San Felipe

SAN FELIPE ... a remote desert community enjoying the benefits of a warm, dry, winter climate, and a hot, humid (Florida-like) summer. The Sea of Cortez is one of the world's most prolific salt-water habitats.
 
Located 125 miles south of the International border between Calexico, California and Mexicali, Baja California, the primary route to San Felipe is via Mexico's Federal Highway 5. A secondary route exists via Tijuana following Highway 1 south to Ensenada, Highway 3 east to Highway 5 and south from there to San Felipe.

The largest major metropolitan area with good airline and transportation connections is San Diego, about 4 hours drive by car north-west of San Felipe.

Geopolitically a part of the Mexicali municipality, San Felipe depends upon tax-based funding for all its public services. It is governed locally by a "Delegado" (Mayor), representing Mexicali's Presidente, who is responsible for all municipal matters.

San Felipe was founded in 1916 as a commercial fishing port. Still operating a sizeable shrimp-fishing fleet of small pangas, the pueblos' principal income has changed over the past five years, from fishing to tourism and retirement living with as many as 250,000 American and Canadian visitors annually.

Increasingly we now also see tourism and investment in retirement homes from places  as far away as Australia. Easter week and the surrounding "spring break" weeks, when college students from schools around the southwest USA invade San Felipe, is the busiest time in town. Hotel rooms are at a premium and traffic jams are routine on the road to and from the border crossing in Mexicali. During the summer months, May through September, the weather is ideal for a relaxed lifestyle on the beaches. Fishing is good and the pace of life slows considerably.

With a population topping 25,000 (including foreign residents), this seaside community is a delightful retirement area. Over the past two years there has been a major influx of retirees who are building homes here and cashing out on their property investments in the USA. Local businesses provide the requisite services including, but not limited to, House Design Services, Architectural Services, Construction Services, Lumber Yards and Hardware Stores.
     
 The city water supply comes from wells about 30 miles south of town and also springs in the mountains. While it is considered safe to drink, it has a high mineral content. The city sewage system is unusual for a coastal town in that most of it does not discharge into the sea; it is piped to a plant in the desert for treatment. Septic systems are used for all properties away from the town's main collector system. This includes all developments to the north and south of San Felipe along the beaches. In some cases these septic systems are barely able to cope with the major influx of visitors on weekends.
     
 The sea water is maintained as clean as possible because of the great dependence of the town on the fish and shrimp industries. Tests of the bay water in past years have revealed minimal detectable e-coli contamination. However, the further away you are from beachfront development, the cleaner the water will be.

Emergence of San Felipe as a major tourist destination:

• San Felipe is the first entry point to the Sea of Cortez from the border.
• Four hour drive from San Diego and Southern California, 7 from Phoenix or Las Vegas
• New 4 Lane Highway being constructed
• San Felipe is a Major Port on the Escalera Nautica (“Nautical Ladder”)
• Fonatur just completed the construction of their office here in San Felipe and they are now putting in their docks for boats coming in for short term stays
• Large development companies coming into the area.
• Government has committed to and is focused on making the area the next major tourist destination following the examples of Cancun, Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta
• Plans to upgrade the airport to handle commercial flights
• Developers realizing and planning for the infrastructure to support tourism such as resorts, spas, Marinas, shops, boutiques and restaurants.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ESCALERA NAUTICA

The Escalera Nautica was created to build a system of “Nautical Ladders” connecting ports from San Diego all the way around the Baja Peninsula and up to San Felipe. They will offer short term docks (1 to 3 days) for tourists coming into the area, as well as full service marinas. This project calls for the improvement and modernization of existing ports, airports, and roadways, new ports, airports, and roads to be built, as well as ferry systems to allow complete access to all areas of the Baja and the Sea of Cortez.

The plan is for the Sea of Cortez to be a “Recreational Playground” for Boaters and Tourists.