

To find the following beaches, take the Transpeninsular Highway 1 out of La Paz to the West towards the La Paz airport exit and El Centenario. Go through El Centenario, then stay to the right at the “Y” just before the Pemex gas station where the road splits and goes either left, north towards Loreto, or right, towards San Juan de la Costa. The beaches in this area are not like the sandy beaches on the northeast side of the city. They are more rugged and untamed. This is where desert meets ocean in a beautiful and wild way.

Playa Comitán https://t.ly/1GSZI

Comitán beach is a fairly hard-packed beach that runs along the waterfront in the community of El Comitán, which is a little bit north and east of El Centenario. The water here is the Lagoon of La Paz. It is brackish (a mix of fresh and salt water) and shallow, so the water can be a bit warmer. The bottom under the water is more silty than sandy because the water in this inner bay doesn’t circulate well. It may not be the best for swimming, but it is a great beach for walking dogs as well as for launching kayaks and paddle boards.

Dunas del Mogote https://t.ly/2zsgj

The El Mogote Peninsula is the spit of land that juts out into La Paz Bay, just opposite downtown La Paz. You can see the Paraiso del Mar condos at the very end of the peninsula from there. El Mogote is also home to one of the two La Paz area golf courses, Paraiso del Mar Golf Club. The beach at the north end of El Mogote is a great place to take dogs for off leash time, go for long beach walks, fish from the shore, have a picnic, go quadding, or just to set up your shade and enjoy nature. From the shore, you can often spot pods of dolphins, whale sharks (in season), mobula rays and plenty of seabirds, including pelicans. The dunes can be quite high in places, and there are even dune surfing expeditions: https://t.ly/IbGY7. The dark, sandy beach goes on for miles in both directions from the map location, so you can get in a good walk or be as isolated and private as you want. You may come across sand dollars, paper nautilus shells, Portuguese man-o-war jellyfish that have washed ashore, even the remains of a whale, sea turtle or dolphin. The water is clear and great for swimming, especially in summer. In winter months it can be quite windy, with significant wave action, but that is part of this beach’s natural beauty.

To get there, take the first right after the turnoff to El Comitan. This road out to El Mogote was paved recently, so it’s easier to drive now. When the pavement ends, you can either park at the base of the dunes and walk up and over to the beach on the far side, or drive up to the top of the dunes on the road and park up there. Please do not drive down onto the beach, as it is very easy to get stuck in the deep sand, and this beach is also a popular nesting ground for turtles. The sand on the road at the top of the dunes can get a bit deep, but if you stay on the road along the top it’s generally safe to drive on. If you choose to park up here, make sure you have a vehicle with good clearance and reasonably good tires, as it’s easy to get stuck when parking even just off the side of the road.  There are no services here, just amazing natural beauty.

La Bastilla https://t.ly/1O7jZ