Security for campers is a selling point at Playa Salamando, located at kilometer marker 94 off the toll road, just outside Ensenada. This gated campground offers campsites on the beach or overlooking the beach from rocky cliffs that feature shade ramadas, fire rings and barbecues. Pitching a tent on the sand is perfectly okay here as well. The campground has restaurants with flush toilets and showers. Since surfing is a popular activity on the beach, there are boogie board rentals as well as table and kerosene lamp rentals and firewood for sale. The security gates are closed at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Just beyond the Ensenada toll plaza a few miles out of town is Villa de San Miguel, a site that offers camping on a world famous surfing beach. San Miguel, a point-break surf beach that's home to numerous surfing competitions, draws lots of surfers from Southern California to Ensenada. The campground caters to both tent and RV campers, with space for hundreds of tents on the sand. There are restrooms with cold showers on the beach and restrooms with hot showers in the campground. Within walking distance of camp is a restaurant and the Bar San Miguel, which features daily drink specials and free WiFi. The campground features 24-hour guard service for security.
Around Bahia de Todos Santos, south of Ensenada near La Bufadora, are the Mona Lisa and La Jolla campgounds. Both are gated and both cater to tent and RV campers. Mona Lisa features a private beach. La Jolla offers rentals for horseback riding on the sand. In the hills south of Ensenada on the La Paz Highway is Las Cañadas Campground, which features tent camping beside pools, a lake or under oak trees. The campground features picnic tables, grills and electricity. There is also a water park. Wine country north of Ensenada on Highway 3 offers two campsites. Tent camping is offered with wine and dinner at Bibayoff Winery, the only Russian-owned winery in Mexico. And nearby, located north of La Cetto Winery, is the San Antonio Necua Campground. This site has 14 campsites featuring grills, showers, restrooms and a general store.
Before exploring camping possibilities, there are things you should know about traveling in Mexico. The U.S. State Department has issued a warning to “exercise caution” while traveling in Northern Baja California, especially at night. According to the State Department warning, violence between Mexican authorities and transnational criminal organizations has escalated in recent years, and U.S. citizens have fallen victim to murder, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery.
