Motorcycle road trip · October 2026
Long Beach to Land’s End, and back by the other coast
Fifteen days on BMW F 850 GS: down the Pacific on Mex 1 to Cabo San Lucas, back up the Sea of Cortez on Mex 5 through the Salton Sea. Each stage below opens as a ready-made route in Google Maps, fuel stops included.
Saturday 3 October
Long Beach → San Diego, by the Pacific Coast Highway
Pick up the bikes at MotoQuest, then Heisler Park, lunch at The Deck in Laguna, the Torrey Pines Gliderport, La Jolla Cove and golden hour at Sunset Cliffs.
Open the route in Google MapsSunday 4 October
San Diego → Tecate → Valle de Guadalupe
Cross at Tecate, warm bread at El Mejor Pan, then the Ruta del Vino: lunch at Finca Canard, tasting at Vena Cava, dinner at Fauna without leaving the hotel.
Border: stop for your FMM tourist card Open the route in Google MapsMonday 5 October
Valle de Guadalupe → Cataviña, into the boulder desert
Lobster burrito at Mamá Espinoza in El Rosario, the Valle de los Cirios pullout, then the Cataviña cave paintings before the boulder fields at dusk.
Fill to the brim in El Rosario — the last reliable pump for 315 km. No station in Cataviña: drum fuel is sold opposite the hotel, cash only.
Fuel-critical stage Open the route in Google MapsTuesday 6 October
Cataviña → San Ignacio, crossing the 28th parallel
Top up at Villa Jesús María, the Eagle monument at Paralelo 28, fuel again in Guerrero Negro, then the palm oasis and mission of San Ignacio. The night is in a yurt on the río.
Clocks jump +1 h entering Baja California Sur Open the route in Google MapsWednesday 7 October
San Ignacio → Loreto, the Bahía Concepción day
Lava fields under the Tres Vírgenes, the Eiffel-attributed iron church and French bakery of Santa Rosalía, Mulegé’s hilltop mission, tacos at Doney’s, then the viewpoint, El Coyote and El Requesón along the bay, into Loreto for the oldest mission of the Californias.
Open the route in Google MapsThursday 8 October
Loreto → San Javier → La Paz
Early detour into the Sierra for the best-preserved mission in Baja, rotisserie chicken in Ciudad Constitución, then the long run to the malecón of La Paz.
Leave by 08:00 — twisty mountain road, cattle, water crossings Open the route in Google MapsFriday 9 October
La Paz → Todos Santos → Cabo San Lucas
Chilaquiles at Cafetería 12.40, the Hotel California photo in Todos Santos, garden lunch at Jazamango, a swim at Cerritos, then Land’s End and a cliff-top sunset dinner at Sunset Monalisa.
Open the route in Google MapsSaturday 10 October
Rest day in Cabo — the bikes sleep in
Water taxi to the Arch and Lover’s Beach in the morning calm, lunch at The Office on Médano, snorkelling at Chileno Bay, sunset from the hotel beach — lounging only, the Pacific side is not for swimming.
No riding todaySunday 11 October
Cabo → the East Cape → La Paz
The Tropic of Cancer marker at Santiago, canyon pools at Sol de Mayo, lunch at Smokey’s, then the old silver town of El Triunfo: climb La Ramona and visit the Ruta de Plata museum before the run into La Paz.
Open the route in Google MapsMonday 12 October
La Paz → Ligüí → Nopoló, back up the Cortez coast
Fuel in Ciudad Constitución, a deserted beach at Ligüí under the Sierra Giganta, the marina at Puerto Escondido, and dinner back in Loreto at Orlando’s.
Open the route in Google MapsTuesday 13 October
Nopoló → Guerrero Negro, the long haul north
Concepción and Mulegé pass by for quick re-stops, chicken at Tercos Pollitos in Santa Rosalía, fuel there and in San Ignacio, then clam everything at Malarrimo — the night’s hotel and its famous kitchen.
Clocks fall back −1 h at Paralelo 28 Open the route in Google MapsWednesday 14 October
Guerrero Negro → Mex 5 → San Felipe, the remote one
Sign the wall at The New Coco’s Corner, refuel at Rancho Grande, fish tacos with your toes in Bahía Gonzaga at Alfonsina’s, the Campo La Poma viewpoint, then in under the arches of San Felipe for a malecón evening.
Fill at Guerrero Negro and top up at Villa Jesús María: the only pump in the next 285 km is Rancho Grande, and it can run dry. A 3–5 litre reserve rides with us today.
Fuel-critical stage Open the route in Google MapsThursday 15 October
San Felipe → the border → Salton Sea → Palm Springs
Back into the US at Calexico East, then the strangest afternoon of the trip: Salvation Mountain, a burger at the Ski Inn — the lowest bar in the western hemisphere — the Bombay Beach Drive-In, and windmills at golden hour above Palm Springs.
Hand back the FMM at the border Open the route in Google MapsFriday 16 October
Palm Springs → Long Beach → one last night in Hollywood
Return the GSs at MotoQuest, then up to Hollywood on four wheels: handprints at the Chinese Theatre, sunset at Griffith Observatory, and a closing martini at Musso & Frank, pouring since 1919.
Open the route in Google Maps
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