Kite Area guide
Los Barriles, Los Barriles
Los Barriles is the roomy, unhurried version of Baja kiting: a wide beach that runs for miles and a bay that makes self-rescue realistic.
When to kite
Best months: October, November, December, January, February, March, April.
About this Kite Area
Los Barriles sits on the east cape of Baja California Sur, on the same Sea of Cortez system as La Ventana up the coast but with considerably more room. 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.
The beach is wide, sandy and uncrowded, running for miles in both directions, which makes launching and landing about as simple as it gets. The water is clear and the safety profile is unusually good: no strong tides or currents, nothing submerged to hit, a bay shape and wind direction that make self-rescue realistic, and no road or traffic close behind the sand.
Strong El Norte events build sizeable swell for anyone who wants to ride waves. The season is the Baja winter, roughly October through April, and the spot serves complete beginners through advanced riders.