Destination guide
Los Barriles, Mexico
A wide, empty sand beach on Baja's east cape, with side-shore wind, no current and miles of room.
About Los Barriles
Los Barriles lies on the east cape of Baja California Sur, around an hour north of San José del Cabo, on the same Sea of Cortez wind system that fills La Ventana up the coast. It is the more spacious and the more relaxed of the two.
Wind fills in around mid-morning and blows until late afternoon, averaging 18 to 23 knots on a windy day and arriving side-shore from the left, which leaves plenty of room to work with. The beach is wide, sandy and uncrowded, running for miles in both directions, and launching and landing are as easy as they get.
It is also an unusually safe spot on paper: no strong tides or currents, nothing submerged to hit, no road or traffic close behind the sand, and a bay shape and wind direction that make self-rescue realistic. Strong El Norte events build sizeable swell for anyone who wants to ride it. The season is the Baja winter, roughly October through April.
When to go
Best months: January, February, March, April, October, November, December.
Kite areas
1 distinct riding area documented within this destination.
- Los Barriles
Best months: October, November, December, January, February, March, April.