Alan Kohl Baja Mexico 1000 Interview Part 5 - Where to Stay

This is the final blog post on the Baja 1000 with Alan Kohl of MotorMexico.com - unless I can get Alan to tell us about this year's race after he returns.

Where to Stay (Camp) and Watch the Baja 1000

The Baja 1000 covers a large area, nearly 1000 miles. So, where does one stay to get the best views of the race?

Alan's answer to this question was also one of his favorite parts of the Baja 1000 race.

"The Baja 1000 race environment also provides an opportunity to experience the beauty and solitude of one of the most roughed regions in the world.

We take a week and camp out in the desert, usually four-wheeling several hours to reach our chosen spot. We pick our camp and watch spot from the Google Earth map of the race course. We have several criteria in selecting this spot.

Since it is late November and cold at night, we look for the lowest elevation possible, that is as close to the starting line as possible. We also look for a spot in a wash with a good supply of firewood, which is provided by breaking dead branches off mesquite and ironwood trees. We do not damage anything living.

The reason we want to be fairly close to the start of the race is because we want to see as many racers as possible before they break down and drop out. On the other hand, we don't want to be too close, because the crowds are huge along the first 50 - 75 miles of the course. We will probably be watching from around RM (race mile) 135 this year. That is farther from the start than we prefer, but meets the other criteria of low elevation (probably about 400 feet), firewood and no crowd.

The sunsets are awesome; the mountains are beautiful, as is the desert. For sleeping I just throw a plastic tarp on the ground and put my sleeping bag on top. Since there are no man-made lights in the night sky, the last thing I see before falling asleep is a sky just full of stars.

Many people camp to watch the Baja 1000, but also many people stay in motels in the larger towns along the course. Most of the race teams stay in Ensenada, Baja California, where the race starts and most often ends.

Ensenada is about 60 miles south of San Diego. Hotels/motels should definitely be booked in advance...the better hotels are often booked a couple of months prior to the race."

Thank you so much Alan for the wealth of Baja Mexico 1000 information! We hope you have a wonderful race this year, and that we will get the opportunity hear about it when you return.