Cabo Rojo's MTB Trails

GENERAL INFORMATION		SPECIFIC INFORMATION - MTB / ATB
ENTRANCE FEE	FREE	TYPE	D I R T R O A D S	NO COMPETITION
PARKING	FREE	NAME	LOTS OF TRAILS	EL PERRO (The Dog)
BUSINESS HOURS	N / A	DISTANCE	LONG
CITY	CABO ROJO	TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED	MEDIUM	EASY 5 / 10
ADDRESS	ALL TOWN	AEROBIC LEVEL	E N D U R A N C E	7 / 10
PHONE #	N / A	HEIGHT GAIN	FROM 5 METERS	TO 125 METERS
SIZE	N / A	WATER NEEDS	DRY ZONE
TEMPERATURES	N / A	THORNS?	¡THORN WARNING!
FOREST TYPE	DRY, COSTAL	RISKS	DEHYDRATION	HEAT STROKE
WHAT TO SEE?	A LOT!	COURSE SPEED	NORMAL TO FAST
WEB SITE	PIRATAS BOQUERÓN	EXTRA FEATURES	LOTS OF TRAILS, HILLS, LANDSCAPES	DISTANCE, TO TASTE
FAMILY FUN	YES!!!!	SATELITE PHOTO	WEATHER

SPEED INDEX: (Sluggish ) ( in Between ) (Slow ) ( Parts Slow, Parts Fast ) (Fast )(Veeerry Fast )

WATER INDEX:

CAMEL = 1 BOTTLE 20 onz

THORN INDEX:

0 THORNS = LOW PROBABILITY: You get a flat by an act of God, or by using tubes fully covered by old patches!
5 THORNS = HIGH PROBABILITY: You better take patches, extra tubes, slime or liner like Mr Tuffy!

HOW TO GET TO CABO ROJO?
From Mayagüez:
The easiest route: At Mayagüez (Road #2) take exit 161, this will take you to Cabo Rojo by Road 100. You can find this exit after Mayagüez Mall if you are coming from this town, and just before it if you are coming from Ponce. At the end of Road 100 (Boquerón), take the road that will take you directly to road 301east (do not take road 101, even though it will take you there). This is the same road that will take you to the Lighthouse and the Combate beach.

From Ponce:
After Yauco take Exit 194 (Road 116) towards Guánica. In less than a minute, after La Parguera entrance (Road 304), you will find Road 305. The exit is to your left, close to a Gas Station. About five minutes later this road will make a " T " with road 303, turn right. Road 303 will make a " T " too, but with Road 101, turn left. Road 101 will take you directly to El Poblado de Boquerón; you will pass Panadería Daisy (Daisy Bakery) and Road 100.

WHERE TO PARK IN CABO ROJO?
1. Panadería Daisy (*)
       This bakery is located in road 101, close to the Betances Statue. If you come from Boquerón (Road 100) it should be at your right. This bakery has a relatively large parking lot at its side. But is better if you park at the west side (right side) of the Samán Street (the one that goes south {1.55 miles}).

2. Refugio de Aves de Boquerón (*)
      You can park in the Boquerón Bird Sanctuary during their busyness hours (Monday to Sunday, from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm). For more detailed information go to the Bird Sanctuary page in this web.

3. El Viandón (*) (See Photo)
      Just in front of this small store there is a small but wide unpaved triangle, it can fit about 10 to 12 cars.   This is the parking site of the Los Piratas de Boquerón MTB Club. They depart from there every Sunday at 8:00 am.

4. The Cabo Rojo's Lighthouse (*)
      There are several parking spots provided by the Department of Natural Resources close to the Lighthouse. One of them is close to the Playuela Beach. This site is good because there are always people moving around.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
     Here I only present some of the many trails of this MTB Mecca. Mainly those trails or routes that you can explore without the need of somebody that knows them very well (like a native). At the bottom you will find in more detail the El Perro Hill route, which is marked by a yellow rectangle in the map. As you can notice, the trails are connected by relatively short sections of paved road (±2 miles). The unpaved roads are mainly double tracks made of dirt or gravel. Most of them (98%) are non-technical. But be certain that technical challenge is by no way the same as endurance, which is the word that describes very well the length of this trails. If you like hills, here you will have plenty. If we add the long distances (20+ miles) and the heat, you will find that most of its routes are very demanding. Is for that reason that I classify these as ENDURANCE routes.
    I will offer you as an example my first encounter with these routes. We started at Panadería Daisy, and went south towards El Perro. We turn left towards the Viandón, and then we went to the Bird Sanctuary by road 301. We enter this reserve, entered Garza Single track and then we climbed a hill to arrive to road 301. From there we turned toward El Combate beach by road 3301, thanks God it was descending. We enter at El Combate the trail that gets you to the Lighthouse. Climbed the Lighthouse hill. After 19 miles and be totally dehydrated, I declined to do another step. My friends returned to Daisy and at the end their odometer marked 30 miles.

FAMILY:
      Depending on your family interests they are lots of things to do in Cabo Rojo. This town is known by its beautiful beaches. Many are close by, for example; Boquerón, El Combate and La Playuela in the Lighthouse. You can also enjoy the local business in the Poblado (Boquerón).
   In the area where the trail at the Combate and road 301 meet (photo), you can find the Cabo Rojo's Salt Flats Interpretative Center. Just at the other side of the road you can climb the observation tower of the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
   Also you can hike around the Light House and enjoy the gorgeous views of the place!

TRAIL:   El PERRO (THE DOG)
From Daisy (*) to letter A:                         1.55 miles.
From A to 303:                                          2.34 miles.
From 303 to D:                                          1.94 miles.
                                                               5.83 miles Total

I offer you this trail in detail because the Perro Hill is very, very challenging to climb, and very, very fast and fun to descend. This dirt road cuts trough Sierra Bermeja (a very old mountain chain). This road is not too long, so you can combine it with others. In the point A in the map, you will find a four way crossing, just go straight. This is the lowest part of the route, 8 m (26'). After point A, the climb is not too hard until you reach the 87 m mark. In this place the mountain ascends to 125 m (410'). Welcome to Los Perros Hill. Rest, drink, fasten your seat belts because from here on is all a downhill. But be careful because the first part of this down hill is made of loose pebbles and rocks... no a good place for breaking.
Once you get to the road 303, you can go in other direction or continue to the beach (Road 302). Regretfully, a couple of years ago this still was a dirt road. What happened ... well… you know "progress". At the end of this road (point D) you can find two routes. The one that goes to the east will end at La Parguera (Beware: Thorn Country), I don't think you will need a guide for this one. But for the one that goes to the west is better to contact a "Native" or a guide. This trail will find a couple of trails. Or better yet, arrive very early at el Viandón, and learn the trails with Boquerón's Pirates.

Take lots of water or better sport drinks, also use carbohydrates, sun tan lotion, Insect and Thorn repellent (last one, not available yet)!

I hope you enjoy this route!

JGRR