Surfing in Ensenada is a by-phrase for hitting one of the most prolific stretches of coastline on the Baja Norte. There are some truly legendary point breaks that channel Trestles and neat A-frame reefs for intermediate surfers. Working all year round and with thinner lineups than San Diego, this region is primed for surfing road trips.
An introduction to surfing in Ensenada
Trace your finger down south of the border and you’ll soon caress the name of Ensenada. Only 67 miles shy of the US, the town caps off the north end of All Saints Bay, a big cleft in the Norte Baja that’s backed up by coastal bends and points to the north and south. The whole lot is, well, just about perfect for sucking in NW swells and offering umpteen fine waves to match.
This is no new surf frontier, mind you. Ensenada and its bro at San Miguel have been the magic money pots at the end of the rainbow for many a West Coast surf tripper keen to ditch the line ups of SoCal and San Diego. They were colonized by Windansea compers in the 60s and since then spot after spot has hit the legendary radar.
A lot of it is down to the sheer consistency of the region. Here, the Baja coast angles beautifully due southeast back towards the Mexican mainland. That means SW swells kick up just as they do for San Diego and Santa Cruz, while winter sets from the north and west can work and weave and refract into every bay along the shoreline to sometimes wondrous effect.
Ensenada itself is a fine base, but really it’s just that: A base. What we’re talking about when we talk about surfing in Ensenada is really everything between Rosarito in the north and the Isla Todos Santos out in the bay.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing Mexico
Surfing in Ensenada at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to Ensenada surf?
Where is Ensenada?
Ensenada is nearly 70 miles to the south of the US-Mexico border. It’s a part of the Baja California. The city occupies the northern end of a large bay known as All Saints Bay, with the Isle Todos Santos, another of the local surf havens, set something like 10 miles out from that. It’s important to remember that Ensenada itself isn’t what most people mean when they say they’re heading surfing in Ensenada. They’re usually referring to a stretch of about 40 miles of coastline that go north from the town up to Rosarito, which holds breaks of all shapes and sizes.
Ensenada surf spots
As we’ve mentioned, the surfing in Ensenada is actually spread up nearly 40 miles of Baja Norte coastline, starting with Playa Tres Emes just to the north of Ensenada city. Use Ensenada as a base but make sure you have a car. Better yet, score everything as you cruise down from the US border on the 1D coast highway and then keep going Cabo way to put together a real Mexicana surf odyssey!
Calafia
An all-level right-hand point break that starts of the Baja Norte in style, Calafia loves those summertime SW swells, which it will harness to give some of the longer, more rip-worthy waves in the Ensenada region. N winds are nicely offshore, too, which means it can often be a glass-fest well into the early afternoon. The major downside is the crowds, which are now plumped up by a steady stream of wave hungry US folks – this is one of the first waves you’ll come to after crossing the border in Tijuana.
K-38 (El Morro)
Another of the moderate-quality breaks that sits north of Ensenada itself is K-38. It’s now fully colonized by surf trippers out of San Diego for much of the peak season and there’s never a decent groundswell that goes unridden. But localism isn’t an issue like it is on some of the metro spots back over in the US, so it’s generally a chilled place to add yourself to the line up. The break is a nice enough, with a mellowish right that gets soft in certain sections. It’s over relatively deep reef and works, like most of its neighbors, on virtually any swell. Dominant N winds are also offshore, so it doesn’t struggle too much staying clean.
Las Gaviotas
Cruisy Las Gaviotas is the logger wave of choice in Baja Norte. It rolls into a small section of reef in front of rows and rows of charming tropical vacation homes. Both summer and winter it’s usually a whole head and shoulders smaller than virtually anywhere else in the region, and it’s a proper peeler, with right shoulders that bump along nicely from the outer reef into the sands. Great for beginners, longboarders, and families.
Salsipuedes Reef
The everyman wave of Salsipuedes is a nice little A-frame that’s usually relatively mellow on any winter NW or W swell. The N winds are nicely offshore so the right especially holds good shape. The left is shorter but a bit hollow. Bottom is stone but still kinda’ deep so it’s a good choice for lower-intermediate surf schoolers operating out of Ensenada town.
Salsipuedes Point
The Madonna of the Salsipuedes shoreline is the point break. Fickle, it’s true, the spot requires the strongest winter swells with the longest periods. Every set needs to undergo a ridiculous amount of bending to beat the outer reefs and make it into the inside of the bay, where they’ll meet a little notch in the Baja and start cruising for like 200 meters. The shoulder is properly hollow, technical down-the-line surf stuff that draws in the aficionado shortboarders when it’s on.
