Potrero Chico: A Rock Climbing Paradise

January 25, 2019 • 6 Comments

For as long as I can remember, I have had a mortal fear of heights. Others however choose to relax while hanging on a rope hundreds of feet in the air and make their way up a vertical wall, ever so slowly.

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El Potrero Chico on a rainy day (click for larger image)

Magnificent scenery at Potrero Chico

In the world of rock climbing, the American continent has a lot to offer. One can head to California to scale the vertical wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Or to Alaska for mountaineering Denali: the highest mountain peak of North America at 20,310 feet (6,190 m). Into Texas for world-class bouldering at Hueco Tanks; to Utah for climbing its famous sandstone towers or to Colorado for its many climbing routes into the Rocky Mountains. All of these locations are also known of course outside of the climbing community and attract millions of non-climbers annually. Obviously, I was never attracted to these places for their climbing features but rather for their scenic qualities.

Climbing at Potrero Chico (click for larger images)

December 2018. We were staying in Caprock Canyon state park near Amarillo to photograph the (only) wild bison herd in Texas. We were slowly making our way to New Mexico's Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (near Albuquerque) to photograph the thousands of snow geese and sand hill cranes that spend the winter there. It had been freezing cold and the news reported that a severe blizzard was on the way. After several days of cold and not looking forward to driving another 6 hours on icy and snow-packed roads to get to Bosque del Apache, we had had enough. Visions of blue skies and 70-degree weather came to mind.

If only there was a place nearby where we could drive to with our RV and ditch the winter jackets ... Mexico!

The opening in the cliffs at Potrero Chico leads into a hidden valley

Like on our 5-month road trip from Mexico to the Panama Canal a few years ago, we again crossed into Mexico via the big Columbia border crossing at Laredo, Texas in early January 2019.

Most RVers who head into Mexico want to escape the border area as fast as possible because of the high(er) crime rate. They either head straight to Saltillo; about 4 hours south of the Texas border and where there is a well-known hotel that allows RVers to camp on their property; or, to Matehuala; about 8 hours south of the border, where hotel Las Palmas has an actual RV park on its property with full hookups. As did we on our 5-month road trip when we left the border area right away and drove 4 hours to stay the first night in Saltillo and the second night in Matehuala.

Being in less of a hurry this time around, we didn't feel as much pressure to push south as fast as possible and wanted to see if we didn't miss anything along the way the last time around. We wondered whether the big city of Monterrey had any camping options available. Monterrey is Mexico's third biggest city and is where many 'Made in Mexico' products are made, including many of the cars that drive around in the US.

Low and behold, we found some beautiful nature areas around the city. One is a national park that straddles the city limits: Cumbres de Monterrey. The other is a world renowned climbing destination known as "El Potrero Chico".

Behind the cliffs

Exploring Potrero Chico

After crossing the border, we got our passports stamped and we purchased the import permit for our car and camper. We headed south a few hours to Hidalgo, the town nearest to Potrero Chico. Once you arrive in town, plenty of signs direct you to the climbing area. Not that these are strictly needed however: the impressive vertical limestone cliffs are visible from miles away. Once you arrive near the cliffs, there are many campgrounds available.

We chose "Quinta La Pagoda". For 2 people (and a dog), we paid $10 per night. This got us electricity, water (potable water that is, from a spring in the mountains), warm showers, laundry, decent WiFi ... and a 5 minute walk to the 2000 foot cliffs (610 m).

La Pagoda has a large grassy area with plenty of parking available. It is a bit tight to maneuver the camper in there however; I wouldn't recommend a trailer longer than 20 feet or so. For motorhomes, the height of the entry gate can be a problem; it was no issue for our relatively low Casita (9 feet). If you drive a bigger RV, one of the other campgrounds along the main road may work for you. Or simply boondock right outside the entry gate to Potrero Chico (where someone even sells coffee out of their old big bus-sized RV). Several vans (usually American or Canadian twenty something young people) also congregate near the entry gate or boondock in the wild area behind the cliffs.

Entrance to Quinta La Pagoda with the cliffs in the background

Our Casita trailer at La Pagoda's grassy camping area

Even if you're not into climbing (like us), the area is very attractive to visit (and safe.) You can hike into the area behind the cliffs which has great vistas or go to the cliffs and watch the climbers do what they do. Town is a 15 minute stroll away with friendly locals, great street food and cheap groceries.

Video of our camping spot. Note the loud music in the background from passing cars which happens frequently on weekends

A few months ago, we switched from our Dodge RAM with truck camper - combo to towing a 17 foot Casita travel trailer behind our Chevy Tahoe 4x4, we are now able to slow down much more. No longer do we have to break camp every time we want to drive somewhere (groceries, eating out, etc.). We can park the Casita in a campground and use the tow vehicle to explore an area. Not to mention that you're pretty high profile driving around any kind of RV in Mexico.

Exploring dirt roads at Potrero Chico

Enjoying tamales in town

We camped at Quinta La Pagoda and had the Tahoe available for day trips. One long day trip brought us into Monterrey: a very scenic city with high mountains crossing through it - we had no idea it was this pretty. Driving up and down the mountains through the city, there are many great viewpoints. Just south of the city is Cumbres de Monterrey national park where we visited the "La Huasteca" area of the national park: an impressive canyon where wild donkeys (burros) live. Southeast of Monterrey we visited the waterfall at "Cola de Caballo" (horsetail falls).

Most of our days however were spent relaxing in or near Potrero Chico, gazing at the cliffs. As a storm passes by, they get even more impressive as fog and clouds slowly move between them ...

Potrero Chico at sunset	Foggy day at Potrero Chico
Foggy day at Potrero Chico	Foggy day at Potrero Chico
Visiting Cola de Caballo (Horsetail falls)	Driving through Mexico's 3rd largest city, Monterrey
Cola de Caballo	Cola de Caballo