Winter Warm Up Recap: An Epic Baja Adventure

The Winter Warm Up was a trip to remember! From challenging off-road trails to beachside tacos and nights under the Baja stars, this four-day adventure was the perfect way to shake off the winter blues.

 With an awesome group of off-roaders, we tackled Baja’s iconic trails, explored San Felipe’s coastline, and ended the trip with an unforgettable stay at Baja Oasis. Here’s a look back at the highlights! 

 Day 1:

 Crossing into Baja & Hitting the Trails We kicked off the adventure in Tecate, where everyone gathered early to cross the border and air down for the first stretch of dirt. The Compadre Trail was in great shape, making for a smooth but scenic ride through Baja’s high desert. By midday, we rolled into Valle de Trinidad for some legendary tacos—because no Baja trip is complete without incredible food! After refueling (both our rigs and ourselves), we hit the pavement for a short stretch before arriving in San Felipe, where the Sea of Cortez greeted us with stunning views. That night, we settled in at Kiki’s Beach Camp, grabbed dinner at  La Vaquita, and enjoyed a few drinks while swapping stories about the day’s ride.

 

Day 2:

Off-Roading, Beach Runs & San Felipe Vibes We started the morning at Rosita’s, a must-stop spot for breakfast in San Felipe. Then, it was time to hit the dirt! We ran sections of the San Felipe 250 race course, winding through washes, rocky terrain, and fast desert tracks. Lunch at the Chenowth Legacy Lodge was a highlight, with some great history about off-road racing in Baja. Afterward, we made our way back to San Felipe via a beach run, driving along the coastline with ocean views stretching for miles. The evening was all about good food and good company. We had dinner at Tacos El General before heading to the Malecon for some bar hopping. San Felipe never disappoints when it comes to nightlife! 

 Day 3: 

Dry Lake Beds, Baja 1000 Trails & Baja Oasis Leaving San Felipe, we crossed a dry lake bed, then jumped onto sections of the famous Baja 1000 route. The mix of fast trails and technical terrain made for an exciting ride as we worked our way west. By late afternoon, we arrived at Baja Oasis, Justin Strong’s incredible off-road retreat along the Rio Hardy. This place is a hidden gem—lush palm trees, a beautiful river, and the perfect spot to unwind after a long day on the trails. Dinner was a family-style meal, and the night ended around the fire pit, sharing laughs and stories under the stars. 

 Day 4: 

Heading Home After a relaxing morning and a hearty breakfast, we aired up and started the journey back to Tecate. The border crossing went smoothly, and just like that,  Winter Warm Up was in the books! 

 Final Thoughts:

  This trip was all about great trails, great people, and the best of Baja. Whether it was ripping across dry lake beds, cruising the beach, or just enjoying a cold drink after a long day on the trails, the Winter Warm Up delivered everything we love about Baja adventures. Want to Join the Next Baja Adventure? If this recap has you itching to hit the trails, check out our upcoming trips! Whether you’re new to Baja or a seasoned off-roader, we’ve got something for everyone.  Check Out Our Upcoming Trips 

 

 

50 Best of Baja

Here ia a great video series on the 50 best places Baja has to offer. Cameron Steele long time Baja racer and ambassador hosts this series and we can attest this is a worthy rabbit hole of videos.
Check it out

People are talking about us

Ben Crockett, editor at large for 4WD Toyota Owners Magazine came with us on a trip a while back and wrote all about it.
Thank you Ben for the kind words. We are so glad you had a great trip and look forward to putting your Taco through the paces on our Pole Line Road / Baja 1000 spectating run in November.

June trip report

Another Camp4lo Baja off road tour is in the books. We had a great group with a couple returning guests and a couple new friends. Mike, has been communicating with us for quite a while and the dates finally lined up and he traveled all the way from Oregon!
We met at the Tecate border Crossing Friday morning early and crossed into Tecate, met up with JC, had a few tacos just because and we were off.

A few miles from Tecate we came to the top of the Compadre Trail. A great run South with smooth dirt roads and twisty turns through the Chaparral up through the pine forest then dropping down into the Ojos Negros valley.

Oregon Mike's super sorted Land Cruiser

The first few miles of our adventure were smooth and trouble free. Just a great run through some great scenery.

Rolling into the start of the Compadre Trail

Not your typical Baja scene with all those pine trees!

After a short sstop in Ojos Negros we motored down the highway for a bit then went on a trail up to Mike's Sky Ranch for a refreshing beverage

Crossing the stream into Mike's Sky Ranch

Rigs taking a rest at Mike's while the happy campers cool off inside

After a short visit with our friends at the ranch we motored down yet a different trail back to Highway 3 and headed into San Felipe for the night. We had a great steak dinner and a few margaritas and a well deserved good nights rest.

Saturday morning after breakfast we headed West out of San Felipe and hit El Diablo dry lake. This is a part of the Baja races often and we really got to put the hammer down and go as fast as we wanted. We had so much fun we turned around and did the run twice.

Max and his Tundra clearly ate up the dry lake

Oregon Mike and the stoke

So free

We headed North to Valley De Trinidad for some tacos then traversing the peninsula West to the  Pacific side.

Super vistas and cooler temps greeted us along the way. 

Breathtaking

The next two nights we bunked at Cuatro Casas Hostel where Richard and staff took very good care of us. 

Sunday we headed up Punta Colonet to the beach for a little cruise along the water. 

