Sun and Sand Vacation: Baja's dunes at sunset (Guillermo Aldana/courtesy, Mexico Tourism)
You may not run foul of the Tusken Raiders, but the sandy contours of Baja California's Algodones region will feel nostalgically familiar to sandboarding Jedis—Star Wars was filmed here. Indeed, Mexico's Baja dunes are a paradise for sandboarders as well as ornery sci-fi desert scavengers. Los Algodones lies in the northeast corner of Baja California, where 250 square miles of massive dunes bestride the U.S.-Mexico border. Excepting Death Valley and the Mojave Desert, it's the driest region in North America—meaning hard, rideable sandy manna from heaven.
Beyond Algodones, the desert scrub of Centinela Hill near the industrial town of Mexicali offers steep-sided dunes and natural jumps. The dunes of Cantamar outside the beach haven of Rosarito, just south of Tijuana, deliver Pacific Ocean views and surfing. Finally, San Felipe, an attractive and popular beach hangout on Baja's Sea of Cortez side, is the gateway for two sandboarder favorites: 3,369-foot Cerro Juan and 4,290-foot Cerro Kino. San Felipe also sees the sand people combine their love of carving with some shaft-spinning off-road action in the Baja backcountry.
