Rejoice Rocky Point Lovers! There is a New Smoother Route From Hwy 8 to the Resorts on Sandy Beach!

You may have been hearing rumors about an extension of the Coastal Highway being built that will cut across the desert from the Laguna del Mar road to the Pemex and convenience store on the circle that directs traffic up to the resort condominiums on Sandy Beach.

Up until now, most folks heading for Sandy Beach turn west on Samuel Ocaña off Benito Juarez (black line on the map) and negotiate 2 miles of potholes to arrive at the same traffic circle with the Pemex and convenience store.  This big circle takes you around and releases you onto the winding road and up the hill to the resorts lining Sandy Beach and on to The Reef RV Park.

Well, rest easy all you Pilgrims of Paradise Found, for that extension road is now a reality and awaits you with a smooth ride all the way from the Laguna del Mar exit off Highway 8 to the parking lot of your favorite resort! 

You may have read our recent article on the new Convention Center project (https://www.sonoranresorts.mx/?p=3167 ) for which construction is now under way due to Gus Brown (SBR Properties) donating a parcel of land to the city from his Sandy Beach Resorts Master Plan Development. Apparently Gus didn’t stop there.

When the state’s $20 million peso funding request for the expansion road was awarded, again Mr. Brown donated the ingress and egress through the SBR Master Plan in order to expedite the beginning of construction.  This road is now useable because of the foresight and cooperation exhibited by Brown.

For the benefit of our readers who for whatever reason are not familiar with the route to utilize the extension road, here are some simple directions.

From Sonoyta on Hwy 8: 

When you reach the big turn off just north of town where you can choose to go to the Mayan Palace (the sign says “Caborca”) or Laguna del Mar, or straight on into Puerto Peñasco, just take the right turn toward Laguna del Mar (the red line on the map) and follow that paved road for about 3 miles.  When you cross the railroad track, you will be .1 miles to the extension road. Turn left (the red dotted line on the map). If you go straight you’ll end up in Laguna del Mar. Go right and you’ll be in El Golfo in less than two hours. But if you have reservations somewhere on Sandy Beach, go left.

About 2.2 miles down the newly paved expansion road you’ll be at the familiar traffic circle (red circle at the end of the solid red line) from which you will proceed to the resorts as before.

From El Golfo de Santa Clara

Obviously, if you are coming in from El Golfo de Santa Clara on the new Coastal Highway, and many from southern California are taking advantage of the drive time this new route saves, you will just continue to the above mentioned traffic circle.

There have been some strong lobbying efforts to push improving Samuel Ocaña, and whenever that project begins, this new road will become even more of a blessing for visitors from the north.

And one final caveat about traveling the new expansion road: for safety purposes, please be aware that even though the road is finished, it is a fairly narrow road and at the time of this writing, no road surface markings have been applied; there are no shoulders graded as yet, and there are no street lights.  Therefore, if you are driving in after dark, please consider these potentially detrimental obstacles. If you suffer from any form of impaired night vision, we advise you restrict use of this new route to daylight hours until the  surface markings have been applied and the shoulder gradings  have been completed. We will continue to inform you as each of these stages are completed.

This blog is brought to you by Sonoran Resorts Sales Group, Jim Ringquist, Director of Sales.