The East Cape: Baja's last empty coast
A hundred kilometers of washboard dirt between the Los Cabos resorts and the Cabo Pulmo reef, with a 1950s fishing-lodge past and a mega-resort future closing in. A field guide for the people who film this coast, with 3,524 clips shot here between 2020 and 2023, humpbacks included.
The East Cape at a glance
- Where
- The Sea of Cortez coast running roughly 100 km northeast from San José del Cabo to La Ribera and Los Barriles.[5]
- The road
- The Camino Cabo Este: mostly washboard dirt, paved only at the ends, with no fuel along the coastal stretch.[5]
- The past
- Big-game fishing lodges since the early 1950s. Rancho Buena Vista hosted John Wayne, Bing Crosby, and President Eisenhower.[1]
- The future
- Costa Palmas at La Ribera: a Four Seasons since 2019, an Aman announced, and a marina planned for 300 slips.[3][4]
- Wind
- El Norte blows 15-30 knots on winter afternoons, November through March. Los Barriles is the kiteboarding hub.[2]
- Wildlife
- Humpbacks and grays December to April, sea turtles nesting in summer and fall, and Cabo Pulmo's reef at the far end.[7]
The story: seventy years between booms
The East Cape got famous once already. In 1951 a former TWA pilot named Herb Tansey incorporated Rancho Buena Vista, opened two cabins to tourists the next spring, and invented the Baja fishing lodge. After the outdoor press discovered the place in 1957, the flow of marlin-chasing guests ran from Hollywood to the White House: John Wayne, Bing Crosby, and President Eisenhower all fished this water, and Hotel Palmas de Cortez followed at Los Barriles in 1959.[1] The lodges are still there, and the surf fishery for roosterfish still draws anglers who measure their year by it.
Then the pavement went elsewhere. While Los Cabos built its corridor, the coast between San José del Cabo and La Ribera stayed dirt road, solar panels, and empty beach, which is why production libraries have almost nothing from it. The exception was wind: winter El Norte afternoons turned Los Barriles into a kiteboarding and windsurfing town, host of the Lord of the Wind competition since 2010.[2][9]
Now the second boom is arriving. At La Ribera, the Costa Palmas development opened the Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos in late 2019, the brand's first resort with its own private marina, with a golf course and two miles of swimmable beach on a community of well over a thousand acres.[3] An Aman resort, Amanvari, has been announced to follow, and the marina is planned to reach 300 slips for yachts up to 250 feet.[4] The undeveloped-coast footage in this library is a record of a place that is visibly running out of "before."
- 1951-1952Herb Tansey incorporates Rancho Buena Vista and opens it to guests: the first East Cape fishing lodge.[1]
- 1957Ray Cannon brings the outdoor press. The East Cape becomes the storied big-game fishery of Baja.[1]
- 1959The Van Wormer family opens what becomes Hotel Palmas de Cortez at Los Barriles; their lodges still anchor the town.[1]
- 1995Cabo Pulmo, at the Cape's far end, becomes a no-take national marine park. Its reef recovery gets its own guide.
- 2010Los Barriles hosts the first Lord of the Wind kiteboarding and windsurfing showdown.[9]
- 2019The Four Seasons at Costa Palmas opens at La Ribera with the brand's first private marina.[3]
- 2020-2023Phil Maher films the coast across 21 shoots, including two drone humpback sessions. That work is this library.
- 2026Amanvari, Aman's first Mexico resort, is slated to open at Costa Palmas in August.[4]
The road: 100 km of washboard
The Camino Cabo Este hugs the coast for roughly 100 km between San José del Cabo and La Ribera, and travelers who have driven all of it call it one of the worst roads in Baja: washboard, potholes, and sand, paved only for short stretches at each end.[5] It is also passable, slowly, in an ordinary car in dry weather, which is the whole bargain.[5] The road is the reason the beaches are empty, and the empty beaches are the reason to drive it.
Practical notes for a shoot: there is no fuel along the coastal stretch, so fill up before leaving the pavement.[5] The fast way to the Cape's north end skips the dirt entirely: Los Barriles is about an hour to ninety minutes from Los Cabos airport on paved Highway 1, and La Ribera has its own paved turnoff.[8] Paving of the coastal road has been reported in progress from the San José end for years; treat any specific claim about how far it reaches as stale until you have driven it.
