Playa Cerritos

About This Spot

Playa Los Cerritos is a Pacific-facing beach break on the west side of Baja Sur, ~8 km south of Todos Santos and just south of El Pescadero — NOT a Sea of Cortez flat-water lagoon like La Ventana or Los Barriles. This is wave-kite terrain: think directional/surfboard riders comfortable launching through and jumping shore-break, rated upper-intermediate to advanced. Twin-tip riders can manage on smaller, glassier days but the swell rewards strapless/wave gear. Wind: Cerritos runs on the winter El Norte thermal — a NW sea breeze stacked on synoptic NW flow, arriving on-shore to side-on-shore. Season is roughly November–March (some April days). It's a thermal, so wind typically fills mid-afternoon (~1 PM to sunset) rather than blowing all day; reliability is moderate, around 40–60% of winter days giving ~15+ kt for a few hours. Expect 15–25 kt on the better days. May–September is effectively off: thermals shut down, days turn hot/humid, and it overlaps hurricane season — don't plan a trip then. Water state: open Pacific swell, commonly 1–2 m clean NW groundswell in winter with real shape — chop plus breaking waves, never flat. Tide matters: shore-break dumps hard at high tide. Launch & access: easy paved access off Highway 19, ~1 hr north of Cabo San Lucas; sedan-friendly, with a beach club, parking and amenities. The usable sand beach is wide but the rideable launch corridor is shared. Hazards: heavy dumping shore-break (has hurt experienced kiters — watch the sets 15–20 min before launching), strong rip currents, and a rocky point/reef at the north end. It's a popular surf beach, so crowds and surfer/swimmer conflict are real — kite away from the main peak and respect right-of-way. Onshore component means self-rescue lands you on the beach, but in big shore-break that's still rough.