San Miguel
San Miguel is where surfing in Ensenada all began. In fact, it’s sorta’ where surfing in Mexico all began. This was the site of the now-legendary 66′ Baja Surf Club International, which saw SoCal’s finest finally blaze a trail south of the border to mix it up with the budding pros of the Baja California. By the mid-70s and the coming of the highway, San Miguel was a regular on cross-border surf missions and it’s still that way today.
The spot itself is a sort of homage to Lowers with its own bit of attitude. Like it’s Trestles compadres in the Golden State, it shapes up on a shelf of shallow cobblestone. The shoulders peel and curve right into the inside of a south-facing headland, usually nicely pitched for action off the lip, occasionally hollowish for a bit of tube.
A touch unusually for the Baja, San Miguel works best in the winter season with long-period groundswells originating from the NW. They’ll hit the bump in the coast head on and give more power and shape down the line. The whole place is now protected by the Arroyo San Miguel State Park. There’s parking and camping on site.
Playa Tres Emes
Playa Tres Emes has almost the same setup as San Miguel, which sits about a mile to the west across the bay. But there’s less punch in the oncoming NW winter swells here and a bit more full-on action from SW swells. That means the spot oscillates between cruisy right shoulders off the point (by winter) and a more A-framey peak with a better right (by summer). Winter rides are suited to longboarders. Tray riders like it in the summer months. Again, though, can often be glassy because those N winds are dead offshore.
Isla Todos Santos
Not to be confused with the chilled surf town of Todos Santos in the Baja California Sur closer to Cabo, the Isla Todos Santos also has another name in the surf community: Killers. Set 10 miles out of All Saints Bay from Ensenada town, the rock was first discovered by some pretty daring crews fed up of jostling for space on the San Miguel peaks with US surfers in the 60s. It quickly garnered a rep for being a true monster.
We’re talking a Jaws-esque 30-footer. It draws energy from wintertime NW swells out of the North Pacific channel, which it pushes through a deep gorge on the north side of the island and spits it all out into big and unforgiving sets. The drop in is key because the lip comes faster than on many big waves, and you need to steady at the bottom with precision if you want to make it anywhere near the shoulder. Fail in that and you’re looking at brutal 20-second hold downs until the jet skis can make it over.
This one rarely works and is for total experts only. It’s even hard to go watch because you’ll need a boat ride over from Ensenada town. YouTube is probably your best bet!
Where to stay when surfing in Ensenada?
As we’ve mentioned like 20 times already, San Miguel is really just the hub of the action here. Or, better yet, it’s the end point in what could be a truly epic roadtrip down 100 miles or so of the Baja, where whole days can be spent hitting different waves. That’s why we’ve chosen stays right by some of the breaks mentioned above. Book a night or five there and then keep on driving Ensenada way if you want to do what Cali surf pilgrims have been doing for decades…
Native Residence
The Native Residence offers the sort of surf trip stay you’d expect of Santa Teresa in Costa Rica, not the Baja Norte. It’s a chilled eco lodge set on the cliffs up the coast from K-38, a reliable break and one of the best all-level options around. Suites have dramatic views, there’s a hot tub, onsite yoga shala, and amazing cacti gardens.
Hacienda Rancho Santini
An adult’s only hotel on the beachfront between Las Gaviotos (for beginners) and K-38 (all levels), Hacienda Rancho Santini has a fine location – we’re talking swell recon literally steps from your door. It’s chilled, too, with authentic Mexicana vibes.
Corona Hotel & Spa
For that finale stay in Ensenada itself, we don’t think there’s anywhere finer than Corona Hotel & Spa. Ignore the name – no pademicos vibes here. Just a sleek wellness facility, spacious rooms, and bubbling outdoor hot tubs.
Step-by-step guide to planning your surfing in ensenada trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the surfing in ensenada…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Get insuranceThis is kinda’ important. Not just for surf trips but for any trips. SafetyWing is great for nomad travelers. They offer rolling contracts that cover amateur surfing.
Step four (optional): Rent a car If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step four: Enjoy!
When to surf in Ensenada?
Ensenada is a year-round surf destination. Winters (November-March) bring the best swells for this corner of the Baja. They come from the NW and the W channel and offer good, long-period groundswells – the sorts of conditions needed to feed the best point breaks and the likes of San Miguel. Summers still aren’t bad. The swell will usually switch to the S and SW direction. That gels nicely with N offshore winds to keep the A-frames and beginner beaches working with decent consistency.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
