BCS Route 53 connects Route 1 at Insurgentes with the oasis settlement of La Purisima. At the southern end the road travels through the northern sections of the agricultural region centered at Ciudad Constitución and Ciudad Insurgentes. The northern part of the road heads slightly inland taking the traveler over some barren desert mountains, finally dropping into a large valley containing the oasis of La Purisima.
Click a photo
for a larger imageThe paved road ends in La Purisima and its neighboring settlement of San Isidro. At this point there are a variety of dirt roads leading off to locations in the mountains and on the coast. Destinations include: the Comondús (also reached off BCS 53 near La Poza Grande), San Javier (continuing on past San Jose de Comondu), Route 1 at Rancho Rosarito to the south of Bahia Concepción, San Juanico and Scorpion Bay to the north.
In May '00 we took the dirt roads over to Route 1. In my opinion, this requires a sturdy, medium-clearance vehicle. The 36 mile trip took us 3 1/2 hours including a few scenery stops.
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for a larger image
March 2004
Contributed by Nitas. . . Mid-February '04: The potholes have returned on the road from Insurgentes to La Purisima. Not just isolated, scattered potholes, but huge minefields spanning the entire width of the highway. No repairs have been done after the last two hurricane seasons. This, coupled with washboard the size of the Rockies on the dirt road to San Juanico/San Ignacio makes for a very slow, tiring drive.
Only basic repairs were done to the dirt road after Hurricane Marty in Aug. '03 and, for some reason, it has not been graded since before that time. Oh how we yearn for the East Road (Rosarito-La Purisima) which no longer receives any maintenance.
October 2002
Contributed by Nitas. . . As of October 2002 there have been road repairs and most of the giant potholes have been filled in. Not a bad drive now.
March 2002
Contributed by Cindy. . . Most recent trip on this stretch was January and February 2002, north and south, from Insurgentes to the San Juanico turn-off. The potholes are on steroids as you travel north from the turn-off to Comundú. Some span both lanes and must be 6"+ deep. If we were able to see the crater ahead and had opposing traffic, we found it safer to slow to almost a stop while the other vehicle navigated around it before we proceeded. Our truck/body/camper is on the heavy side so we're a little most cautious than some, especially on the way out [south] with our tires still deflated from San Juanico terraceria. Friends took a motorcycle trip from SJ to Comundú via San Isidro and reported the road very challenging. Another friend drove this route in his Toyota 4x4 and said it took hours to get to Comundú. He went out via the road you described, primarily to save his marriage!
February 2002
Contributed by Fred Metcalf. . . We drove from Insurgentes to Ejido Francisco Villa to catch the graded road over to the Comondús. Route 53 had many small potholes, a result of the passage of Hurricane Juliette. There were no repairs going on.
May 29, 2000
Contributed by Fred Metcalf. . . The condition of the road was good, although there were occasional sections of potholes, none of them deep. There was one crew active at filling potholes.
Watch out for a poorly announced speed bump (tope) in Villa Igancio Zaragoza!