The 58th SCORE Baja 500 takes over Ensenada’s waterfront and downtown core from June 3 through June 7, bringing roughly 220 race vehicles, thousands of fans, and a week of significant road closures to the city’s main tourist corridor. The race itself launches Saturday, June 6, from Bulevar Costero near the Riviera de Ensenada Cultural Center. But the disruptions start days earlier, and anyone staying in or driving through central Ensenada needs a plan.
SCORE Has Raced Through Ensenada Since 1967
Ensenada’s relationship with desert racing dates to November 1967, when the first Baja 1000 left Tijuana and finished in La Paz. SCORE International, the sanctioning body founded by Sal Fish, moved the start line to Ensenada in the early 1970s. The Baja 500, a shorter companion race, began in 1969 as a roughly 500-mile loop starting and ending in the same city. Together, the two events turned Ensenada into what SCORE officially brands the “Off-Road Racing Capital of the World.”
The race draws factory-backed teams from Ford, Toyota, and other manufacturers alongside amateur privateers running modified trucks, buggies, and motorcycles. Past winners include legends like Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, Robby Gordon, and the Vildósola family from Mexicali. The 2026 edition is Round 2 of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship, following the San Felipe 250 held earlier this year.
Pro motorcycle and car classes will run a course of approximately 469 miles through the desert and mountains east and south of Ensenada. Racers face an 18-hour time limit. Motorcycles and quads launch at 3:00 a.m., with cars, trucks, and UTVs following at 8:00 a.m. after the opening ceremony. Competitors come from multiple U.S. states and several countries.
Five Days of Closures Along Bulevar Costero and First Street
Ensenada’s public safety department has published the closure schedule, and the footprint is large. Bulevar Lázaro Cárdenas, also known as Bulevar Costero, closes southbound starting Wednesday, June 3, at 7:00 a.m. The initial closure runs from Club Rotario to Avenida Castillo. From Wednesday through Sunday, restrictions expand along the full stretch of Bulevar Lázaro Cárdenas from De Las Rocas to Avenida Castillo.
Club Rotario will be blocked in both directions between Bulevar Lázaro Cárdenas and Calle Primera. Bulevar Las Dunas closes between Club Rotario and Calle del Faro. These closures effectively wall off a large rectangle around the waterfront, the Riviera de Ensenada Cultural Center, and much of the First Street (Calle Primera) restaurant and bar district.
Bulevar Costero is Ensenada’s main coastal road. It connects the cruise ship terminal, the fish market, the tourist shops along First Street, and most of the city’s waterfront hotels. When it closes, traffic reroutes onto interior streets that are narrower and already congested. In past race years, trips that normally take 10 minutes have stretched past 30 during peak hours.
Tech Day on Friday Offers the Best Free Access to Race Teams
Friday, June 5, is Tech and Contingency Day. Race vehicles line up along the boulevard for mechanical inspection, and teams display their machines to the public. Fans can walk the lineup, photograph the trucks and buggies up close, and talk with crews. There is no admission fee. The event typically runs from late morning into the afternoon and is one of the most accessible parts of race week for families and casual visitors.
On Saturday, the start/finish area near the Riviera de Ensenada Cultural Center becomes an active racecourse before dawn. Hotels within a few blocks of the waterfront will hear engine noise starting around 2:30 a.m. as motorcycles stage. The area stays active through Saturday evening as vehicles cross the finish line.
Popular spectator areas outside the city include the desert sections along the Ojos Negros road east of Ensenada and the ranch areas south toward Santo Tomás. These spots are informal, uncontrolled, and carry real risk: spectators have been injured and killed at off-road races when vehicles leave the course. SCORE and local authorities urge fans to stay well back from the racing line, especially in blind corners and wash crossings.
Hotels in central Ensenada fill quickly during race week. Properties along the Bulevar Costero, near First Street, and around the Riviera typically sell out weeks in advance. Visitors arriving without reservations may find rooms in the Zona Centro side streets or along the highway corridor toward La Bufadora. Parking downtown will be limited from Wednesday onward. Walking or using rideshare apps like Uber (which operates in Ensenada) is more practical than driving into the closure zone.
The race finishes Saturday night, with the final vehicles expected by the 18-hour cutoff around 9:00 p.m. Road restrictions are scheduled to lift Sunday, June 7. The next SCORE race on the 2026 calendar is the Baja 1000, traditionally held in November. Race details and closure maps were reported by Gringo Gazette North.