Road Trip from San Felipe to the Valley of the Giants

When you think about a cactus, you probably visualize a bright green plant, maybe as tall as you, with a lot of spikes. You may even think to yourself, “I’ve seen a cactus before, why are people suggesting I go see MORE cacti?”

The reason is because these Saharous Giant Cacti are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. They aren’t as tall as you, they aren’t as tall as two of you standing on top of each other. These cactus plants are as big as some of the biggest trees you have in your forests back home. These cactus plants are towering 150 ft. up in the air, and are said to be over 150 years old!

If you’re going to be in San Felipe, and you are going to experience the desert climate, you might as well go see the one thing that everyone thinks about when they think of the desert: a cactus.

The journey out to Valle de los Sahuaros Gigantes is an adventure in itself. For a mile-by-mile guide on what to expect, visit our page where we talk about visiting Gonzaga. If you are lucky enough to be staying in a fully furnished condo or vacation rental at El Dorado Ranch, a day trip out to see these beauties is only about 3 hours away. This makes visiting the valley of the giants easy to do in one day and still get back in time to hang out by the pool, grab dinner at The Taco Factory or head down to watch the sunset on the private beach.

As you head towards Puertocitos, the warden will greet you and charge you about 60 pesos to enter the valley. Like most places in Mexico, you can usually negotiate a lower rate if you put your bartering skills to the test. If the warden hands you a receipt with the entrance fee on it however, there’s no negations there. The price is the price is the price. If you don’t have a vehicle with all wheel drive, stay on the trails and don’t go further than the signs that say “4x4 required.”

As you drive down the trails, you’ll notice right away that these large, majestic trees are not your typical trees, they are green and spiny cactus plants, just like the ones you see in cartoons and TV shows. These are Mexican Giant Cardon cacti, and they are a native species of Mexico. The plant is commonly known as cardón, a name derived from the Spanish word cardo, meaning "thistle.” The fruit of this specific type of cactus was important to the Seri people, natives of Sonora. The flesh of the cactus contains alkaloids, and may have been used as a psychoactive plant in Mexico. (Don’t get any ideas!) Another cool trait about this cactus is that a special relationship between the bacterial and fungal colonies in it’s roots allow the plant to grow without soil. You’ll notice some growing right on the side of a rock. This is an important trait for the cactus, as rain and soil is scarce in Mexico. The Cardon cactus is the tallest cactus in the world, with a record height of 63 feet. It is a slow growing plant and its lifespan has been measured in hundreds of years

Valle de los Sahuaros Gigantes will truly amaze you, and you will be blown away that this type of natural phenomenon can occur just hours away from the city of San Felipe where the land is flat, the bushes are few and every tree is a palm tree.

Take a lot of pictures, especially pictures of you standing next to the giant cactus. Your friends and family back home will really get a kick out of seeing how big these plants really are, as it’s hard to imagine unless you can see it with your own eyes.

If you are looking for an exciting road trip with great picture opportunities at the end, a trip out to the valley of giants is a good way to spend an afternoon. This fun, little known trip is inexpensive, easy to do, and never crowded. It’s a good way to beat the crowds of San Felipe’s beaches, restaurants and boardwalk.