by Gordon Adair © 1994
ARIZONA'S OWN BEACH FRONT PROPERTY. Well, almost. Sixty miles south of the Mexican border is the small vacation town of Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), which is nestled on the edge of the Sea of Cortez. This area provides Arizona divers the chance to get wet in salt water without great financial expense or a lot of time. The four hour or so trip from Phoenix is an enjoyable drive on fairly safe roads. Crossing the Mexican border you are only required to state your destination to the guards though I always make sure to bring along proper identification.
Rocky Point has a wide variety of accommodations to choose from, including hotels, house and condo rentals, trailer parks and what Rocky Point is best known for around spring break...camping on Sandy Beach. Due to the growing popularity of the area I strongly recommend advance reservations.
On one of my trips to Rocky Point, I along with five friends, rented
a beautiful fully furnished four bedroom home on the beach in the Los Conchos
Development. The development is protected by a guarded gate and our vehicles
were protected by the walls around the house, allowing us to completely
enjoy the bounding sea without any worries. The sandy beach provides miles
of safe walking bordered by magnificent homes. Two small reefs line this
shore with a depth of around twenty one feet. Beyond the reefs in the sand
beds sea shells and sand dollars are in abundance.
On another trip we stayed at the Villa Del Mar Hotel. The hotel offers weekends rates of $45.00 for one bed and $55.00 for two beds. I strongly recommend the two bed rooms as they are much nicer. The hotels only access to the water is a rocky lagoon built for swimming at high tide which is used mostly by the local people. Diving at this spot was recommended by the local dive shop. Upon arriving to this area, with little time left in the day we decided to explore this dive spot. Tropical fish conjugated in the shallow waters before the rocky bottom quickly dropped to thirty-four feet at the point of our return. This is my deepest shore dive in Rocky Point to date. After returning home I was told this site may be a dumping area. However the area seemed clean and since divers bring their own air to breathe, make your own choice.
One Saturday morning we boarded a very slow 40 foot boat to Bird Island through China Sea, one of the two local dive shops. For this trip I recommend taking a book, food and drinks and some fresh water to rinse off with for this six hour round trip boat ride. The sea was a little rough disabling us from diving the better sites. Our boat anchored in the protection of the islands cove allowing us the option of diving in the shallows of the cove or swimming around to the opposite side of the island where the visibility improves. When diving close to the rocky shores of the island, the natives may jump in and make you their play toy. Settle down now, the natives are sea lions. If the sea lions do decide to play with you, this will be a lifetime memory. On my second dive that day, I was lucky enough to find a shark tooth. I was even luckier not to find the shark who lost it.
Other spots we dove are along Rocky Point Beach where the rocks begin. These areas are mostly sand and rock with a depth of around twenty-eight feet. Continuing west to Cholla Bay at the point where the bay meets the sea is Pelican Point. Pelican Point is my favorite dive spot in the Rocky Point area. There are a couple of coral heads rich with sea life to the point that I just laid in the sand and watched the action. When diving there it's a good idea to consult the local dive shops about your planned dive sites for safety tips. Utilize the tide charts provided in this monthly news letter so your dives are made with incoming tides to avoid dangerous currents.
Due to the shallow warm waters we were able to extend our down times
to 90 minutes and with so much to see in a small area Caribbean visibility
isn't necessary. This is why Puerto Penasco proves to be a great place to
settle the urge to blow bubbles in salt water.
Cabo / Belize / Havasu / Maui / Rocky Point / Two Harbors /