Our guests really enjoyed driving along the beach.

Our last night we had a great dinner at Cuatro Casas and JC made his famous margaritas. We had a great night bench racing and laughing until the wee hours.

Monday morning we headed North and picked up a sction of the Baja 500 race course from Erendera to Santo Thomas where our dirt adventure came to a close.

We covered a lot of different terrain this time Desert to the sea via mountains. Great trip with some great new friends and returning ones as well.

Thank you for joining us on this adventure.

Our new friend Oregon Mike was awarded the Camp4lo VIP trophy for his 1000 mile journey just to get here. He had a great time and his super nice rig was an inspiration.

Here is a link to more photos FLICKR ALBUM

Mexican 1000

Back when men were men. Pre GPS and a marked course. This is a great tribute to the pioneers of Baja travel.
Enjoy

2016 Schedule

2016 is here and we can not be more excited to announce this years schedule.

We have some great Baja off road adventures planned and we are looking forward to meeting more of you and sharing Baja with you. We have some new trails we recently checked out and think you will really enjoy. Bring your overland rigs RTT's and camp gear as we plan to add a camp night on the March run. Hotel rooms will also be available as well.

Viva Baja! 

4x4 Toyota owners magazine

Nice little write up by one of our guests on the last tour. Thank you Ben we are glad you had fun on your adventure.

4x4 Toyota Owners Magazine

NEXT Camp4lo BAJA OFF ROAD RUN September 25-28 2015

September 25-28 2015

This will be a great run that will encompass both coasts of Baja. 
We meet in San Diego and guide you through the border and down past Ensenada.
Off road down the West coast along the beach. The following day we traverse the peninsula and run to the other coast. We finish our off road journey in the town of San Felipe.
This run is open to all 4 wheel drive rigs. Stock to wild.

EMAIL  or call 844-CAMP4LO with any questions

Northern Baja Run report July 9-12 2015

We have been wanting to run a section between Mikes and Coyote Ranch for a while now and figured early July would be best, after the Baja 500 craziness and before the late Summer possibilities of hurricane rains.  We let everyone know we were going to be on a Pre Run the third day and we didn't know what to expect. We published this run without much advanced notice but that didn't seem to matter we filled up the roster with a great mix of rigs.  We met up Thursday morning at the usual place, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, shook hands with our guests and I quickly realized this was a good group and my stoke level went to 11.

3 Toyota's and 3 Jeeps ready for the Northern Baja Run

We crossed the border and made our way to Ensenada stopping at a taco shop for lunch.

All fueled up on Carne Asada, Al Pastor, Pescado, and Camarones we headed straight to Santo Thomas. We started our off road journey heading West toward Erendira on part the Baja 500 race course.

Off roading the Baja coastline toward  Erendira.

We arrived at Coyote Cals late afternoon just in time for a few cold Pacificos. 

Friday morning greeted us with plenty of sunshine and near perfect temperatures.

We geared up and made our way through the sleepy little town and resumed our off road route on the Baja 500 course.

Here are a few images from Fridays leg....

No bad days in Baja!

Friday night we stayed in a nice hotel in Colonet had well deserved showers and a great meal.

Our guests were tired from the days activities. We all retired early in anticipation of the next days adventure. I was pretty excited about the new day and the trails we were going to run Saturday. I had not been on them in quite a few years. 

Saturday we awoke to fresh coffee and another great breakfast provided by our friendly staff.

We loaded up and motored North on the highway for a few miles and we turned East on the Calentura road toward Valle De Trinidad.

We Came up on a shortcut used in the Baja races but the racers are usually coming down this hill. We wheeled UP the trail. Fun little excursion,

Ben making it look easy in his super clean Taco

The last couple had to have a little help, the earlier rigs really dug it up. Loved seeing everyone jump in and work together.

Max earning his stripes. More on that later

After our little fun challenge we hit Valle De Tinidad for some Tacos then motored down Mex 3 for a few miles to the "good road" up to Mike's Sky Ranch. We enjoyed a little break and a cold drink.

After a few photo ops we saddled up for the last leg of our journey. This was the unknown and where the exploration began. We hit a super trail loaded with plenty of obstacles. We had to spot each other several times through this trail. We worked as a team and really had a blast. There really was nothing a stock rig couldn't handle with a little care and technique, we proved that.

We arrived at the Coyote Ranch late afternoon and enjoyed all they have to offer. Family style dining and a great campfire that night where we all sat around and reminisced about what we had just accomplished.

Sunday morning after a leisurely breakfast we headed out the mild 5 mile dirt road to the pavement and headed North to Ensenada for some souvenir shopping and a great final lunch.

   

                         We found a neat spot in the trees. If anyone wants to camp let us know!

                                                         Cabins at Coyote Ranch

And finally Max. our rookie who  truly embodied the spirit of Camp4lo. His can do it attitude and go for broke but calculated style earned him the coveted VIP trophy.

Thank you to our guests, you made this a great trip!
Dave and Sharon
Andy
Ben
Max
Jacob
Bill
and our special guest Juan Carlos from BAJA VOYAGER We have added him to our team and are now able to offer first class accommodations and restaurants and more. Look for more exciting destinations available in the coming months.

Everybody likes free stuff

We just printed up a bunch of new stickers and we think they turned out, well , we think they turned out bitchen. We would love to share them with you. Email your address to info@camp4lo.com and we will send you one right out. While supplies last.
We also promise to not share your info with anyone.