Cruce Isla de Venados — Mazatlán

Isla de Venados rises out of the Mexican Pacific. Swimmers take to the open ocean for the Cruce Isla de Venados — Mazatlán, an open water swimming race in the Pacific waters of Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa, organized by Tri Tour México. The event offers two separate distance options: a shorter 1,200-metre course and a demanding 5,500-metre crossing out towards the island. Competitors plunge directly into the rolling coastal swells of the Sinaloan Pacific. Once settled into a steady rhythm, swimmers often describe the sheer sense of solitude that comes with navigating the open water, where the only sounds are bubbling exhales and rhythmic arm strokes. The sea here stays warm and vibrant, bringing swimmers face to face with thousands of curious Pacific fish darting beneath them in shimmering shoals.

The crossing requires steady awareness, as ocean swells and drifting sea life are part of the course. Swimmers in past editions have encountered the fleeting sting of a jellyfish, which fades after a hundred metres of steady swimming, or felt unexpected currents pushing against them over the final kilometre and a half. Pushing through the tired shoulders, the final stretch opens up to a celebratory arrival on the golden sand, framed by the lush vegetation of the island's shore.

Isla de Venados: the protected reserve across the bay

The race takes its name from Isla de Venados, an ecological reserve that forms part of the trio of islands standing off the Mazatlán coast. Because Isla de Venados remains protected, its beaches and rocky flanks retain their natural vegetation, offering swimmers an untamed wilderness finish. Measuring 1,850 metres from tip to tip, Isla de Venados is the largest of the three offshore formations. Its width ranges from 250 metres across its narrow waist up to 700 metres across its wider shoulders, giving swimmers navigating around its flanks an expansive wall of stone and greenery to sight against while stroking through the surf. Sighting along its green ridge keeps you aligned as the swells push across the open bay.

Mazatlán: indigenous coast, Pacific port and naval bombardments

Long before modern swimmers navigated these waters, the coastline belonged to the indigenous Totorames people. This ancient community established settlements between the south bank of the River Piaxtla and the Río de las Cañas. The modern maritime identity of Mazatlán began taking shape in 1821, when it was officially declared the first port on the Mexican Pacific coast. That same maritime importance made Mazatlán a target during nineteenth-century international conflicts. In 1859, the British warship H.M.S. Amethyst enforced a naval blockade across the entrance to the harbor.

Cerro del Crestón: maritime beacons and the cliff divers

The headland retained its insular status until 1930, when engineers constructed a permanent stone road linking it to the mainland, transforming the craggy island into a natural coastal promontory. High on its rocky summit, the Faro Mazatlán perches 157 metres above sea level. The seven-metre tower evolved from an initial gas lamp erected in 1879 to a rotating beacon installed in 1905, designed to project its sweeping signal across 30 nautical miles of the Pacific. Its historic electric equipment, in place since 1933, was upgraded in August 2021. Adrenaline still gathers around the precipitous rock faces below the lighthouse. In 2017, a 30-metre glass bridge was suspended directly over the cliff edge, providing visitors with vertiginous views down into the surging ocean below. Along the jagged rocks nearby, daring local cliff divers leap into the churning Pacific swells, plunging from sheer heights into the crashing surf in a display of aquatic skill.

Laguna del Camarón: coastal lagoons and restoring urban waters

Just two kilometres from the race area, the coastal wetlands of Parque Central Mazatlán offer a serene contrast to the open sea. The reserve centres on Laguna del Camarón, a natural body of water spanning 56,399 square metres, flanked by a second connected lagoon covering 11,158 square metres. Today, the lagoons have become an active center for both recreation and environmental restoration. Visitors can launch from the park's dedicated kayak dock to paddle along quiet waterways, while ongoing ecological initiatives actively reintroduce native flora and fauna previously displaced by urban development. Exploring these restored lagoon shores gives swimmers a chance to recover and see how Mazatlán is rewilding its coastal waters before diving back into the ocean.