DESERT

The Pinacate Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site located just North of Puerto Peñasco, and definitely worth exploring. The Schuk Toak Visitors Center closer to town provides the perfect gateway to learning more about the rugged landscape full of ancient volcanic flows, immense maar craters, and moonlike terrain. Parts of the Pinacate Biosphere Reserve actually served as training sites for Apollo astronauts as they prepared for missions to the moon.

Sand Dunes

Puerto Peñasco is not only home to some of the most extreme tidal movements along its shores, but the region also possesses one of the largest masses of shifting sands on the globe. The sand dunes of the Pinacate can be reached via hiking trails starting out from the Schuk Toak Visitors Center. It’s not uncommon to spot sandboarders gliding down the dunes, or extreme hikers planning a mountain escapade to the top of the Pinacate range. Visits to the sand dunes for hiking is best in cooler months, and always with plenty of water.

Off-roading

If bounding across the dunes is more your style, several spots throughout town offer ATV, RZR, and 4×4 rentals. Helmets are required. Popular trails wind behind condominiums along Sandy Beach, and up “La Lona – Competition Hill” further west toward the area of Cholla Bay.