Isla de la Piedra

Isla de la Piedra, Stone Island to English speakers, is the long beach that faces Mazatlán from the other side of the harbor entrance. Despite the name it is not an island but a peninsula, joined to the mainland near Mazatlán International Airport; it covers about 30 km² and runs roughly 23 km in length by 4 km across, with a beach many kilometers long on its ocean side. The name stuck because the fastest way over has always been by water: from the old city it is a crossing of five to ten minutes, while the drive around by road takes about 40 to 60 minutes.

The land behind the beach is planted with coconut palms, a grove often described as the third largest in Mexico, and the people who live here work mostly in fishing and in carrying visitors. The beach itself is wide and flat, with shallow, calm water that suits swimming and children, and it looks straight back at Mazatlán's landmarks: the Cerro del Crestón with its lighthouse, the harbor channel and the old town on the far shore. Late afternoon is the favorite time, when the sun drops into the Pacific beside the Crestón.

A day here is simple. Rows of palapa restaurants, many of them family-run, such as Brisas del Mar, Estrella del Mar, El Pirata, El Delfín, El Farito or Las Palmeras, put tables and umbrellas on the sand and serve pescado zarandeado, aguachile, ceviche de sierra, coconut shrimp and lobster. Along the beach you can hire horses, quad bikes, banana-boat rides and surfboards; weekends, Semana Santa and the summer holidays are the busy times, and on those days banda music often plays from the palapas. Tour operators in Mazatlán also sell day trips that combine the crossing, lunch and horse or ATV rides.