The filming calendar
| Months | What is happening |
|---|---|
| Dec-Mar | Whale season, December through April with a January-March peak; the tourism board lists the East Cape among the quieter places to watch.[7] El Norte blows 15-30 knots most afternoons, so kites fly at Los Barriles and drone work happens in the morning calm.[2] |
| Apr-Jun | Winds ease, whales linger into April, and the water glasses off. The clean window for empty-beach and aerial plates before summer heat. |
| Jul-Sep | Hot, humid, warmest water. The eastern Pacific hurricane season officially runs May 15 to November 30, and Baja California Sur's highest storm risk is August through October.[6] Sea turtles nest on these beaches through summer and fall. |
| Oct-Nov | Storm risk fades, cruising sailboats round the Cape into the Sea of Cortez with Bahía de los Frailes as the classic first anchorage, and the first northers mark the turn back to wind season.[10] |
Places by name, south to north
- Buzzards Beach. The first open stretch past Puerto Los Cabos and the deepest coverage in this library: surf, empty sand, and the January 2022 humpback session just offshore.
- Punta Gorda. A point break and fishing stretch a little further up, with nearly 500 clips of its own.
- San Luis and La Fortuna. The mid-Cape beaches where the road and the coast run alone together; sea turtles and dolphins in the clear shallows off San Luis.
- Shipwrecks. The long sand heading north, and the site of the January 2023 whale session.
- Los Frailes. The bay under Cerro Los Frailes, the classic first anchorage for boats entering the Sea of Cortez; the peak marks the boundary of Cabo Pulmo National Park.[10]
- La Ribera. The Costa Palmas end: Four Seasons, marina, and the paved way in. Not yet covered in this library, and that is a note to fix.
- Los Barriles. The wind town anchoring the north end, 357 clips and counting.
The footage: 3,524 clips, whales included
Phil Maher filmed this coast across 21 shoots between 2020 and 2023: 3,524 clips, all 4K, all licensed direct. The crown of the collection is the whale work: two January drone sessions, off Buzzards in 2022 and off Shipwrecks in 2023, left 276 whale clips of humpbacks surfacing, tail-slapping, and submerging in clear turquoise water, plus 116 dolphin clips from the same coast. Around them sits the thing stock catalogs almost never have: an undeveloped desert coastline in current-decade 4K. Surf on empty beaches, the dirt road itself, turtles in the shallows, and 3,226 clips with nobody in frame. Honesty note: there is no kiteboarding footage here yet, and no Costa Palmas; the coverage is the coast, not the construction.
Hover any card to play the preview, or use the quick-look button to check a clip without leaving the page.
Find the shot
A working shot list for an East Cape edit
The sequence an "empty Baja" or "last frontier" edit needs, with each row linking into the live catalog.
| Story beat | Look for | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| The road in | Washboard dirt running along the coast | Dirt road clips |
| The empty coast | Aerials down beaches with nobody on them | Beach clips |
| The surf | Waves on Punta Gorda and the open stretches | Surf clips |
| The payoff | Humpbacks from the drone, close and clear | Whale clips |
| Life in the shallows | Turtles, dolphins, rays over sand | Turtles · dolphins |
| The anchorage | Boats swinging in Bahía de los Frailes | Los Frailes clips |
| The far end | The reef and park at Cabo Pulmo | Cabo Pulmo guide |
Licensing, in one paragraph
Every clip licenses today, direct from the filmmaker: $79 for the royalty-free standard license, $199 for extended broadcast use. The 4K master downloads the moment payment clears, a license certificate PDF comes with every order, and every clip has a free watermarked preview you can cut into a timeline before spending anything. Most of this coast is landscape and wildlife, so releases rarely come up; where a person is recognizable, the clip page says so, and the license page explains releases in plain terms. The direct-vs-marketplace comparison covers when a subscription site is the better deal.
East Cape FAQ
Where is the East Cape?
The Sea of Cortez coast of Baja California Sur running roughly 100 km northeast from San José del Cabo to La Ribera and on to Los Barriles: Buzzards Beach, Punta Gorda, the empty middle, Los Frailes, and Cabo Pulmo National Park along the way. Los Barriles is about an hour to ninety minutes from Los Cabos airport on paved Highway 1; the coastal road is another story.
