Once we spend about a week at La Jolla Beach Camp, have our Auction, enjoy some delicious meals, and perform our charity work, everyone will start lining up in groups to head over to San Felipe to Victors Camp, officially called Seaside Hotel & Victor’s RV Park, where we will spend out last week.
The Parking Team will head out about Sunrise (or before), so if you choose to be on the Parking Team, you will need to be an early riser. They will queue up in La Jolla Beach Camp, and when everyone agrees on their CB radio that they are ready to go, the Parking Team Leader will signal them to head out. If you turn your CB on early in the morning, you will hear their chatter as they, and every group before you, prepare to leave the campground.
Most people will fuel up as they leave the La Jolla Beach area (or a day or two before) for the approximately five-hour, 278 KM (173 mile) trip from the peninsula’s west side to the opposite side on the east. We will head back north to Ensenada, then, in the middle of town, turn east to head up through the hills and farmland to the Sea of Cortez.
The Parking Team always leaves one hour before everyone else, and then we separate our groups at 30 – 45-minute intervals so each group does not meet the previous group along the way. The one-hour head start by the Parking Team allows them time to get settled in at Victors, get their signs out, and place their people at strategic locations leading up to the campground to direct everyone into Victors RV Park and to their designated parking space.
On this segment of the trip, we usually stop once we get out of Ensenada, about a one-hour, 15-minute drive, for a 10 – 15-minute break. We then stop again just before a Military Checkpoint about 1/3 of the way to San Felipe, as there is a great place with room for several RVs and toads. We will make about three more stops along the way, as specified by your Group Leader, or requested by someone on their CB, for breaks and for those with dogs to let them out for their break.
The last break will be after the Military Checkpoint, just north of San Felipe. The Group Leader will let everyone know on our CB radios when and where we will stop and for how long. The Group Leader will also signal when it is time to move on. I usually give a 1-minute warning, once everyone looks like they are ready.
There are two entrances to Victors, and depending on whether you choose Hookups or Dry Camping, you will be led to the appropriate entrance by our astute Parking Team in orange vests with orange flags. Once at Victor’s Camp, you will unhook your toad outside the park, then drive in and park your rig, fetch your car if you are the only person in your rig, level your rig (not all spaces are perfectly level at Victor’s), hook up to power and water if necessary, and then prepare for the Happy Hour and Welcome Dinner, which will be held on the beach at 4:27 PM.
Then, in the days after, we will enjoy Optional Excursions (not included in the rally cost) led by Victor Jr., eat some great seafood, fly a Trike off the beach (optional), enjoy some shopping, and drive your 4WD through the sand dunes. Towards the end of our stay, we will have an Add-on meeting to discuss different possible Add-on trips, hold a General Meeting to vote in new officers for the 2026 rally and enjoy a Farewell Dinner before each group heads off in their own direction.
Speaking of Add-on meetings, one reason we chose to end our rally in San Felipe is that it is only about a two-hour drive straight north of the border in Mexicali, but it is also a great place to start several Add-on trips. From here you can travel east to Puerto Penasco, Guaymas, or head south to see the whales, or even drive to Lorado or La Paz if you wish.
Several driving options are using San Felipe as a starting point. Usually, about 90% of our attendees want to see and enjoy more of Mexico for a few more days or weeks, so groups of travelers will venture off in different directions once the official rally ends.
A few will make a beeline for the border as they have obligations back in the US and will cross in Mexicali, which is an easy crossing. Some of us hang around Victor’s camp for a few more days of relaxation or move over to Pete’s Camp eight miles up the road.
We like staying at Victor’s because it is only a ten-minute walk to the Malecon on the streets or the beach, which is great for those without a car to get around in. Yes, some people bring their bicycles and get around town on those.
We can also easily walk to a bank with ATMs, a money exchange booth, an eyeglass shop where I buy my glasses for half of what it costs me in the US, and several pharmacies, where you can buy almost anything you want without a prescription, there several restaurants on or near the Malecon, and beautiful weather most of the time.
Most people enjoy Victor’s as it is so close to town.
If anyone needs fuel once they arrive in San Felipe, we strongly encourage them to get in and get parked and then go out the following day to get fuel, so the Parking Team can do their job.
