Arroyo Bridge - Where the River Runs Through

A stop on Sayulita: Surf Town Walk, a free self-guided tour.

From this bridge on Avenida Revolucion you are looking down at the Rio Sayulita, the arroyo that splits the town in two. It starts in the green hills to the southeast, winds past the edge of town and reaches the sea at the north end of the beach, a few minutes' walk from here.

In winter it is usually a slow, shallow channel that can pool up behind the sand at its mouth. The rainy season, roughly summer into fall, is a different story: storms can swell it into a fast brown river, and that runoff reshapes the sandbars at the mouth, which in turn shapes the waves the surfers ride.

Look for water birds working the shallows, and notice how close the green hillsides come to the houses on either bank. This little river is the reason the town has a point break at all.

Getting here: From the plaza, walk east one block along Avenida Revolucion until the street crosses the arroyo on a short bridge.

Did you know?: In 1936 the old hacienda's land was handed to the people who worked it, creating the Sayulita ejido, a community-held land grant that still exists today.

Photo op: Look upstream from the middle of the bridge to catch the river curving between palms and houses, best in the soft light of late afternoon.

Arroyo Bridge - Where the River Runs Through

Stops on this tour