Can a normal car drive the East Cape coastal road?
Mostly yes, slowly, in dry weather. The Camino Cabo Este runs about 100 km along the coast and most of it is washboard and potholed dirt, paved only for short stretches at each end. Guides describe it as rough but passable for a regular car with normal clearance. There is no fuel along the coastal stretch, so fill up before leaving the pavement.[5]
When is the wind season at Los Barriles?
November through March. The winter El Norte winds blow 15 to 30 knots most afternoons, which is what made Los Barriles a kiteboarding and windsurfing destination. The town has hosted the Lord of the Wind competition since 2010.[2][9]
When can you see whales from the East Cape?
December through April, with January to March the peak. Humpbacks and gray whales winter along Baja California Sur, and the official tourism board lists the East Cape as one of the quieter places to watch them.[7] The drone humpback sessions in this library were filmed in January, in 2022 off Buzzards Beach and in 2023 off Shipwrecks.
What is Costa Palmas?
The development changing the East Cape's north end, at La Ribera: a resort community where the Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas opened in late 2019 with the brand's first private marina, an Aman resort (Amanvari) has been announced to follow, and the marina is planned to grow to 300 slips for yachts up to 250 feet.[3][4]
Is Cabo Pulmo part of the East Cape?
Yes. The marine park sits on this coast, and the peak above Bahía de los Frailes marks its boundary.[10] Cabo Pulmo has its own dedicated guide covering the reef, the 463 percent fish biomass recovery, and the park rules.
How is the footage in this library licensed?
Direct from the filmmaker: $79 for the royalty-free standard license or $199 for extended broadcast use, per clip. The 4K master downloads the moment payment clears, a license certificate PDF comes with every order, and every clip has a free watermarked preview.
Do East Cape clips need releases?
Rarely. Most of this coast's footage is landscape, surf, and wildlife, and 3,226 of the 3,524 clips have nobody in frame. Where a person is recognizable, the clip page carries a release notice: editorial use is cleared as shot, and commercial use of a recognizable person needs your own release. The license page explains releases in plain terms.
Sources
- BajaBound, Baja Fever history series. "Rancho Buena Vista" (Tansey, 1951-52, the celebrity guest era) and the Van Wormer family history. bajabound.com
- Vela Baja, Los Barriles. Wind-season conditions (Nov 1 to end of March, 15-30 knots). velabaja.com
- Four Seasons press release, 2019. "Four Seasons Redefines Los Cabos with the Debut of Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas." prnewswire.com
- Travel Weekly. "Amanvari resort to open in spring 2026." Costa Palmas marina plans: travelweekly.com · costapalmas.com/marina
- Roaming About. "Off the Beaten Path in Baja California Sur: Cabo Este" (100 km of washboard, no fuel). Los Cabos Guide, "East Cape Baja" (passable in a regular car). roamingabout.com · loscabosguide.com
- NOAA. "Tropical Cyclone Climatology" (eastern Pacific season May 15 to Nov 30). Destino Los Cabos on BCS's Aug-Oct peak risk. noaa.gov
- Visit Los Cabos (official tourism board). "Whale Watching in Los Cabos." visitloscabos.travel
- SJD Taxi and Los Cabos Guide, Los Barriles transfer distances (about 105 km, one to one and a half hours). sjdtaxi.com
- Rotary Club of Los Barriles (event organizer). "Lord of the Wind" (held since 2010). losbarrilesrotaryclub.org
- 10,000 Birds, "Bahía Los Frailes" (the first-anchorage tradition). Voyage Mexique, "Los Frailes hike" (the peak borders Cabo Pulmo National Park). 10000birds.com · voyagemexique.info
Road conditions, wind ranges, and water details are traveler and operator reporting, and the text says so where it applies; the road in particular changes with every storm and every paving crew. If you are writing about the East Cape, cite the primary sources directly; they are linked so you can. Spot an error? Tell us through the about page and we will fix it and note the change.
Keep reading
- The East Cape collection, all 3,524 clips.
- The Cabo Pulmo guide, the marine park at the end of the road.
- The Los Cabos beaches guide, the resort corridor to the south.
- Wildlife and the whale clips.
- Aerial and drone footage from the whole library.