Monte Cardón
The Vaquero Trail
The Art of Hosting
A guided desert ride and firepit dinner
East Cape of Los Cabos
East Cape of Los Cabos
You ride out through the dry arroyos, along the old paths that cross the estate and the land beyond it, with the sierra ahead of you and the sun already low over it.
The desert here is thick with life. Cardón stand over you like sentries. Palo blanco catches the last light. Herbs release their oils as the horses brush past them. Quail break from the brush ahead, cardinals cross in flashes of red, and deer step out of the arroyos to watch you go by.
And the light keeps changing. The mountains ahead go from gold to amber, then to rose, then to the deep violet that comes just before the dark. The heat lifts off the ground, the breeze turns cool, and by the last stretch of the ride the stars have come out — so many of them, this far from any city, that they are what light the way home.
The pace is unhurried throughout. This is a private trail: no line of riders ahead of you, no one coming the other way. Only hooves in the sand, and a desert going quiet.
The ride ends where the fire is already burning. A long rustic table waits in the open desert, set by firelight, and dinner is the cooking of this land: the dishes Baja has always eaten, cooked over the flame in the vaquero tradition and seasoned with the herbs gathered along the trail you have just ridden. You eat with the fire holding the cold off, the horses resting nearby, and nothing above the table but the immensity of the stars.
If you want it, we have prepared something to ride with: a scored audio companion for your own headphones, telling the story of this peninsula as you cross it. The cultures who read this land first. The cardón that gives the estate its name, and the endemic cacti beside it. The birds that live here. The wild herbs underfoot and what they are used for. A narrated interpretation, and no guide talking over the silence.
A long rustic table set in the open desert, and a mesquite fire already burning when you arrive.
Dinner is cooked over the flame in the vaquero tradition of Baja — the ranch cooking of this desert, the dishes this land has always eaten, seasoned with the herbs gathered along the trail you have just ridden.
You eat by firelight, at a table with nothing above it but the immensity of the stars, the horses resting nearby and the fire holding the cold off. An evening in the desert, with people who know it.
/the-estate, ejecutado en tiempo real.
The estate sits twenty-five minutes from downtown San José del Cabo — close, but outside the commercial corridor of Los Cabos. The drive is beautiful the whole way: a paved road with views of desert and ocean, all the way to our gate, and from there 1.5 miles of sand road, perfectly maintained and well signed. Any car makes it without difficulty.
The only thing to watch for is the local wildlife. Baja is known for its free-range policy, so you will come across burros and cattle on the road. Drive slowly, and enjoy the ride.
Rideshare apps and taxis generally charge a surcharge for the area, and some will decline the trip back at night: there are no drivers waiting for a fare in the middle of the desert. We can arrange private transport for you — drivers we trust, who know the road and the estate, and charge far better rates. A round trip from Puerto Los Cabos, downtown San José or the hotel corridor runs around $2,000 MXN. Ask us when you book.
*The rate above is an estimate for reference only. Every transfer is quoted individually and is subject to change and to availability on the date requested.
Please use Google Maps only. Other navigation apps route incorrectly and will most likely leave you on the wrong road.
The Vaquero Trail is in preparation. Leave us your email and we will write to you when the first rides are open — before we announce it anywhere else.
Questions in the meantime? Write to us at hello@montecardon.com
LINEA_DE_NEGOCIO = VAQUERO_TRAIL, para poder avisar a esa lista el día del lanzamiento.