El Camino Real is an important trail. It is a part of the history of Spain, Mexico and the United States. Much of it was established by the indigenous people long before the Europeans arrived. While the northern extension of the trail has been greatly altered, many parts that run through the states of Baja Súr and Baja California are nearly the same as when the padres walked the trail.
Time and weather have eroded large parts of the trail, but man's impact has been less dramatic, that is until now. While backpacking one of the best preserved sections of ECR in November of 2019, we noticed some changes that we had not seen before to this degree. A motorcycle course is being developed on this part of the old mission trail. Large amounts of spray paint have been used to mark one of the most obvious sections of ECR. Also, litter, plastic flagging and the restructuring of the trail to accommodate wheels are now commonly found.
Over the last few years, we have noticed more fences blocking the trail and ancient waterholes being drained. We have no solutions to these problems, we just want them known. We consider El Camino Real in the lower Californias one of Mexico's treasures, and it is discouraging to watch parts of it degrade. The intent of this website is to bring this trail back to life and hopefully keep it healthy.