Mazatlan to Durango via Old Highway 40

Mexico | Oct 2025 |

Here's details on the incredible rides from Mazatlan to Durango on old Highway 40. This was one of the best routes I rode on my 2025 north-south Mexico moto journey, exceeding expectations. This post provides details on the rides, stays, sights, and considerations.

Duration & Distances

8 hrs / 307 km

If you are looking for some adventure, this route is perfect. It offers stunning scenery, open roads, but comes with some risk*. It's said to be one of the best moto routes in Latin America - and that says a lot.

I started in Mazatlan, at the beach across the street to San Diego Hotel, the place I stayed on my first day in Mexico in 1986. From there, it was a fairly grungy highway ride for the first hour. Then, riding nirvana kicked in. Starting at low elevation, the road runs through thick jungle, everything covered in a layer of vines. Soon you start a long ascent, up and up. As you reach higher elevation, the sights of the mountain and valleys are spectacular, following near the newer 40 couta (toll) road. I was struggling to keep momentum riding due to the absurd number of stops I was making to take photos. You see few other vehicles on this road, for better or worse. After gaining altitude for literally hours, you are into pine forest, and then even alpine meadows of the type you would see on a mountain top in BC. The elevation reached 3000 meters and the temperature dropped to 15C at one point. About 1 hour out of Durango, the old and new highways run close again and after an already long day, I opted to take the cuota road for the last section - a smooth, fast ride. For anyone seeking a quicker and perhaps safer ride to Durango, the cuota freeway appears to offer much of the same views and experience as the old highway, with less security concerns (I guess).

Durango is a superb small city. I found the amazing Hotel Posada on Agoda. This is a must-stay place for any adventure rider, a historic building converted to a hotel, where you park your bike in the lobby, and the guard dog is the friendliest mutt you could ever meet. It's a great historical city, few gringos to be seen. I had a nice 2-night stay, enjoyed every minute of it.

Ride: 361 km / 5 hours

Stay: Hotel Posada / 500 pesos / ****

*Risk:

This ride starts in Sinaloa - one of the no-go areas for riders in Mexico (albeit Mazatlan is in the deep south and is a tourist city). Apparently, old Highway 40 was/is associated with cartel activity. I didn't put much thought into this prior to my ride, nor saw anything unusual while in motion. But I can see how a solo rider could end up in a comproising situation up here in this remote area. After I completed the ride, there was news of a journalist found dead on the road between Mazatlan and Durango, though it didn't appear to be old Highway 40.

Map & Route

The "door" top-left below shows places.