Desert meets sea in Puerto Peñasco, a California Gulf getaway. With its seafood markets, snoozy streets, and sandy beaches, it's easy to see how the port town has retained its traditional charm. There's something for everyone, from nature parks and water sports to upscale resorts.

The Grand Mayan Puerto Peñasco is an awe-inspiring vacation for guests of all ages. This desert oasis of relaxation and wonder offers a truly unique getaway, with its world-renowned golf course, luxurious outdoor pools, Jacuzzis, fire pits, and stunning surrounding scenery. As soon as you enter The Grand Mayan Puerto Peñasco, you’ll leave the rest of the world – and all of your cares – behind.

Rocky Point is recognized as one of the youngest cities of the state of Sonora. It was formed in 1928, officially, but certain towns were already recognized because of the activity of the local mine and the miners who worked there. In the search for precious metals, an American official came and denominate the area as “Rocky Point” (around the early 1940s). It was declared a commissariat city and it was the main area of economic activity of the surrounding fishing region thanks to the marine life of the coasts of the Gulf of California. It is also important to mention that a large part of the development for the region can be attributed to the construction of the train that connected Baja California with Sonora and the rest of the country, until 1950 when Rocky Point converted to a municipality.

One of the legends that exists about the popular port, is the story that Rocky Point served as a place of refuge for American gangster Al Capone, in the 20s.

The Port (The City)
The oldest part of Rocky Point was inhabited by the first residents who at that time only referred to it as Rocky Point, this was around the year 1922 when residents from Arizona came to distribute the fish they caught. Rocky Point started to become founded around Whale Hill, what is known today as Puerto Viejo (Old Port)

Since it’s founding Rocky Point has been a popular place for vacationers from Arizona, Nevada, California and recently the neighboring states of Chihuahua and Baja California.

The population of the port in the year 1937 was relative to the era of fishing and it didn’t even have 100 people, but when they constructed the train the population began to grow rapidly and in 1965 there was approximately 5000 people.

As it was mentioned before Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point as the people from the United States call it, has become a home for thousands of families who come more than 1 time a year to enjoy the beautiful beaches and the ocean.

With the money from tourism the Port grew in the services that it offered in order to tend to the needs of the many people who were visiting. The first hotels, such as RV parks, were of crucial importance to the growth of Rocky Point from the mid 20’s all the way through the 80’s.

Rocky Point has continued to grow in areas where there are activities and attractions for the tourists. There are different beaches that are now recognized and provide for great places to go on vacation. Some of the beaches in Rocky Point are: Las Conchas, El Mirador, Playa Hermosa, Playa Encanto, La Cholla, with the most popular of them all being Sandy Beach. In the early 1990s, many development projects were started with a direct focus on tourism and real estate. The area that is now recognized as Sandy Beach had several developments constructed, one after the other, and these are now part of the several things that are offered to tourists.

Some of the most important developments that sustain the majority of the tourism in Rocky Point are: Playa Bonita Resort, Princesa de Peñasco, Las Palomas Beach and Golf Resort, Sonoran Resorts, Marina Pinacate Resort, just to mention a few.

Puerto Peñasco as a city has maintained a stable growth. Actually, there are new commercial services like supermarkets from national chains who apart from the general employees it also benefits the tourism and the locals. Puerto Viejo who is home to Mercada de Mariscos, are fundamental parts of the port that provide for attraction not only for the locals but also for the visitors.

It’s Name “Puerto Peñasco” or “Rocky Point”
The port is recognized with 2 names, Rocky Point in English and Puerto Peñasco in Spanish. Roberto William Hale Hardy, a 1982 retiree from the Great Britian Marine, navigated through the port in search of precious metals and pearls and he gave it the name that we now call it in English, Rocky Point until General Lázaro Cárdenas changed it to Puerto Peñasco, or Port Rocky Point. For simple pronunciation in different languages they eliminated the word “Port”.

The growth in Rocky Point can be partially attributed to all the new upscale resorts that can be seen lining Sandy beach. Over the past 5 years there have been at least eight new resorts built on Sandy beach alone. The resorts on Sandy beach include Las Palmas, Las Palomas, Sonoran Sun, Sonoran Spa, Sonoran Sea, Sonoran Sky, Bella Sirena, Princesa de Penasco and Casa Blanca. Many people make their Rocky Point reservations at one of these above resorts.

Guests booking their Rocky Point reservations for Rocky Point travel tend to stay at resorts because they are looking for resort style amenities along with the increased activity on the beach. Some of the amenities that are offered at the various resorts are on-site restaurants, wireless internet, multiple pools, fitness centers, business centers, daily maid services and Spa services. Las Palmas resort was the first resort on the beach to also offer a pool slide. Since then, a few other resorts have followed suit and also offer a pool slide. The resorts with a pool slide are Las Palmas, Las Palomas, and Sonoran Sky resort.

Prices at the resorts are very competitive prices in relation to what you get for a true beach front resort any where else. There are various floor plans to select from at the Rocky Point resorts to accommodate different needs. When making your Rocky Point reservations, be sure to browse all the offerings of available floor plans.

The popularity of Rocky Point resorts is constantly growing. We have the most comprehensive list of resorts for Rocky Point available on the internet. We invite you to search our inventory of Rocky Point resorts on this page.