EL GOLFO, just has to be the best-kept secret in this part of the world. It is located only 90 miles south of Yuma, Arizona and while it may not be everyones idea of an ultimate vacation destination, if you like sand and sea, you will love El Golfo. It does not have fancy 5-star hotels or restaurants, catering to 'high-rolling' tourists and their credit cards, but it does have 30 miles of pristine beach with nothing and no one on it. It is Mexico.... PURE AND SIMPLE
As recently as the mid 1920's a small and little known port of activity flourished on the Colorado delta. Known as Santa Isabel, it was located some 8 miles west-northwest of present day El Golfo. It was a very strategic stopping off point for the many steam ships, which supplied the army and mining interests on the upper Colorado. Today Santa Isabel is nothing but a memory for a declining number of Golfeņos, as it was abandoned with the damming of the river and today all traces of its existence have vanished. In the early thirties, the State of Sonora provided funds for a road across the desert and with this new road came the village of Golfo de Santa Clara.
The highway ends when you reach El Golfo. Recent funding has made possible the paving of the main intersection for a few blocks and a few streets in the center of the village. As of this writing, however, almost all streets and roads remain sand but are, for the most part, navigable by any type of vehicle. Those roads you will discover reaching out beyond the town, rapidly become a bare perception and are best left to the ATV and 4X4 crowd. If you learn to love El Golfo, you'll soon want one or both.
In terms of community services the village of El Golfo de Santa Clara boasts a government office, police station, water purification plant, gas station (with diesel), many grocery stores, tire repair shops, auto mechanic shops, welder, hardware stores, building supplies, 5 hotels and motels, 2 excellent restaurants, 2 beachfront cantinas serving excellent meals, private practice doctor, dentist/orthodontist, 2 pharmacies, red cross outpost, 2 full service RV parks, many dry camp RV areas and 1 members only (Colorado River Adventures) RV resort.