Las Estacas

Las Estacas is a wonderful one-day escape from Mexico City. It’s a natural, lazy river with deep plunges you can jump into, swimming pools, camping or cabins.

My husband lived in Mexico City for three years when he was a pre-teen, and one of his fondest memories is of Las Estacas. Back then there was very little surrounding this natural, lazy spring-fed river. Just a lady at the entrance making quesadillas and not much more! But in the intervening years, the family who owns the land, has sent their children to the USA to learn about eco-tourism and how best to develop the site. And now there are camping grounds, large grassy plots to play, restaurants, cafes, cabins and relaxing areas for day-tripping families who float in the river or enjoy the swimming pools.

We have been to Las Estacas twice now as a family. Once we camped for a long weekend in November and another time we went for the day in August. In November we found the fresh water really cold and the adults were glad to have wet suits. In August it was so warm no wetsuits were needed.

When you arrive on-site you park in a large, dusty parking lot. After you enter Las Estacas you can’t return to your car, so make sure you have everything you need!

They also do a thorough search of all bags. So be prepared to load everything (including camping gear) onto a table for them to sort through. Glass bottles and styrofoam for eco-reasons are not allowed. So you can bring wine or beer in, just not in glass. (A nalgene bottle works for wine in a pinch, ask me how I know!)

The entrance fee for the day is $500 pesos per person. Camping is in a large, flat field with really nice washrooms and showers. When we were there we thought it was crowded, but then friends went another time and said it was even more packed. So if you go on a weekend go early to get a good spot. There are BBQ cooking areas so bring charcoal. There are some good hammock trees as well so bring a hammock!

If you go for the day here are our tips to make it as stress-free as possible

• you can rent a locker once inside. We store our lunch/snacks here and also our dry clothes. It also has a plug in the locker so you could charge your phone or an electric cooler
• you can rent wetsuits as well if you are cold. In November the three adults needed wetsuits. You can also rent snorkel or diving gear
• we have a big bag where we put all our towels, then we dump the towels at the end of the river, walk to the top of the river, jump in and float down and then our towels are waiting for us at the end
• wear water shoes if you have them, so you can walk up the path to the end to jump in, if not, wear flip flops and then put them in a water sack
• even though it’s a lazy river it’s over 2 km long so maintaining the float for so long is a good core workout! We like to have a water sack around our bodies that we can blow up and hang onto as we float down, and pool noodles for older kids/adults as well. If you have younger kids (even if they can swim) a life jacket so they can relax is a good idea. A blow up pool doughnut or floatie is also a good idea. If you don’t have one, they sell them on the streets/towns leading into Las Estacas or inside the park
• a waterproof phone case
• a sense of adventure! there are deep jumps at the beginning and midway on the river, as well as tree swings you can swing out and jump off of
• you can also rent a river boat or stand-up paddle boat on the river, so if you are just floating down watch out for these “pleasure cruises”
• there are swimming pools that are shallow and some have slides and different activities or like a playground within the pools, a lot of fun for younger children
• the restaurant that looks out over the river is really good and a great option
• there is a canteen/cafe that also serves more casual food like tacos and hamburgers
• you can bring in a picnic lunch
• if you are camping they have open air movies in the field
• bring sports equipment as there is a large field where you can kick a ball or whack each other with pool noodles!

Las Estacas is a great and easy day trip from Mexico City or even if you are staying Cuernavaca for the weekend. Or a really nice weekend camping trip, the camping field is on grass, so it’s really comfortable and we really enjoyed camping there.